Email Author Margaret Downing

Awards

• 2012 - Maggies: The Magazine Awards of Western Publishing, published December 22, 2011

  "Mistaken Identities"

• 2011 - Maggies: The Magazine Awards of Western Publishing, published December 23, 2010

  "Children of God"

• 2011 - Lone Star Awards, published December 23, 2010

  "Children of God"

• 2011 - Lone Star Awards, published December 30, 2010

  "The Whipping Boy"

• 2011 - Lone Star Awards, published June 3, 2010

  "Homeless High"

• 2010 - Lone Star Awards, published June 4, 2009

  "Let the Record Reflect"

• 2009 - Education Reporting Awards/National Education Writers Association, published April 10, 2008

  "Exit Exams"

• 2009 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published May 8, 2008

  "Mental Anguish"

• 2009 - Lone Star Awards, published November 13, 2008

  "Bad Faith"

• 2008 - Maggies: The Magazine Awards of Western Publishing, published May 31, 2007

  "Killing Fences"

• 2008 - First Amendment Awards/The Fort Worth Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, published October 25, 2007

  "Death in a Box"

• 2008 - Lone Star Awards, published October 25, 2007

  "Death in a Box"

• 2008 - Lone Star Awards, published August 23, 2007

  "Judging Books and Their Covers"

• 2007 - Education Reporting Awards/National Education Writers Association, published October 5, 2006

  "Opt In, Opt Out'

• 2007 - Lone Star Awards, published October 5, 2006

  "Opt In, Opt Out"

• 2007 - Lone Star Awards, published May 11, 2006

  "Diary of a Mad Man"

• 2006 - Lone Star Awards, published August 11, 2005

  "Who Cares?"

• 2006 - Lone Star Awards, published February 17, 2005

  "Mind Reading"

More

2013 Stories by Margaret Downing

• Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club Gives Us a New Look at a Great Character, Director Mark Shanahan Says

  published May 23, 2013

  Mark Shanahan was that kid. "I was that kid at 11 or 12 under the bed with a flashlight reading Hound of the Baskervilles. Those stories hold up; those characters hold up," says Shanahan. And now th... More >>

• The Bayou Planting Guide: Updated and Ready to Help Save Houston

  published May 22, 2013

  When I lived in Mississippi on the edge of undeveloped land, our family spent a lot of time and effort beating back the kudzu during the year. We were beating it because it couldn't be killed. At leas... More >>

• HSPVA Sends Out Jazz Ambassadors, Ready to Do Thelonius Monk Proud

  published May 21, 2013

  A group of students from Houston ISD's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts is now on a weeklong tour, representatives of one of only two schools in the country chosen as ambassadors of jazz... More >>

• Close Up Space: A Comedy With Somber Tones About a Father and Daughter

  published May 17, 2013

  When Molly Smith Metzler was a senior in college she took a course in playwriting, setting her on a new "hard" path. The "hard" comes from what she says are the demands of writing a play. "Your tool... More >>

• Stephen Sondheim's Road Show: When the American Dream Becomes Greed

  published May 16, 2013

  Kenn McLaughlin, producing artistic director for Stages Repertory Theatre, knows that especially in Houston, where lyricist Stephen Sondheim's work doesn't get done that often, a lot of attention wi... More >>

• West Nile Virus Approaches, Proving Hurricanes Aren't the Only Danger to Houstonians This Time of Year

  published May 16, 2013

  It is completely official. The Centers for Disease Control announced this week that 2012 was a terrible year for West Nile Virus -- actually the worst ever -- and warns that it may happen again. Clea... More >>

• Sister Act Takes Its Show on the Road and Brings Deloris and the Nuns to Houston

  published May 14, 2013

  Ta'Rea Campbell grew up singing in a choir and started acting at age 12. She's been on Broadway in Lion King and The Book of Mormon. So who could be more perfect to play Deloris in the musical Siste... More >>

• Lone Star College System's $500 Million Question (UPDATED)

  published May 10, 2013

  Tomorrow's another big day for the Lone Star College System as it seeks to persuade voters that it needs a bunch more money -- $497.7 million -- to expand its facilities and who cares about those old ... More >>

• Art Car Creators on Parade: Mark "Scrapdaddy" Bradford W/ Video

  published May 09, 2013

  The 2013 Art Car Parade starts this Saturday, May 11 at 1 p.m. In this week's cover story "Enjoying the Ride" with story and photos by Chris Curry, we decided to highlight some of this year's entrant... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  Food Critic/Blogger Opening at the Houston Press

  published May 08, 2013

  Our longtime food critic Katharine Shilcutt is leaving us in a few weeks so .... The Houston Press has an immediate opening for a fulltime food critic and blogger. We are looking for a critic who can... More >>

