An award-winning lifestyle journalist with over three decades of experience, I have covered travel, wellness, food and design for many of North America’s leading publications, both as a staff writer and a freelancer. From 2009 to 2015, I served as the Style editor of The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper; from 2018 to 2021, I was editor-in-chief of Azure, one of North America’s leading design magazines. Over the past three years, I have worked as a freelance travel and design writer, covering everything from new hotels for Condé Nast Traveler to Warsaw’s burgeoning creative scene for The Globe and Mail. In December of 2023, I launched my own travel and lifestyle newsletter, Worldly Goodness, which, as of spring 2024, has a dedicated subscriber base of 2,000+ readers.
1. What got you into travel writing?
I’ve been a geography, aviation and transportation nut since childhood. Growing up, I loved reading travelogues by writers both contemporary (Bruce Chatwin, Pico Iyer, Bill Bryson, Jan Morris) and historic (Freya Stark, Patrick Leigh Fermor). So it was only natural that, when I became a reporter and editor, I would gravitate toward the genre, which really involves so many other subjects: nature, food, architecture, art. To write about travel is to write about life.
2. What’s the most challenging part of being a travel journalist for you?
Travel has changed a lot since the days of Chatwin and Morris. More people are doing it, so even the most remote destinations are a little less exotic. It’s not enough, in other words, to simply land somewhere and describe it for others, who have likely been there themselves. The challenge today is to find a distinctive voice, viewpoint, angle or subject that belongs to no one else or that others have overlooked. Novelty and unexpectedness distinguish the best travel writing now, and it’s what I aim for when I pitch or explore.
3. What is one thing [equipment or personal item] you can’t go without on the road?
I have a number of must-haves when I fly: noise-cancelling headphones, antimicrobial wipes, eye mask. On the ground, I often bring a tiny scented candle to even the grandest hotels in order to make stays a little more homey.
4. What’s your most unusual and/or memorable travel experience?
I’ve had so many: traversing the Malay Peninsula on Belmond’s Eastern & Oriental Express, exploring Veuve Clicquot’s labyrinthine crayères in France’s Champagne region. It’s often the simplest experiences, though, that resonate the most. One of the most memorable meals I’ve ever had was a dish of fava beans—served in season, simply prepared—in a little trattoria in Rome. I still think about it.
5. How did you learn about NATJA and why did you join?
Two years ago, an issue of Condé Nast Traveler to which I contributed won a NATJA award. That prompted me to investigate the association further and to join it soon after. I’m happy I did.
6. What is the best piece of advice you could give to a rookie travel journalist?
Be curious, go off the beaten path, try (almost) everything once. When you pitch, pitch the unusual, unexpected and unique. Even if an idea is rejected, retain it, archive it, file it away for future use—your accumulated body of experience is what makes you unique as a traveller and richer as a writer.
