I'm a journalist in Boston and a features writer for Deseret. My writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Post Magazine, Slate, Deseret Magazine, The Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, Poynter, Business Insider, and a number of New England weeklies.

In my stories, I'm interested in exploring the complexities of human experience and what lies below the surface of our communities, relationships, and Instagram accounts. A native of Kyiv, Ukraine, I'm fascinated by how we find a sense of belonging in the world. 

I’m also a co-founder of Kleio, a storytelling service that helps individuals and families tell and capture their life stories. 

Before joining Deseret, I covered Boston suburbs for Gannett/USA Today Network. I wrote about everything from education, development and affordable housing to a scandal at the local Catholic parish and the arrest of a Brazilian YouTuber. Many of my stories focused on the impact of state-wide problems such as vaping, teen stress and anxiety, and lack of state funding for public schools on small New England towns.

My coverage of the scandal around the firing of a beloved youth minister from St. Mary’s parish in Winchester, Massachusetts won 2nd place in religion reporting category at the New England Newspaper Association (NENPA).

My 2021 essay on becoming a U.S. citizen was listed as a notable essay in the Best American Essays 2022 anthology.

While getting my master’s in journalism at Boston University, I worked with best-selling author Mitchell Zuckoff on researching the stories of 9/11 victims and survivors for his book Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11.

I speak Ukrainian, Russian, and French. I currently live in Somerville, MA with my husband and three children.

Shoot me an email, I’m always on the lookout for story ideas: mariya.manzhos@gmail.com