Abby Luby

Hi. Welcome to my website.

I write about a lot of different things.

My focus has touched down in all sorts of areas, some more close to home than others.
For instance:
environment - I fanatically test the water in my neighborhood lake before I take a dip;
art - my mental respite, I dabble with found objects;
music - another respite, I play cello in an all-women string quartet.

Curiosity is the stuff good journalism is made of and for me the snoop factor started in grade school with the teacher's short, illusive answers to my longer, directed questions. There always seemed to be some information missing before the question and after the answer. That frustration spawned a dogged resolve - the must-have DNA for writing and reporting, the handy instinct for investigative reporting where the real story is usually what folks aren't saying.

Writing that perfect profile means culling all the facts about a person but also getting them - figuring out their essential nature. Writing about art is more than describing line, color, texture - its what all those lines, colors and textures do to you. A special feature is that opus where you roll out the highlights while tucking in those small, revealing details; spot news is like jumping onto the spinning merry-go-round of hot tips and follow up, getting the nitty-gritty story, then hopping off.

And food - ah food - writing about food and foodies is thinking with your taste buds and waxing poetic about the journey from garden to table, from savoring to dining nirvana.

My background: I've been in the field of communications for over 20 years and a journalist just over 10. I have a Bachelor's degree in Communications/Music from Indiana University and attended the High School of Music and Artin New York City.

Today, I am a freelance journalist for The New York Daily News, a regularly featured art critic for the Stamford Advocate/Greenwich Time and for the past five years have written for The Hudson Valley Table, a quarterly food magazine. I write about environment for the North County News, a Westchester weekly newspaper and an occasional piece in the quarterly, Bedford Magazine.

Previous journalism experience includes a three-year stint as staff reporter at The Record-Review, a news weekly Bedford Hills, book reviewer for Chronogram, a Hudson Valley monthly arts magazine, environmental reporter for the Westchester County and Fairfield County Times, art reviewer for Pulse, a weekly arts & entertainment paper in Poughkeepsie, NY. For eight years I was an independent video producer with "Voices From History Video Productions" which produced aural history and documentaries such as "Paul Robeson and the Peekskill of Riots of 1949" and "Pastures of Plenty", about Latino workers in Westchester County.

Availability: If you are looking for a writer/reporter for a particular assignment including news, features, academic publications, corporate or commercial communiqués, I will work within your budget and easily meet your deadlines.

Resume (42KB PDF)