Amiee Beazley is a travel journalist and editor based in Aspen, Colorado, specializing in family, food and adventure travel. 

Experience

Amiee has more than 25 years of experience, contributing to The Washington Post, The Denver Post, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, and numerous additional outlets throughout her career. She is the former editor of Edible Aspen, former arts editor at the Aspen Daily News and contributor to Après magazine, Aspen Sojourner, and Aspen magazines.

Education

Amiee has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Women’s Studies from Syracuse University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from New York University. 

Awards

Amiee has been awarded numerous Colorado Press Association awards for her work. 

Brad Thomas Parsons is an award-winning writer based in Brooklyn, New York. He is the author of four books and writes the LAST CALL newsletter publication on Substack, where he shares spirited dispatches on bar and bar culture, drinks and spirits, restaurants and regional foodways, and popular culture.

Experience

Hailing from Oneida in Central New York, Brad spent more than a decade in Seattle where he was a senior book editor at Amazon. He moved back to New York to work for two major NYC publishers as an online marketing director, primarily focusing on cookbooks. He is now a full-time freelancer.

One of the leading authorities in the United States on amaro and Italian drinking culture, Brad has been writing about drinks, spirits, and bar culture since 2008 and his work has appeared in publications including Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Lucky Peach, Imbibe, PUNCH, and VinePair, among others. 

He has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR's All Things Considered, The Splendid Table, The Martha Stewart Show, and more.

Parsons has conducted talks, tastings, seminars, and master classes on bitters, amaro, cocktails, and Italian drinking culture at bars, restaurants, and venues across the United States and in Italy and has partnered and worked with many brands, including Gruppo Campari, Campari America, Apple, Unilever, Slow Food USA, West Elm, Moët Hennessy, Fords Gin, Amaro Nonino, Amaro Lucano, Luxardo, Bordiga, Angostura Bitters, St. Agrestis, Fast Penny Spirits, and more.

Selected Publications

Books

Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas (Ten Speed Press)

Amaro: The Spirited World of Bittersweet, Herbal Liqueurs, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas (Ten Speed Press)

Distillery Cats: Profiles in Courage of the World's Most Spirited Mousers (Ten Speed Press)

Last Call: Bartenders on Their Final Drink and the Wisdom and Rituals of Closing Time (Ten Speed Press)

Education

Columbia University School of the Arts, New York, New York. MFA: Creative Writing (Fiction)

State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY. BA: English/Writing Arts; BA: Theatre

Awards

James Beard Award Winner: Beverage (2012) for Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas

IACP Award Winner: Wine, Beer, or Spirits (2012) for Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas

Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award Finalist: Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book (2012) for Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas

James Beard Award Finalist: Beverage with Recipes (2020) for Last Call: Bartenders on Their Final Drink and the Wisdom and Rituals of Closing Time

Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award Finalist: Best Cocktail & Spirits Writing (2021) for “The Night the Neon Went Dark” by Brad Thomas Parsons, PUNCH

James Beard Award Finalist: Personal Essay (2025) for "The Hidden Hospitality Hazards When You're Too Big for the Bar," VinePair

Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award Finalist: Best Cocktail & Spirits Writing (2025) for "The Hidden Hospitality Hazards When You're Too Big for the Bar," VinePair

Caroline Eubanks is an Atlanta-based writer specializing in the food, drink, and culture of the Southern United States. She's also the Lowell Thomas-award-winning author of two books, including, most recently, A Boozy History of Atlanta: People, Places & Drinks that Made a City (2025). 

Experience

Caroline Eubanks is a travel, food, and drink writer based in Atlanta whose work has appeared in Lonely Planet, the Chicago Tribune, Travel + Leisure, and Condé Nast Traveler. 

Books

This Is My South: The Essential Guide to the Southern States, Globe Pequot Press
A Boozy History of Atlanta: People, Places & Drinks that Made a City, Arcadia Publishing

Photography

The Great American Road Trip, Gestalten

Contributor

Where to Go When The Americas, DK Eyewitness
Georgia & the Carolinas, 4th edition, Lonely Planet

Education

Caroline has a BA in political science from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. She is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, the Authors' Guild, and the Atlanta Press Club. 

Awards

Caroline is the winner of two Lowell Thomas awards, the top honors in travel writing.

Catherine Balston is a journalist based between São Paulo and the U.K. She spent 15 years living full-time in Brazil, traveling far and wide across the country in search of stories about food, travel, sustainability, and the arts.

Experience

Catherine is the author of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro City Guides for Louis Vuitton and Wallpaper* and has contributed to Fodor's Brazil guidebooks as well as numerous articles for the BBC Travel, Monocle, Forbes, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Lonely Planet, and more. 

Selected publications

Books: City Guide Rio (Louis Vuitton), City Guide São Paulo (Louis Vuitton), Wallpaper* City Guide Rio de Janeiro

Education

Catherine has an MA in International Business from the University of Edinburgh and cut her teeth with writing and editing on the job as assistant editor and then deputy editor for Time Out São Paulo magazine. 

