Award-winning storytelling about science, nature, and history.
What they’re saying about Kim Todd’s work
“A breathtaking example of scholarship and storytelling.”
Meet Kim TODD
I am the author of four books of literary nonfiction, including Sparrow; Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis; and Tinkering with Eden: a Natural History of Exotic Species in America.
My most recent, Sensational: The Hidden History of America’s “Girl Stunt Reporters,” published by HarperCollins in 2021, goes deep into the lives of undercover journalists who exposed societal ills in the 1880s and 1890s.
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Praise for Sensational:
Richard Frisbee Adult Nonfiction Award, Honoree.
Minnesota Book Awards, General Nonfiction, Finalist.
American Journalism Historians Association Book of the Year, Finalist.
“Kim Todd’s awe-inspiring Sensational provides long-overdue recognition to a remarkable cadre of women journalists. Todd masterfully reconstructs the lives and work of these female pioneers of investigative reporting who went undercover at enormous personal risk to publish frontpage exposes of the brutal treatment of workers, patients, orphans, and other defenseless members of society. Now, thanks to Todd’s assiduous research and crisp writing, these courageous women will no longer be the hidden figures of journalism history.” — James McGrath Morris, author of Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power
“At the height of the turn-of-the century newspaper wars, these "girl reporters" did their work for the same reasons men did--a keen sense of social justice, along with a taste for adventure and writerly fame. Their gender (and the anonymity it provided) often gave them a leg up in reporting, drew in hordes of excited readers--and, of course, held back their careers and suppressed their pay. Sensational is an illuminating look at female pioneers working at a key moment in American journalism.” — Liza Mundy, author of Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II
“Ms. Todd’s resurrection of these courageous reporters is fascinating because the women and their stories are so vibrant.” — Wall Street Journal
“An engaging and enlightening portrait of trailblazers who ‘challenged…views of what a woman should be.’” — Kirkus
Reviews of Kim Todd’s other work:
“A fascinating narrative enhanced by Todd’s far reaching research and storytelling abilities.” —Bookpage
“A profoundly important cautionary tale that is at the same time, both illuminating and entertaining." —William Kittredge
DISCOVER KIM TOdd’S BOOKS
Sensational: The Hidden History of America’s “Girl Stunt Reporters”
Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis
Sparrow
Tinkering with Eden: A Natural History of Exotic Species in America
