Kelly O'Connor McNees is a writer, editor, and content strategist who helps organizations and individuals distill key messages, understand audiences, and create content that resonates and drives results.

For law firms, Kelly translates deep subject-matter expertise into content that builds trust, sharpens brand identity, and motivates prospective clients to engage. She founded KOM Content in 2024 after seven years as director of content for Page 2 Communications, a Chicago-based legal PR agency serving AmLaw 100, midsize, and boutique firms across the country — work recognized by the National Law Journal, which named the agency Best of the Midwest for Legal PR. Clients count on her to deliver exceptional quality alongside the responsiveness, adaptability, and persistence it takes to work effectively with busy attorneys.

Kelly brings the same rigor and creativity to her work on other editorial projects. Drawing on past editorial roles at HarperCollins Publishers, the University of Michigan Press, and her many years as an independent editor, she has spent more than two decades helping writers strengthen their craft and prepare manuscripts for the marketplace. She is an empathetic guide through revision and an incisive editor who helps writers identify and solve the problems at the heart of their work.

Kelly is the author of several historical novels published by Penguin and Pegasus Books and praised in The New York Times,Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and elsewhere. Her essays and articles have appeared in Time, The Washington Post, The Millions, Rust Belt Chicago: An Anthology, and other outlets, and she has ghostwritten for a popular children's book series.

Kelly holds a bachelor's degree in English language and literature from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in education from DePaul University. She lives in Chicago.