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Kathy Seward MacKay

@kathysmackay.bsky.social

53 followers 32 following 46 posts

Newspaper/documentary photographer turned writer, working on a medical scandal memoir. https://linktr.ee/KathyMacKay

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Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jun 19

I'm happy to announce STAT News published my opinion essay about my blood safety concerns in light of the HHS cuts. And I received a note from a former FDA commissioner who said my piece was "on target."
www.statnews.com/2025/06/18/b...

Thousands, including my husband, died because of tainted blood. I’m afraid it could happen again

Kathy Seward MacKay lost her husband in 1997 because of tainted blood-clotting products. She’s worried about history repeating itself.

www.statnews.com

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jul 1

This is scary. Good, hard working people & caregivers will r lose affordable health insurance. It's a fallacy that 1/2 the people on Medicaid do not work. See link in bio for stats. This bill isn't about balancing the budget. 😢 #healthcare #hemophilia @flsenrickscott @senashleymoody @hemophiliafed

Reposted by Kathy Seward MacKay

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · Jun 26

You can't make this stuff up.
Fortunately, my brilliant colleague @jasonmast.bsky.social, was around to explain to you all what happened at the first meeting of the new #ACIP. www.statnews.com/2025/06/26/c...

The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, empowered by RFK Jr., is just getting started

The ACIP, the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel newly empowered by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is just getting started.

www.statnews.com

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Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jun 24

Another good place to hang your hat …

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jun 24

Sounds about right. 😳

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jun 23

👏👏👏 Thanks to the amazing Tresa Chambers, marketing and brand specialist, for speaking to the South Florida chapter of the Women’s National Book Association. 📚

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jun 20

And now for Walt Longmire fans! Author Craig Johnson is a fun, energetic presenter. Pictured here at The Portsmouth Music Hall June 3. There’s no asking this storyteller a quick question! 📚📖😃

Book cover of Craig Johnson’s Return to Sender

Author Craig Johnson presenting at the Portsmouth Music Hall

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jun 19

Thousands, including my husband, died because of tainted blood. I’m afraid it could happen again

Kathy Seward MacKay lost her husband in 1997 because of tainted blood-clotting products. She’s worried about history repeating itself.

www.statnews.com

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jun 14

Taking a stand in West Palm Beach …

4 women standing up for democracy on No Kings Day

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jun 14

I'm attending No Kings's event, “"NO KINGS" SOUTH PBC INDIVISIBLE BOYNTON BEACH CAR CARAVAN, MARCH, & RALLY” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...

"NO KINGS" SOUTH PBC INDIVISIBLE BOYNTON BEACH CAR CARAVAN, MARCH, & RALLY · No Kings

**In America, we don’t put up with would-be kings.** NO KINGS is a national day of action and mass mobilization in response to increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from Trump and his allie...

www.mobilize.us

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · May 11

An evening of non-stop laughter at Books & Books with Dave Barry at the kickoff event for his memoir CLASS CLOWN. @booksandbooks #indybookshop #writingcommunity @miamibookfair #writingcommunityofinstagram

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Mar 31

It's all so scary.

Infectious Diseases @infectiousdz.bsky.social · Mar 30

RFK, Jr. Laying Off the entire OIDP - Office Of Infectious Disease And HIV/AIDS Policy

Problem is: general public not aware of what OIDP stands for, let alone what it does - and why this vision, strategy and organization is crucial

Here's just a small segment of what OIDP:
🧵

RFK, Jr. Laying Off Entire Office Of Infectious Disease And HIV/AIDS Policy

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services is reportedly laying off the entire Office Of Infectious Disease And HIV/AIDS Policy. Here's the impact

www.forbes.com

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Mar 29

When I announced my upcoming meeting with a Big Five editor (to discuss memoir pages) in a previous Substack newsletter post, I promised to share how it went—regardless of the outcome. ☺️ This follow-up piece was challenging to write, but here it is ...
kathysewardmackay.substack.com/p/my-meeting...

My Meeting with a Harper Collins/William Morrow Editor

Can I write better than Stephen King, Dave Barry, Mary Karr, and Amy Tan can sing?

kathysewardmackay.substack.com

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Mar 28

I love discovering new authors. I met Josie Cox & Clémence Michallon at the Miami Book Fair in Nov. Josie highlights the history of women fighting for equality, including UK suffragettes. Clémence’s psychological thriller is a page turner about a woman imprisoned by a beloved townsman.

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Mar 15

DIFFICULT CHOICES IN LIFE : Most people in my situation may have chosen to NOT have children, although others like me did. Maybe it was a combination of my youth, my stubbornness, my pre-Internet research that told me to take a chance. . 😊
kathysewardmackay.substack.com/p/musings-on...

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Mar 5

Yes, we have been through more than the public knows. Thank you for taking the time to read! ❤️

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Mar 5

I wrote a memorial tribute to my friend Ken, a true warrior for justice. POZ, a magazine/newsletter for people affected by HIV/AIDS published it. Like my late husband, Ken was a hemophiliac who contracted HIV from a blood products scandal (topic of my memoir in progress).
www.poz.com/article/trib...

Tribute to a Warrior

Remembering Ken Baxter, January 1966–February 21, 2025

www.poz.com

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Mar 1

I considered his form of protest as performance art. I’m happy to hear he had spent the last years enjoying time with his daughters and grandchildren. RIP my friend. ❤️

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Mar 1

WARRIOR FOR JUSTICE
I first photographed Ken in ‘99. With his crimson face, he was protesting at the gates of Bayer, a biz that sold HIV-laced blood products. Ken, like my late hubby, was one of thousands of infected hemophiliacs. Once Ken learned the truth behind the scandal, his crusade began.

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Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jan 20

MLK DAY: These statues, alive & haunting, speak loud as the hands of the enslaved man & the female figure reach but cannot touch. The website for the once paved over Portsmouth African Burying Ground reads: : “Willful ignorance of the past is not a way to move toward a better future.”

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jan 12

"No Words"
open.substack.com/pub/brookewa...

"No Words"

The limits of language in our most emotionally upending moments—and why to write through them

open.substack.com

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jan 7

🤗📘🎉 TOP REASONS I’M EXCITED FOR THE DEEP DIVE SERIES 2025:
1.) To immerse myself in the amazing writing community Bianca, Carly, & CeCe have created; 2) To listen & engage w/top-notch speakers, including authors, agents, editors; 3) To discover and take away the unexpected. #dds2025excited

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jan 2

A stroll through downtown Exeter and a visit to Water Street Books - a lovely indie bookstore.

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jan 1

Isn’t it wild?!!

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jan 1

Keep going! Ya never know what may happen in the future. Have you tried to get on any podcasts? Are you familiar with the Publishing Confidential Substack by Kathleen Schmidt? I've learned tons about PR & marketing from her.
kathleenschmidt.substack.com

Publishing Confidential | Kathleen Schmidt | Substack

News and analysis about the book publishing industry that you won't read anywhere else. Click to read Publishing Confidential, by Kathleen Schmidt, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of sub...

kathleenschmidt.substack.com

Kathy Seward MacKay @kathysmackay.bsky.social · Jan 1