Kathryn Pilgrim, known professionally as Kitty Pilgrim, has worked throughout her career as international journalist and author. She was a

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

and correspondent for 25 years. She has been active in the world of foreign policy, covering many international issues. She is currently a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a distinguished fellow at the EastWest Institute, (EWI) an NGO that serves to reduce international conflict. In her free time she write international romantic thrillers, and mysteries, based on science and exploration. Her novels ''The Explorer's Code''. and ''The Stolen Chalice'', were published by Scribner. Her third novel "''Summer of Fire''" came out in 2014.

Biography

Pilgrim graduated from

Manhattanville College Manhattanville College is a private university in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 at 412 Houston Street in lower Manhattan, it was initially known as Academy of the Sacred Heart, then after 1847 as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart ...

Purchase, New York Purchase is a hamlet in the town and village of Harrison, in Westchester County, New York, United States. One myth explains that its name is derived from Harrison's purchase, where John Harrison was to be granted as much land as he could ride in ...

, in 1976 with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. She studied Russian, which ultimately led to her career in journalism. She delivered the

commencement speech A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the world. The commencement ...

for the Class of 2012, earning an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Manhattanville College. She has a master's from the

School of International and Public Affairs The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. It ...

(SIPA) at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. She attended the Harriman Institute for Advanced Study of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Many of her academic fellowships involved security issues in various regions of the world. She was a fellow at the

Salzburg Global Seminar Salzburg Global Seminar is a non-profit organization that challenges current and future leaders to shape a better world. It convenes programs on health care, education, culture, finance, technology, public policy, media, human rights, corporate g ...

in Salzburg, Austria, for Asian Pacific security, a fellow at the

East–West Center The East–West Center (EWC), or the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peopl ...

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii, for Asian economic and security issues, and a Hong Kong journalism fellow and a fellow in the East–West Center's Korean Journalism exchange. She is interested in science and exploration and is a fellow in the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

in London, and a full member of the

Explorer's Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

of New York City. .

Journalist

Pilgrim worked as New York-based anchor and correspondent for CNN for 25 years. Her travels have taken her on special assignments to Russia, Cuba, China, Japan, South Korea, Europe, and parts of Africa. In domestic reporting she covered economics, politics, and a range of other topics. She was part of the CNN team that broadcast continuously in New York during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

and in the weeks thereafter. Kitty Pilgrim was a New York City-based

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

and

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

for

beginning with CNN in 1986 as a

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

, and was named correspondent shortly thereafter. She anchored her own broadcast, ''Early Edition'', in 1998 and 1999 and served as an anchor for CNN, CNNI,

CNNfn CNNfn (fn = financial news) was an American cable television news network operated by the CNN subsidiary of the media conglomerate Time Warner from December 29, 1995, and of AOL Time Warner until December 15, 2004. The network was dedicated to co ...

, and Headline News for more than a decade. Starting in 2001, she was prime-time back-up anchor for the 7PM hour on CNN. She also served as a correspondent for CNN's Southeast Bureau and was the lead correspondent in CNN's coverage of the

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

anti-abortion violence Anti-abortion violence is violence committed against individuals and organizations that perform abortions or provide abortion counseling. Incidents of violence have included destruction of property, including vandalism; crimes against people, in ...

in 1998 and the subsequent hunt for suspect

Eric Rudolph Eric Robert Rudolph (born September 19, 1966), also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is an American domestic terrorist convicted for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injur ...

. She was also part of the CNN ''Moneyline'' team that won an

Overseas Press Club The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...

Award for its live broadcasts from

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, in 1995. Pilgrim has won 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 ...

, Peabody and the New York Society of Black Journalists Award for field reporting on social and economic issues in South Africa.

Author

Using her reporting skills and knowledge of international affairs, Pilgrim has written romantic thrillers with an international flavor, featuring an

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

John Sinclair, and a female

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...

, Cordelia Stapleton. ''The Explorer's Code'' is the first in the series, published by Scribner in 2011. Her novels are "fact-based fiction"—certain events and locations are true to life. Her thrillers are characterized by their diverse locations and "around the world" approach. According to

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

, the book is held in 588 libraries. In 2010 she signed a two-book deal with New York publisher

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

. Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''The Explorer's Code'', was quickly followed by a sequel "the Stolen Chalice". The book is held in 421 libraries. A third novel based on the same characters. "Summer of Fire" was published by River Grove. The book is held in 65 libraries. WorldCat book entry
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References

External links

www.kittypilgrim.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilgrim, Kitty Living people School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Writers from Poughkeepsie, New York 1954 births American broadcast news analysts Manhattanville College alumni CNN people Journalists from New York (state)