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 for Las Vegas Weekly and later became an editor for Las Vegas Life Magazine. Along the way, she's stalked celebrities for People Magazine, co-authored guidebooks on Las Vegas, authored guidebooks 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, Kate took the freelance plunge, eventually moving to Chicago to live closer to family. Today, she juggles a healthy mix of editorial, corporate work, content marketing and ghostwriting. Her work appears in The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, O the Oprah Magazine, Saveur, Bloomberg Businessweek, Men’s Health and Crain’s Chicago Business. Kate is the author of Frommer’s Easy Guide to Chicago and Frommer’s Chicago Day by Day, as well as a number of ghostwritten books. Lately, she’s focusing more on working with families to document their histories. Kate is a member of the Association of Ghostwriters and the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
Looking back on her career, a montage of memorable moments include the following:
Writing about her love story, travels and pizza for the Washington Post
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.
Staying 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.
Interviewing her nephews for a Washington Post piece about Chicago’s WNDR Museum.
Taking a trolley around Manitowoc, Wisconsin with my family to learn about her grandfather’s most famous contribution to the zeitgeist: the Evergleam aluminum Christmas tree.
Kate lives in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood (which was recently named one of the top five coolest neighborhoods in the world by Time Out Magazine), where she’s always on the lookout for Mexican food that rivals the Tex-Mex of her youth. When she’s not losing herself in the latest journalistic or ghostwriting project, she likes to jog, play the piano and explore new and exciting places, whether they’re in Chicago or somewhere far, far away.
Awards
Content Marketing Awards, Finalist, 2025
“Serving Up Opportunity,” sponsored content for Politico FOCUS
MarCom Awards, Platinum, 2024
”A Formula for Economic Growth,” sponsored content for Politico FOCUS
MarCom Awards, Gold, 2024
”A Picture of Strength,” sponsored content for Politico FOCUS
Association of Health Care Journalists, First place, Consumer feature, 2020
”Learning from the Dead: The enduring gift of donating a body to science,” Chicago Health Magazine
Peter Lisagor Award for Best Feature Story, Chicago Headline Club, 2020
”Learning from the Dead: The enduring gift of donating a body to science,” Chicago Health Magazine
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, Silver Medal, Best Feature Article, 2010
“How Mya Saved Jacob,” Spirit Magazine
City Regional Magazine Association, Gold Medal, 2006
“52 Things Every Las Vegan Must Do,” Las Vegas Life Magazine
Maggie Award Finalist, Western Publications Association, Best Series, 2004
“Wedding Chapel Wars,” Las Vegas Weekly
Outstanding Journalist, Nevada Press Association, 2003
Staff writer, Las Vegas Weekly
Journalist of Merit, Nevada Press Association, 2001
Staff writer, Las Vegas Weekly
