Joanne Michaels

Joanne Michaels was born on Dec. 30, 1950, in Manhattan and died on December 15, 2020 in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Joanne Michaels was president of JMB Publications, a distributor of regional books to historic sites and gift shops throughout the Hudson Valley. She was the author of Hudson River Towns, Hudson River Valley Farms, Adirondack High, Hudson River Journey and The Hudson Valley & Catskill Mountains: Only The Best Places, an insider’s guide covering the finest inns, restaurants, historic sites and points of interest in ten counties between Westchester and Saratoga Springs. The book has been in print for 30 years and is currently in its 10th edition. She was the author of Let’s Take the Kids, now in its 4th edition. Her first book, Living Contradictions: The Women of the Baby Boom Come of Age was translated into Japanese and Norwegian. She was publisher and author of The Joy of Divorce, Famous Woodstock Cooks, and Let’s Take the Kids Out to Eat.

Joanne Michaels was an editor at St. Martin’s Press and David McKay Publications, as well as an assistant editor at The Viking Press. She was editor-in-chief of Hudson Valley Magazine for five years, and ran the business for the publisher, who, at the time was the mayor of Yonkers, NY. A member of The Authors Guild, her byline has appeared in New York Magazine, Publishers Weekly, Wine Enthusiast, The Village Voice, Redbook, Self, Brides, Working Mother, Capital Region, and Hudson Valley. An article she wrote concerning the sex abuse at West Point’s day care center (Redbook, January 1986) was nominated for an American Society of Magazine Editors journalism award for investigative reporting.

For nine years, Joanne Michaels hosted and produced a regionally syndicated cable television talk show entitled, The Real Story. Guests have included congressional representatives, Supreme Court judges and attorneys, as well as individuals involved with Hudson Valley travel. She has taught journalism and publishing at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. A member of the Board of Trustees of the Roosevelt Vanderbilt Historical Association for 25 years, this non-profit organization works with the National Park Service to manage the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Vanderbilt Mansion, Valkill (the home of Eleanor Roosevelt), and Top Cottage, all national historic sites.