Kristen Desmond LeFevre

Award-Winning Journalist │ Editor in Chief of Jupiter Magazine and Stuart Magazine

Palm Beach, Florida, United States

About

At the heart of all great writing is story, and the best storytellers are those who have tuned their minds’ ear to find the sweet spot: that intersection of factual and figurative that makes a story meaningful. In each project I take on, I work to find that sweet spot that opens an audience to the story I’m trying to tell. (Because if what we write doesn’t make other people feel something or learn something, what’s the point?) Combining my undergraduate journalism training at Indiana University with my graduate studies in fiction at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, I have worked both as a member of content teams at book publishing houses and magazines, and as an independent fiction writer and freelance journalist. My short fiction stories have been published in literary journals like Confrontation, High Plains Literary Review, and The Gettysburg Review. My magazine journalism has appeared in magazines like Lifestyle, Palm Beach Illustrated, Jupiter Magazine, The Palm Beacher, Gold Coast, Boca Life, Stuart Magazine, art&culture, The Palm Beach Charity Register, Traditions, Fort Lauderdale Illustrated, Aventura, Tallahassee Magazine, and The Key. I am honored to have been named to Folio and Admonsters' Top Women in Media Class of 2020, and to have been recognized as a finalist for Yale University Publishing Course's 2020 Innovative Leader Scholarship Award. In 2021, I was selected to participate in the Poynter Institute's Summit for Reporters and Editors. Most recently, I was named a Content Captivator in Admonsters and AdExchanger's Top Women in Media and Ad Tech Class of 2023. My work has received a variety of accolades, including a Folio: Eddie Award for in the Full Issue>City & Regional>Southeast Category in 2024; Platinum Hermes Creative Awards for Print Media Writing and Overall Publication Writing in 2020 and 2019; Clarion Awards for Feature Writing in 2022, 2019, 2018 and 2017; Charlie Awards from the Florida Magazine Association in 2022 for Feature Writing and in 2019 and 2018 for In-Depth Writing; a 2018 SPJ Sunshine State Award for Public Service Feature Writing; a 2019 SPJ Green Eyeshade Award for General Magazine News Writing; and a 2018 SPJ Green Eyeshade Award for Best Magazine Writing. I have also served as a guest judge for a number of regional SPJ award competitions, for the Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards, and as a juror for the international Epica Awards. For samples of my writing, please view my clip portfolio at https://kristendesmondlefevre.contently.com/.

Experience

  • Palm Beach Media Group (Full-time · 5 yrs 11 mos)
    • Editor in Chief: Jupiter Magazine and Stuart Magazine
      Sep 2025 - Present · 10 mos

      jupitermag.com; stuartmagazine.com

    • Market Editor: Florida Design
      Apr 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 3 mos

      floridadesign.com

    • Editor in Chief: Aventura Magazine
      Jan 2022 - Oct 2025 · 3 yrs 10 mos

      aventuramagazine.com

  • Associate Editor: The Key Magazine at Kappa Kappa Gamma
    Sep 2012 - Aug 2020 · 8 yrs

    kappakappagamma.org/stay-connected/the-key The official magazine of Kappa Kappa Gamma, the award-winning Key has been in continuous existence since 1882. Circulation is 190,000+, mailed in three issues per year.

  • LeFevre Editorial Services (North Palm Beach, Florida)
    • Freelance Writer and Editor (Magazines)
      Sep 2013 - Jul 2020 · 6 yrs 11 mos

    • Freelance Development Editor, Ghost Writer & Publishing Consultant (Books)
      Aug 2003 - Sep 2014 · 11 yrs 2 mos

      Clients included Bedford St. Martin’s, Houghton Mifflin, McGraw-Hill, Cengage, and Pearson.

  • Senior Development Editor at Houghton Mifflin
    Mar 2000 - Aug 2003 · 3 yrs 6 mos

    Content Area: Journalism, Mass Communication, Speech Communication, and Interpersonal Communication

  • Editorial Assistant at Pearson Education
    Aug 1999 - Mar 2000 · 8 mos

    Content Area: English, Developmental English Rhetoric, and Composition