ALISON O'LEARY
ABOUT ME
Author Alison O'Leary is a longtime journalist who has worked for newspapers from Austin, Texas to Reno, Nevada; Bath, Maine and suburban Boston. She was a correspondent for the Boston Globe, editor of The Boston Parents' Paper and skirt! magazines.
Along with freelance writing and public speaking, Alison is available to edit manuscripts and assist aspiring authors with book projects and memoirs. She was developmental editor of Lyons Press' Life and Death at Cape Disappointment book by Chris D'Amelio (May 2021) and assisted author Michael Tougias with manuscripts and marketing.
The middle reader book Abandon Ship (Little, Brown 2023) represents weeks of research in UK archives and museums. Several first-person accounts of survival described in the book were not previously published, including that of Josephine Frame. In early 2022 Alison discovered "Jo" and was welcomed to her home near London for tea. The Wall Street Journal's review called Abandon Ship "sensational" and "propulsive."
An avid outdoorswoman, Inns and Adventures appealed to Alison's sense of adventure and love for all things New England. Her favorite part of the book is dreaming of a sequel while exploring new hikes, swimming under waterfalls, and tearing down white knuckle mountain bike trails.
Alison is honored to be part of the Appalachian Mountain Club's tradition of publishing guidebooks like Best Day Hikes Near Boston. A history buff and dedicated hiker, Alison shares the best of the book in her Hikes Through History program available to libraries and outdoors groups. In 2023 she is offering a compendium of hiking topics to library audiences with her Hiking A to Z program.
So Close to Home offered an opportunity to explore the collision of a struggling American family and a German U-boat crew, producing a roller coaster tale of striving, success, and setbacks.
Alison has won awards for writing and editing over the years: a 2017 Charlie Award (silver) for history writing from the Florida Magazine Association and numerous awards from the Parenting Publications of America organization for her work at The Boston Parents' Paper, including for travel writing.