While
Marianne’s
roots are in
Joliet, her
family was
part of the
Eastern
European
emigration
that helped to
build Joliet’s
diverse
community.
links
Marianne Wolf was born and raised in
Joliet. Marianne attended high school at
Saint Francis Academy in Joliet, and is a
graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University
(Bloomington) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree. She also studied European
Literature in Paris and Brussels, and
Business Management in London and
Lucerne. Marianne is an MFA candidate
in the Fiction Writing Program of
Columbia College Chicago. While
Marianne’s roots are in Joliet, her family
was part of the Eastern European
emigration that helped to build Joliet’s
diverse community.
“At the age of 16, my paternal grandfather decided not to return with his father
to their native village, Plešce, Croatia. Grandpa wanted to stay in Joliet where
he could work and own what he called a proper pair of shoes. My maternal
grandfather and his parents also came to Joliet from Croatia, from the village of
Mrkopalj. I remember both my grandfathers as hard working, determined men
who never complained. My parents and grandparents taught me life’s values:
the importance of family, the neighborhood parish and its community,
education, and my work ethic.”
Following family traditions, Marianne is an active member of the Joliet Croatian
Cultural Club, Croatian Fraternal Union of America (Lodge 18), the Slovenian
Women’s Union of America (Branch 20), and a 50-year member of Kranjsko
Slovenska Katoliska Jednota (Lodge 20). Her grandfather proudly enrolled her
in the latter when she was only a toddler!

Marianne writes from the heart — and her short stories have won public and
professional acclaim. Marianne’s fiction has appeared in anthologies
published by Outrider Press, Inc. — She is currently working on a novel.
“The Voile Dress” was published in Family Gatherings (2003).
“Tethered” was published in Things That Go BUMP in the Night (2004)
“The Luncheon” was published in Falling in Love:
Love the Second Time Around (2005)  
“Puerto Vallarta, A Voodoo Vacation” was published in Vacations:
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (2006)
"Mica's Garden" was published in Walk Through My Garden (2007)
"Bodacious" was published in Wild Things, Domestic and Otherwise (2008)
"Alpha Male" was published in Fearsome Fascinations (2009)


Booklist Magazine called “The Voile Dress” heartrending, and this poignant
work of fiction was selected as a 2004 winner of the Illinois Woman’s Press
Association’s Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest.
Marianne’s stories have also appeared in Zajednicar, the national newspaper of
the Croatian Fraternal Union of America and KSKJ Voice, a publication of the
American Slovenian Catholic Union.  

Serving the community is important to Marianne. She served as
Director of Volunteers
for Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs (1996-2008) designing the
overall volunteer program for the department. She also developed the volunteer
program for the first American venue of the 4th International Congress of
Educating Cities. She says, “By involving citizens from a variety of
neighborhoods and communities that are Chicago into the Department’s
programs and activities — extraordinary things happen….”
Marianne represented Chicago as an Ambassador during the 1994 World Cup.
She currently serves on the board of the TallGrass Writers Guild and the
recently became president to the Illinois
Woman's Press Association, an affiliate of the National Federation of Press
Women, and the Illinois Wesleyan University Chicago Alumni Board.

Marianne was among the 2009 winners of the Mate E. Palmer Communications
Contest recently announced by the Illinois Woman's Press Association.

During the awards luncheon held on May 16 at the historic Union League Club
of Chicago, Marianne received 1st Place for Manuals and Handbooks for the
Chicago Cultural Center Volunteer Handbook; 2nd Place for Manuals and
Handbooks for the Chicago Cultural Center Volunteer Festival Guide; 3rd Place
for Short Story, Bodacious published in Wild Things, Domestic and Otherwise
published by Outrider Press; 3rd Place for Feature Story, Unlocking History,
Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine; and Honorable Mention for the Volunteer
Network News, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.
photograph by:Chris Guillen