West Virginia native Kate Long has worked as a media writing coach for 20 years. Based at the Charleston (WV) Gazette, she has visited dozens of papers in the U.S. and Canada and has presented seminars at conferences sponsored by the National Writers Workshop, Poynter, APME, API, the Freedom Forum and others.

As a writer, radio producer and songwriter, she has won the National Headliner Best of Show Award for Radio Features (Marketplace feature, 1999), the Gabriel Award for radio programming (West Virginia Public Broadcasting series, 2003), the Delta Kappa Gamma International Award for the book most likely to influence directions in education (Johnny’s Such a Bright Boy, What a Shame He’s Retarded, Houghton Mifflin 1977), and the International Bluegrass Music Association Song of the Year (“Who Will Watch the Homeplace,” 1994).

Long holds an M.A. in Education from The George Washington University and a B.A. in English from West Virginia University. She is 58 years old.