Indiana journalist Rita Kohn shares passon for books, plays and TV documentaries

Journalist Rita Kohn

She is a journalist for all media. She has to her credit 20 books, more than 25 produced plays, five television documentaries, and thousands of articles for print and on-line publications. After I was elected NFPW president last year, she was one of the first to send me a note of congratulations and then was gracious enough to share recent writing samples with me. She is modest (suggesting someone else deserved to be highlighted instead) but as you can see, she is another unique, unbelievable NFPW member. Meet outstanding journalist Rita Kohn.

Name: Rita Kohn

City and State: Indianapolis, IN

Affiliate and any leadership positions: Woman’s Press Club of Indiana and last year’s Indiana Communicator of Achievement

Years a member of NFPW: going on 4

Tell us a little about you.

I’m a full time writer [re-writer–since I tend to ‘edit’ myself a lot] in diverse fields of journalism, playwrighting, non-fiction, fiction, poetry, picture books, ballet librettos, documentary-making, exhibit-creating; editing, theatre directing. I spent many years as a teacher and writer, before taking the plunge into supporting myself as a writer.

Any career advice you would give? Be an interesting person with an inquisitive nature so you always want to learn something new/fresh so you’ll have lots to write about and never suffer bloc.

Which talent would you most like to have?

Green thumb to have a flourishing foodways and flower gardens.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Thinking of moving all these books keeps me content to be where I am. I like to travel so it’s nice to be where there’s a hub of highways, flyways, byways

What book are you reading?

“The Richmond Group Artists” by Shaun Thomas Dingwerth [Indiana University Press, 2014]; an engaging ‘untold story’ of the overlooked 19th Century Indiana artists whose mark on the art of plein air/landscape and studio painting needs a ‘shout out.’

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I write a weekly craft beer column and have published two books about  craft beer: ‘True Brew: A Guide to Craft Beer in Indiana” [Indiana University Press, 2010]; and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Beer Tasting” [Alpha Books, 2013]. I’m working on a third along with books in other fields of interest.

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?

WPCI membership brings with it delightful associations across a wide spectrum; NFPW brings attention to the importance of all points of view in the various fields of journalism–the feminine gender adds depth and breadth to the fifth estate–let’s make that grow.

Way to follow you on a website, twitter, Facebook, etc.

I’m a terribly derelict  social media selfie– but you can find my journalism at nuvo.net and exploredance.com; just google Rita Kohn for titles of books published, plays produced.

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Tags: book author, Indiana, NFPW, Rita Kohn, TV documetary

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