About
Chuck Snearly is an award-winning writer whose literary novels use mystery, crime, and speculative ideas to explore moral courage, grief, and the cost of disengaging from life. His protagonists are thoughtful men at moments of reckoning, forced to choose between safety and involvement, belief and withdrawal. Set largely in Michigan and Detroit, his work blends intellect, empathy, dark humor, and forward momentum, using genre not as an end point but as a lens for examining how people decide to live.
Prior to forming his communications consulting company, Speech Right, Inc., he worked in public relations at Ford Motor Company where, as Chief Speechwriter, he wrote more than one thousand speeches for senior executives. The highlight of his time at Ford was writing speeches for Executive Chair Bill Ford, helping him articulate his ‘Better World’ vision of corporate social and environmental responsibility.
Chuck has written four books. His nonfiction book, Speech Right, is used as a speechwriting textbook in college classes. His first novel, The Guardian of Detritus, is a comic crime noir mystery set in Detroit. His second novel, Far Out Man, takes the traditional crime thriller in a whole new direction. His latest novel, The Bluegrass Devils of Detroit, is an action-packed treasure hunt filled with riddles and fiddles. His next novel, Hemingway Fished Here, will be published in 2026.
His company, Speech Right, Inc., specializes in speechwriting. Recent clients include Ford Motor Company, Royal Dutch Shell, the Bosch Group, Dean Foods and the University of Detroit Mercy. He has written speeches for the senior executives of two of the top five biggest companies in the world, six chairmen of the board, a famous/infamous Detroit politician, two university presidents and a member of British Parliament. In addition to working as a freelance speechwriter, he has done communications consulting with the Detroit Economic Club and lectured at the University of Michigan, Albion College and Indiana University.
Chuck has won numerous awards, including the Award of Excellence for Speechwriting, International Association of Business Communicators; the Grand Prize Winner for Annual Report Letter, International ARC Award; First Place for Narrative Presentation, Annual Report Competition, American Business Communicators; and the Award of Excellence, Video Documentary, 13th Annual Communicator Awards.