• Art Car Creators on Parade: Randy Blair W/Video

  published May 08, 2013

  The 2013 Art Car Parade starts this Saturday, May 11 at 1 p.m. In this week's cover story "Enjoying the Ride" with story and photos by Chris Curry, we decided to highlight some of this year's entrant... More >>

• Actor Tom Hewitt Tackles King Arthur and Dismemberment on Stage in Spamalot

  published May 08, 2013

  Actor Tom Hewitt is getting his first chance to play King Arthur and he's doing it in Spamalot coming soon to the Hobby Center courtesy of Theatre Under the Stars. Hewitt (Billy Flynn in Chicago on... More >>

• Sterling High School: Keeping It All Together

  published May 9, 2013

  A call comes in over the walkie-talkies "There are students who can't get into the school. The gates are locked." School receptionist Cherlyn... More >>

• Warrior Class: A Study of How People Respond to Power and the Lack of It

  published May 07, 2013

  Everyone in Warrior Class is trying to win. "Some of them realize that there are very dire consequences to not winning earlier than others. There's lots of machinations, lots of moves and positionings... More >>

• Art Car Creators on Parade: Jill Johnson W/Video

  published May 07, 2013

  The 2013 Art Car Parade starts this Saturday, May 11 at 1 p.m. In this week's cover story "Enjoying the Ride" with story and photos by Chris Curry, we decided to highlight some of this year's entrant... More >>

• UH Creative Writing Students & Artists Unveil Their Tier One Graphc Novel Tonight

  published May 06, 2013

  University of Houston student Zach Martin had been struggling with a literary story for years about a theater family unraveling in the middle of putting on a play. "I could never get the story to wor... More >>

• Art Car Creators On Parade: Bob Wink W/ Video

  published May 06, 2013

  The 2013 Art Car Parade starts this Saturday, May 11 at 1 p.m. In this week's cover story "Enjoying the Ride" with story and photos by Chris Curry, we decided to highlight some of this year's entrant... More >>

• An Ira Levin Thriller, A Civil War Drama & Xanadu Top Stages Repertory Theatre's 2013-14 Season

  published Apr 25, 2013

  A forgotten Ira Levin (Rosemary's Baby) thriller, a poignant Civil War drama about a returning Confederate soldier and two former slaves (all Jews) and the musical Xanadu are some of the highlights of... More >>

• The Power of Italia with Il trovatore at Houston Grand Opera With Marco Berti

  published Apr 16, 2013

  When he was four years old, Marco Berti's mother took him to his first opera. "I liked the first act," the Italian tenor recalls. But by the second he wanted a Coke. Still, he remembered the atmospher... More >>

• Ryan McKinny Has Spent Years Getting Ready for Tristan and Isolde

  published Apr 15, 2013

  How does a person get from Pasadena City College to Juilliard to become a Houston Grand Opera Studio Artist, go on to the Met in New York City as Lieutenant Ratcliffe in Billy Budd and then return to ... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Alley Theatre Takes on the American Character in Its 2013-14 Season Announced Today

  published Apr 06, 2013

  Starting with the tried and true - You Can't Take It With You by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman - the Alley Theatre's 2013-14 season announced today will be dominated by American plays and give fema... More >>

• (UPDATED) In the Home Stretch for Menu of Menus: A Few VIP Tickets Left, GA Tickets Sold Out

  published Apr 05, 2013

  Update: All GA tickets have now been sold out. A few VIP and VIP table tickets remain. With just a few days left before this year's Houston Press Menu of Menus, coming this Tuesday night, fewer th... More >>

• Memory Stone Looks at the Japanese-American Experience in Houston

  published Apr 05, 2013

  Matthew Ozawa, a freelance stage director based in Chicago, had heard wonderful things from his director friends about Houston Grand Opera's practice of commissioning operettas to encourage new talent... More >>

• Jay Sullivan in The Elephant Man: On Capturing the Essence of the "Other"

  published Apr 04, 2013

  Have you seen a young man in the Kroger grocery store on West Grey, leaning heavily on a cane, using only his left arm to sift through the contents of the dairy sectionr If so, you may well have spo... More >>

• UH's Glaundor Wins National Improv Title

  published Mar 26, 2013

  The University of Houston can claim another national title now that Glaundor (no, don't check your Scottish history books, they made it up) has won the National College Improv Tournament in Chicago. ... More >>