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Katy Vine joined the editorial department of Texas Monthly in 1997 and became a staff writer in 2002. As a general assignment reporter, she has written dozens of features on a range of topics, including rocket scientist Franklin Chang Díaz, hip-hop legend Bun B, barbecue pitmasters, cult leader Warren Jeffs, refugees in Amarillo, the moon landing, a three-person family circus, chess prodigies, a woman who kidnapped the Kilgore Rangerettes director and her daughter, an accountant who embezzled $17 million from a fruitcake company, and a con man who crashed cars, yachts, and planes for insurance money. Her stories have been anthologized in Best American Sports Writing and Best Food Writing. Her feature story about a West Texas sting operation was the inspiration for the 2012 television series The Client List.

342 Articles

Music|
May 9, 2018

Kam Franklin: Create Space for Female Acts

"Sometimes a festival rep will say they don’t want acts that are too similar. Could you imagine telling a man, 'Sorry, we can only have one indie rock band, you're all wearing Levi's and that's pretty overdone so we can't have that'?"

Music|
April 13, 2018

Not Your Grandfather’s Conjunto

Rapper Marco Cervantes, who performs as Mexican Stepgrandfather, and Álvaro Del Norte, founder of the accordion-powered punk rock band Piñata Protest, discuss their inspirations.

Politics & Policy|
November 23, 2016

Lost and Found

They have fled war-torn countries, given up livelihoods, and left behind possessions and family for the safety of a foreign world of cowboy hats and Walmarts. But the refugees who land in Amarillo’s Astoria Park have an ally who understands their confusion and loss: a 64-year-old former teacher named Miss

Art|
September 14, 2016

Fame in the Abstract

Dorothy Hood was one of Texas’s greatest artists, yet her work remains largely unknown. Now, sixteen years after her death, can her fans bring her the acclaim she never received in life?

True Crime|
September 9, 2016

Cops and Robbers

They were some of the toughest narcs on the border, known for busting smugglers, staging raids, seizing cartel cocaine—and being dirty.

The Culture|
June 22, 2016

#SpoilerAlert

To whom will the Bachelorette’s final rose go this season? Blogger Steve Carbone makes it his business to know—and tell his 1.5 million readers.

True Crime|
December 23, 2015

Just Desserts

Sandy Jenkins was a quiet accountant at the Collin Street Bakery who felt overlooked and dreamed of living the good life. He found it (for a while) by embezzling nearly $17 million from the famed fruitcake maker.

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