Kirstin Downey

Kirstin Downey is an American journalist and author. She was a staff writer for The Washington Post from 1988 to 2008.

Personal life Downey was born in Abington, Pennsylvania. Because her parents were in the military, she moved around a lot throughout her childhood.

Downey attended Pennsylvania State University, where she studied journalism. In 2000, she received a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University, where she studied economic history at Harvard Business School. She also participated in the Harvard Trade Union Program. with her husband (Neil Warner Averitt) and their five children.

Career Downey began her career in journalism, writing for newspapers in Florida and Colorado before moving to San Jose, California, to write for the San Jose Mercury. In 1988, she began writing for The Washington Post,

In 2008, she was among Washington Post staff members who received a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for their coverage of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. and Publishers Weekly. The book was named one of the best nonfiction books of 2009 by the Library of Congress, the American Library Association,

Isabella received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, who wrote, "this rich, clearly written biography is a worthy chronicle of [Isabella's] impressive yet controversial life."

Publications

The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience (2009) A Promise to All Generations: Stories & Essays about Social Security & Frances Perkins (2011) Isabella: The Warrior Queen (2014) Plague Ship: The Untold Story of Captain Cook and His Legacy (2022)