Kim Powers
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Kim Powers is an American writer. His memoir ''The History of Swimming: A Memoir'' was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Biography, and his television writing has brought him two Emmies, a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
, and three
Edward R. Murrow Awards The Edward R. Murrow Award may refer to one of several awards named after American journalist Edward R. Murrow: * Edward R. Murrow Award (Corporation for Public Broadcasting), given out to individuals in public radio since 1977 * Edward Murrow Awa ...
. In 2007, ''
Out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...
'' named him one of their "Out 100," a list of the "top 100 most influential gays or lesbians in the country."


Early life

Powers was born in Texas but currently lives in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188
with his spouse,
Jess Goldstein Jess Goldstein is an American costume designer. He has designed over 30 Broadway shows, including ''Jersey Boys'', '' Take Me Out'' and ''Proof''. He received a Tony Award for Best Costume Design for his work on the play ''The Rivals'', in 2005 ...
. He received an undergraduate degree from
Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
from
Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...
.


Career

Powers worked at
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
from 2008 to 2020, writing for ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' and ''
Primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
.'' He was also a staff writer for
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...
's ''The Lot'', producer for
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
's ''
Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is pr ...
'', as well as executive developer for other film and television projects. His coverage of 9/11 won him an
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
and a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
, and while writing for 20/20, his team won three consecutive
Edward R. Murrow Awards The Edward R. Murrow Award may refer to one of several awards named after American journalist Edward R. Murrow: * Edward R. Murrow Award (Corporation for Public Broadcasting), given out to individuals in public radio since 1977 * Edward Murrow Awa ...
.


Selected works


''The History of Swimming'' (2006)

''The History of Swimming: A Memoir'', published August 13, 2006 by
Da Capo Press Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional of ...
, is "an examination of the unique relationship shared by twins, and a coming-of-age story of a gay man in the era of AIDS." ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' provided a starred review, calling the book "a powerful nod to familial bonding, written with verve and genuine affection." The book received positive reviews from ''
Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
'' and ''
The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
''. ''Booklist'' called ''The History of Swimming'' "haunting." ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' provided a mixed review, saying the "uneven writing distracts from the story." However, they noted, "Powers's strength in relating his own personal struggles within the context of his twin's holds this unique memoir together." Discussing the book, Powers was interviewed on ''
20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
'' with
Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', '' Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and '' Primetime'' newsmag ...
, as well as with the
Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...
. In 2007, the book was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Biography.


''Dig Two Graves'' (2015)

''Dig Two Graves'' was published December 4, 2015 by
Gallery Books Gallery Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster which houses the imprints Gallery Books, Pocket Books, Scout Press, Gallery 13, and Saga Press. Jen Bergstrom is the Senior Vice President and Publisher. ...
. The book received positive reviews from ''
Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
,
School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...
'', ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'', and ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
''.


Publications

* ''The History of Swimming: A Memoir'' (2006) * ''Capote in Kansas: A Ghost Story'' (2007) * ''Dig Two Graves'' (2015) * ''Rules for Being Dead'' (2020)


Filmography


Actor

* ''
Finding North ''Finding North'' is a 1998 gay-themed independent comedy-drama film. Written by Kim Powers and directed by Tanya Wexler, the film stars Wendy Makkena and John Benjamin Hickey. Plot ''Finding North'' tells the story of Rhonda (Makkena), a bank ...
'' (1998)


Producer

* ''
20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
'' (2018) * ''The Lot'' (1999)


Writer

* ''The Year: 2020'' (2020) * ''What Would You Do?'' (2020) * ''
20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
'' (2008, 2010, 2017) * ''The Year: 2019'' (2019) * ''Countdown to the Oscars: 15 Movies That Changed American Cinema'' (2015) * ''25 Years of Sexy: People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive!'' (2010) * ''The Barbara Walters Summer Special'' (2008-2009) * ''Fallen Idol'' (2005) * ''Primetime Live: Brad Pitt's Journey to Africa'' (2005) * ''My Big Wild You're-Not-Gonna-Believe This Wedding'' (2003) * ''The Lot (1999)'' * ''
Finding North ''Finding North'' is a 1998 gay-themed independent comedy-drama film. Written by Kim Powers and directed by Tanya Wexler, the film stars Wendy Makkena and John Benjamin Hickey. Plot ''Finding North'' tells the story of Rhonda (Makkena), a bank ...
'' (1998)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Kim Lambda Literary Award winners David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni Austin College alumni American LGBT screenwriters