About Stephen

Stephen Kiernan was born in Newtonville, NY the sixth of seven children. A graduate of Middlebury College, he received a Master of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Over two-plus decades as a journalist he has won 40 awards, including the Bechner Institute’s Freedom of Information Award, the Gerald Loeb Award for financial journalism (two time commentary finalist) and the George Polk Award.

He has taught at Middlebury College and the New England Young Writers Conference, and has worked on the staff of the Breadloaf School of English and the Breadloaf Writers Conference. He serves on the board of the Young Writers Project and the advisory committee of the New Hampshire Palliative Care Initiative.

In addition, Stephen travels the country speaking to varied audiences about health care, civic engagement, ethics, service learning, meaningful living, medical research, the green economy, criminal justice, race relations, the power of personal commitment, hospice, palliative care and advance directives.

Stephen has also performed on the guitar since he was ten years old. In addition to recording 3 CDs of solo instrumentals, he has composed music for dance, the stage, documentaries and TV specials.

He lives in Vermont with his two amazing sons.