In
pursuit of a story, Kim A. O'Connell has drunk Civil War-style black
coffee brewed over an open flame, climbed to the top of the rotunda at
the Virginia State Capitol, and constructed a rare all-metal house in
the Museum of Modern Art. She's marched across Civil War battlefields and hiked in iconic national parks. Kim has been published in numerous national and regional publications on topics ranging from Civil War history to modern architecture, and from conservation to parenting. She has also written 15 nonfiction books for young people. Her essay on her family's struggle with selective mutism, a rare anxiety disorder, was picked up on the front page of Yahoo News, where it garnered more than 1,000 comments, and was later included in a textbook on speech disorders. She writes essays and blogs, and is working on a novel called The Lifesaving Station, set at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In her spare time, Kim is an active PTA and community volunteer who loves to read, go to concerts, hang out with friends, and drink black coffee. But absolutely nothing tops being out on a trail or on a beach with her husband and two kids.
Awards and Accolades
Writing fellow, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
Third Prize, Bethesda Literary Festival Writing Competition
Finalist, Moving Words Poetry Competition
First Prize, National Association of Real Estate Editors Journalism Competition
The Lee Prize and the Alumni Prize, Master's Program in Historic Preservation, Goucher College
The Bradford Williams Medal, the American Society of Landscape Architects