2017 Fellow Spotlight: Kathy Trocheck

This is one in a series of spotlights profiling members of the 2017 Grady Fellowship class, scheduled to be inducted during Grady Salutes: A Celebration of Achievement, Commitment and Leadership on April 28, 2017. See “2017 Fellowship Class Announced” to view a complete list of Fellows. Please see the Grady Salutes webpage for details on this sold-out event.

Kathy Hogan Trocheck (ABJ ’76) is a native of St. Petersburg, Florida. She enrolled at UGA because, accotding to Trocheck, her father believed The University of Florida was “too wild” in 1972.  Her first paid writing assignment was for The Red and Black, where she later served as assistant news editor, news editor and associate social director.

Six months after graduating from Grady College where she majored in newspapers, Trocheck married Tom Trocheck, her high school sweetheart. Together they have two children, Katie Trocheck Abel and Andrew Trocheck, and two grandchildren, Molly, seven, and Griffin, five.

After a 14-year career working as a reporter at newspapers including The Savannah Morning News, The Marietta Journal and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she spent the final ten years of her career, Trocheck left journalism in 1991 to write fiction.

Her first novel, “Every Crooked Nanny,” was published in 1992 by HarperCollins Publishers. She went on to write ten critically acclaimed mysteries under her real name. Her mysteries were nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha and Macavity awards for mystery writing.

In 2002, she assumed the pen name Mary Kay Andrews with publication of “Savannah Blues.” In 2006, “Hissy Fit” became her first New York Times bestseller, followed by eleven more New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestsellers. To date, her 25 novels have been published in German, Italian, Polish, Slovenian, Hungarian, Dutch, Czech and Japanese.

Kathy’s first cookbook, The Beach House Cookbook, published by St. Martin’s Press, goes on sale May 2. She and Tom divide their time between homes in Avondale Estates, Georgia and Tybee Island, Georgia.