Katie Fallon
Author of Vulture and Cerulean Blues, Executive Director of Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia
Katie Fallon is the author of the nonfiction books Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird and Cerulean Blues: A Personal Search for a Vanishing Songbird, which was a Finalist for the Reed Award for Outstanding Writing on the Southern Environment. Katie is also the co-author of two books for children, Look, See the Bird! (2017) and Look, See the Farm! (2018), both from Hatherleigh Press.
Katie writes the column WINGBEATS for Bird Watcher’s Digest. Her essays and articles have appeared in a variety of other journals and magazines, including Fourth Genre, River Teeth, Ecotone, Bark Magazine, Still, Appalachian Heritage, Now & Then, Isotope, Fourth River, the minnesota review, The Tusculum Review, and elsewhere.
Katie is Executive Director of the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving wild birds through research, education, and rehabilitation. The ACCA is based near Morgantown, WV, and each year treats more than 500 injured wild birds, conducts dozens of environmental education programs, and sponsors research projects. A member of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators and a Certified Professional Bird Trainer, Katie has conducted educational programs featuring a variety of raptor, parrot, and corvid species. Katie has also served as President of the Mountaineer Chapter of the National Audubon Society, and she is the Market Manager for the Cheat Lake Farmers Market.
In 2022, Katie ran for a seat in the West Virginia state legislature and was narrowly defeated (by just 138 votes!)
A lifelong resident of Appalachia, Katie’s great-great grandfather, great-grandfather, and grandfather were coal miners in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. She lives in Cheat Lake, WV, with her family.
Katie’s first word was “bird.”