MIKE KESSLER

GREETINGS! THANKS FOR VISITING.

THIS JUST IN – MY ARTICLE ABOUT THE ARREST, RELEASE, DEATH, AND DISAPPEARANCE OF MITRICE RICHARDSON – IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE — NOW AT NEWSSTANDS & BOOKSTORES . I HOPE YOU’LL READ THIS VERY IMPORTANT STORY.

Here’s a link to the Today Show’s August 22 coverage of Mitrice’s story and my article.

Here’s a link to KPPC’s Madeleine Brand Show, which also had me as a guest on August 22.

Tuesday August 23: LA Observed picks up the Mitrice story. So Does L.A. Weekly.

Link to an August 24 appearance on KFI’s John and Ken Show.

I’LL BE TWEETING AND/OR BLOGGING ABOUT IT HERE AS NEWS OF THE CASE UNFOLDS.

ABOUT MY WRITING I write long, deeply reported feature-length magazine articles; profiles of many lengths; the occasional essay (sometimes purely personal, sometimes topical and reported); and the occasional service piece or package (which I used to do a lot more of). I’m currently working on projects for Men’s Health, Mountain, Outside, and Wired magazines.

My work has appeared in Away.com, Backpacker, Budget Travel, Details, Esquire.com, Inc., Los Angeles Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Men’s Journal, Mountain magazine (where I am a masthead contributor), New York, New York Times Magazine, Salon.com, Skiing, Sports Afield, Sports Illustrated Women, 5280 (Denver’s most excellent city magazine), and many other national publications.

Some of my work can also be found on byliner.com and sportsfeat.com two websites with big databases of longform journalism/writers from all sorts of publications (byliner commissions original works, too).

“Out in the Cold“, an article I wrote for Denver’s 5280 magazine in 2007, received great critical acclaim, including:

• Finalist for 2008 National Magazine Award in the Public Interest category.
Click here to view the list of finalists and winners.
• Inclusion in Best American Magazine Writing 2008.
Click here to purchase a copy.
• Winner of 2008 City and Regional Magazine Award in the Civic Journalism category
Click here to view CRMA’s homepage, which lists other winners and finalists.
• Winner of 2008 WPA Maggie Award for Feature Writing
Click here to view the list of finalists and winners.
• Finalist for Northwestern University’s Medill John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest Magazine Journalism. Click here to view the list of finalists and winners.

Other recent writing achievements include:

• Bronze medal at 2007 City and Regional Magazine Awards in the Profile-writing category for “A Leg to Stand On” (5280, December, 2006). Click here to read the story.
• Notable list of Best American Sports Writing 2006 for “Free Fall” (Skiing, December 2005).
Click here to read the story.

Here’s a link to a recent story in Mountain Sports + Living about medical marijuana and crystal meth use in the U.S. Mountain West.

Here’s a story about my fast-and-cheap trip to Tokyo for Budget Travel.

Here is a piece in Outside the Daily Beast calls a “vivid and harrowing story” about the man who shut down Aspen with a bomb scare.

Here’s a recent one about funny-man Harry Shearer for New York magazine.

Those articles are also accessible via the “WORK“ link at the top of this page, which features selected recent writing samples.

ABOUT MY WORK AS AN EDITOR In addition to being a writer, I’ve been an editor since 1996. I’ve edited tight, bright, front-of-book sections, long and complicated narrative features, department-length reports, personal essays, humor/commentary, book excerpts, and service copy/packages of virtually every kind. I’ve edited several award-nominated articles and worked with dozens of authors and journalists both up-and-coming and well known. Here’s a quick look at some of my highlights and achievements as an editor:

• Articles Editor and Editor-at-Large of 5280, Denver’s city magazine (2006-2008)
• Gold Medal at the 2007 City and Regional Magazine Awards in the Leisure/Lifestyle Interests category. Here’s an essay I wrote for that package; it’s about my small, very cool dogs.
• Executive Editor at Skiing magazine (Boulder, CO; 2003-2006)
• Founding editor and Editor-in-Chief of No Boundaries, an adventure-travel magazine that won a WPA Maggie Award for Best Quarterly in 2002.
• Staff editor at Outside magazine (Santa Fe, NM; 1996-1998)

I still do some freelance editing, mostly for a cool new quarterly called Mountain magazine, which is based in Boulder, CO, and run by some of the folks who used to run or work for Skiing and Outside magazines.

Last year, I did a late-round edit of Tracy Ross’s, “The Source of All Things,” a memoir that’s been well-received. In the acknowledgements page, Tracy characterized me as a “master storyteller” and “soldier of truth.” I thought that was nice.

For references or a complete career bio, please email me at the address at the top of this page.

TEACHING Earlier this year, I taught a narrative journalism course at UCLA Extension. I plan to teach again this fall. I loved teaching, and most of my students enjoyed the class, too. Here’s what some of them had to say:

• “This course is the best that I have taken.” “…More courses like this, and teachers like Kessler.”

• “…Very positive; he believes in students’ potential and is a motivator.”

• “This is the best class I’ve taken in the [UCLA Ext.] journalism program! I feel like I’ve made huge strides just in these 10 weeks. This class is the perfect blend of writing development and practical suggestions for pitching and launching your career.”

• “We got to discuss the story process with so many accomplished writers…”

• ”Very accessible and supportive.”

• “Mike is an amazing teacher, incredibly passionate and helpful. I’ve never had a teacher go out of his way so much to help give extra input, reading suggestions, and instructions above and beyond what was required for class.”

DOCUMENTARY TELEVISION WORK In 2000-2001, I co-developed/co-produced/co-wrote “No Boundaries,” a 4-part (4-hour) documentary TV series about outdoor sports and adventure travel. It aired on the Fox Network and was later re-run by Outdoor Life Network. I also wrote the narrative voiceover copy for an episode of a Tech TV series called “Wired for Sex.”

THAT’S ALL, FOLKS

Website: www.mikekessler.com