About Kate
Kate Silver has been writing professionally for more than 20 years. She got her start writing news and features as a staff writer with Las Vegas Weekly. Along the way, she's stalked celebrities for People Magazine, co-authored guidebooks on Las Vegas, authored a guidebook on Chicago, ghostwritten books and investigated off-the-beaten path stories (like one about the so-called “Wedding Chapel Wars,” and another where she "embedded" as a Mary Kay independent beauty consultant for a year) for national outlets.
In 2007, she took the freelance plunge, eventually moving to Chicago to live closer to family. Today, she juggles a healthy mix of editorial, corporate work and content marketing, specializing in travel, health and business writing. Her work appears in The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, O the Oprah Magazine, Saveur, Bloomberg Businessweek, Men’s Health and Crain’s Chicago Business. She is the author of Frommer’s Easy Guide to Chicago 2015, and is working on a book about a winery in Napa Valley.
Looking back on her career, a montage of memorable moments include the following:
Being named "media person of the year" by the Wisconsin Commercial Deer and Elk Farmers Association.
Eating her way around northwestern Indiana as a judge in a regional pizza competition.
Sleeping around in more than 40 Chicago hotels in a year to review them for The Telegraph in the UK.
Zipping through the streets of Chicago in an IndyCar one day and on an e-bike the next.
Walking what could be the world's slowest marathon (11 hours, 59 minutes) around Chicago.
Biking from Chicago to Canada (with only a brief ER detour).
Irking one of The Beatles (maybe I'll tell you about that one in person, over a glass of wine).
Attending Butterball University with Butterball Help Line trainees.
Spending a year embedded in Mary Kay Cosmetics as an independent beauty consultant.
Interviewing Bea Arthur and sharing restaurant tips with her.
Getting kicked out of a Justin Timberlake interview for asking tough questions.
Bicycling through Las Vegas neighborhoods with Mormon missionaries.
Exploring Colorado City, Arizona, for a story about Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saint community.
Meeting with a self-proclaimed hit man to discuss crimes wreaking havoc on the wedding industry in Las Vegas. The story was published in Playboy magazine.
Silver is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Association for Women Journalists. She lives in the Lincoln Square neighborhood with her husband and their tiny cross-eyed cat, Lemmy. In her free time, she attempts jogging, enjoys cycling and ponders whether or not she really should have purchased that Instant Pot.
Awards
American Society of Journalists and Authors, Best Reported Essay, Honorable Mention, 2019
”The silver Christmas tree, an icon of Space-Age kitsch, turns 60,” Washington Post
Peter Lisagor Award for Best Feature Story, Chicago Headline Club, 2016
“Needles In The Cornfields: Heroin Deaths Are Rising As State-Funded Treatment Falls In Illinois,” Chicago Health Magazine
American Society of Journalists and Authors, Best Health Story, Honorable Mention
“Needles In The Cornfields: Heroin Deaths Are Rising As State-Funded Treatment Falls In Illinois,” Chicago Health Magazine
Media Person of the Year, Wisconsin Commercial Deer and Elk Farmers Association, 2013
“The Elk Whisperer,” Madison Magazine
Association of Journalists and Author's Best Profile of 2010
“How Mya Saved Jacob,” Spirit Magazine
Custom Publishing Council Pearl Award
2010, Silver Medal, Best Feature Article, “How Mya Saved Jacob,” Spirit Magazine
City Regional Magazine Association
2006, Gold Medal, “52 Things Every Las Vegan Must Do”
Maggie Award Finalist
2004, Best Series, “Wedding Chapel Wars,” Western Publications Association
Outstanding Journalist
2003, Nevada Press Association
Journalist of Merit
2001, Nevada Press Association