Shannon’s first book, In Other Words, Leadership, published by Penguin Random House & Steerforth Press in June 2023, tells the true story of a young mother who sent weekly handwritten letters of support to the governor of Maine, Janet Mills, for the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book combines the letters and excerpts from the governor’s personal journals in a compelling and uplifting chronicle of one of human history’s most fraught chapters. Historian and NYT best-selling author Heather Cox Richardson called it a “remarkable story of work, worry, art, faith, community, life, and hope. An instant classic.”

Shannon is an award winning reporter and has been a regular contributor to flagship national programs on public radio since 2002, including American Public Media’s Marketplace and NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Here & Now, and Weekend Edition Saturday & Sunday. Click any show to listen.

In addition to Shannon’s public radio reporting, her print journalism has been published by The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Boston Globe and The Globe Magazine and Boston Magazine, among other outlets. Click to read.

Through Broad Reach Productions, Shannon’s independent production company founded in 2010, she develops projects for the screen, stage and spoken word. She specializes in story development and is working to build recognition for the essential role of that process and its commercial value to the industry through her introduction of the “Development by” credit.

Shannon is co-host, producer and editor of the Character podcast, a salon series of one hour conversations with some of the world’s greatest character actors. She developed and launched the show in 2021 with her film producing partner Shaun O’Banion (p.g.a), for distribution on all major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify & Amazon.