November 19, 2025

Artful Connection

When journalist Troy McMullen bought a weekend house overlooking Hauser Nature Preserve in Litchfield five years ago, he quickly went about finding ways to use his reporting skills to connect with Litchfield County’s cultural community.

Writing for this magazine and others, he profiled artists and architects from Kent to Cornwall, poets and preservationists in New Preston, and woodworkers and artisans in Litchfield.

“I saw the county through an entirely new creative lens,” says McMullen, a former staff reporter at the Wall Street Journal who’s now an executive editor at ABC News. “It really expanded my cultural orbit.”

That cultural orbit now includes a series of children’s books McMullen created that introduces young readers to the county’s rich history of art and culture.

“Hello Litchfield” visits the people and places that make the historic town unique; “Litchfield Modern” reveals its surprising array of mid-century architecture;and “I See Art” guides readers through the county’s contemporary art galleries.

All proceeds from the sale of the books go to local charities, including the Litchfield Historical Society, Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, and Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Connecticut.

“It just seemed like a perfect way to give back to the people and organizations that have welcomed me to this community,” McMullen says. 

The books are $10 each and sold at Amazon and local book stores and businesses in Litchfield.