About
Daryna Tobey began working for BobVila.com in September 2020 and assumed the role of deputy editor for the Service & News team in June 2021. She has been a professional editor and writer for 20 years and specializes in content relating to home, garden, wine, food, and travel.
Experience
Before joining the Bob Vila team as a deputy editor, Daryna was an independent writer and editor whose work appeared on such websites as Fortune.com, Eater, Food52, and Time.com. Prior to starting her own writing and editing business, she was the site manager and editor of Gannett’s parenting website, MomsLikeMe.com, and a contributor to The Journal News, the local Gannett newspaper.
As an editor in Reader’s Digest’s books division for home and garden/health and wellness, Daryna spearheaded home-improvement titles such as “Save $20,000 With a Nail: More Than 1,900 Practical Tips for a Problem-Free Home.” As a senior editor and tasting panelist for Wine Enthusiast Magazine, she wrote and edited articles on wine, food, and travel, and evaluated more than 1,500 wines a year. She has also taught writing, literature, and critical reading courses at New York University and for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth, where she received an outstanding instructor nomination.
Daryna has lived in a 1930s Cape Cod fixer-upper for over a decade and has endured two down-to-the-studs bathroom renovations, a gut kitchen renovation, septic field repair, Hardie Board siding installation, and a host of other major improvements, and happily takes on less- involved DIYs herself. Though an avid gardener—one who is adept at growing Hatch chile peppers, heirloom tomatoes, and other veggies—she can’t seem to keep apple trees or cilantro alive, no matter how hard she tries.
Education
Daryna graduated cum laude from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature, where she was also an editor and executive board member of the Harvard Lampoon. She has both a Master of Arts and a Master of Philosophy from New York University, also in English literature.
Highlights
- Specialties and interests: Vegetable gardening, edible landscaping, wine tasting, cooking, and reading
- Education: Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Harvard College, Master of Arts and Master of Philosophy in English literature from New York University
- Other work: Former editor at Gannett, Reader’s Digest home and garden books, and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Bylines on Fortune.com, Time.com, Eater, and Food52
Notable Works
Best DIY Advice
Outdoors: “Gardeners can save tons of money by getting free compost and mulch from their local municipalities. You may have to shovel the compost yourself, but fabric grow bags make durable, lightweight transport ‘buckets.'”
Indoors: “I started this tradition during the early days of the pandemic, and it makes me so happy: In our home, string lights stay up year-round. (Command Hooks make them a snap to hang.) We have warm white icicle lights hanging around our living room windows, and they cast just the right amount of light for that first before-sunrise cup of coffee.”