Fun fact

A highlight of her time in Brazil was playing the trumpet dressed as a nun on top of a sound truck during São Paulo's street Carnival. 
 

Clarissa Wei is a journalist, author, and entrepreneur based in Taiwan. Her work focuses on food, culture, and identity, with a particular emphasis on Taiwan.

Experience

Clarissa is the author of Made in Taiwan, winner of an IACP Award and finalist for a James Beard Award. Her second cookbook, Sitting The Month: Postpartum Recipes for Rest and Recovery, will be published in September 2026.

Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, and Monocle, among others.

In addition to her editorial work, Clarissa is the founder of HEYDOH, a single-origin soy sauce brand focused on Taiwanese black soybeans and traditional fermentation.

Selected publications

Books: 

Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories From The Island Nation

Sitting The Month: Postpartum Recipes for Rest and Recovery

Selected outlets: 

The New Yorker, The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, Monocle

Education

Clarissa holds a degree in journalism and politics from New York University.

Awards

IACP Julia Child First Book Award winner for Made in Taiwan

James Beard Award finalist for Made in Taiwan

David Farley is a New York City-based writer, author, and bon vivant. His writing work primarily focuses on food, drink, travel, and history. He has lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Prague, Rome, and Berlin.

Experience

Farley contributes to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Food & Wine, Saveur, Eater, Travel + Leisure, and Condé Nast Traveler. Many of his articles have been anthologized, including twice in the annual The Best American Travel Writing. He annually writes and updates the Fodor's guidebook to New York City.

Selected Publications

Underground Worlds: A Guide to Spectacular Subterranean Places (Black Dog & Leventhal)

An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church’s Strangest Relic in Italy’s Oddest Town (Penguin Random House)

Travelers Tales Prague & the Czech Republic: True Stories (Travelers Tales)

Education

Farley has a BA in history from the University of California, Santa Cruz and an MA in history from San Francisco State University.

He has taught writing at New York University and Columbia University and is also a certified meditation teacher.

In addition to his native English, he has learned to speak Czech, Italian, German, and Spanish.

He has spent time volunteering at hospices as a friendly visitor and, in the last decade, has also volunteered at refugee camps in Greece and Poland.

Awards

David Farley has received several Lowell Thomas Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers (in 2005, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2025) as well as a Folio Award in 2014.

American-born and Italian-raised, Eleonora Baldwin is a writer, food expert, media personality, and culinary travel specialist based in Rome, where she lives and works. After a successful career in the international film industry, she transitioned into writing, focusing on food, travel, and Italian culture. She is the co-founder of Casa Mia Tours, a boutique agency offering private culinary adventures and multi-day vacations with a focus on food, wine, and cultural immersion for international travelers. Her work explores the intersection of food, storytelling, and cultural identity.

Experience

Eleonora is a contributor to publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, and Gambero Rosso, Italy’s leading food and wine media group, where she also works as a TV host, content creator, and co-author of several television programs, including Cheese Hunters, ABCheese, Uazz’America, and A Tavola con Mamma, and the author and host of the podcast iCheese.

Multilingual, she works fluently in Italian and English, with working knowledge of French and Spanish, allowing her to engage with a broad international audience. Between blog readers, newsletter subscribers, and social media followers, Eleonora reaches an engaged online audience of over 190,000 people across more than 100 countries.

Education

Eleonora holds a degree in graphic design from Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome and has completed the Harvard University online module Tangible Things: Discovering History Through Artworks, Artifacts, and Scientific Specimens.

She participated in the STORY seminar in London with Robert McKee, an internationally renowned program in screenwriting and storytelling.

She serves as a juror for prestigious cheese competitions, including the Italian Cheese Awards, Gran Premio del Formaggiaio, Alma Caseus, Palio del Burro e del Formaggio. She is an honorary member of the Rome chapter of ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori di Formaggio). And has been knighted as Compagnon d’Honneur by the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers - Confrerie de Saint Uguzon.

Philanthropy & Additional Work

Eleonora regularly serves as a translator and language support specialist for Sextantio, a philanthropic initiative dedicated to preserving historic mountain villages in Italy through sustainable hospitality models. The organization also supports charitable initiatives abroad, including providing free healthcare services in Rwanda through fundraising and donations.

Fun Fact

Through her work in culinary travel, Eleonora has gone behind the scenes in some of Italy’s most celebrated kitchens, interviewing renowned chefs and documenting food traditions, from Michelin-starred restaurants to remote rural communities, often acting as a cultural bridge between international travelers and local culinary heritage.

Guest Speaker

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston (online faculty)

Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Communication and Social Research (guest lecturer)

Wake Forest University, Travel Writing Program (guest speaker)

The Borromini Institute, Rome (guest speaker)

Elizabeth Heath is a U.S.-born writer and editor now based in Umbria, Italy, from where she writes about travel, culture, and archaeology in Italy and farther afield. After 17 years in the country, Liz is an Italy expert and fluent Italian speaker, with a keen understanding of Italy from both a traveler's and a resident's perspective. From her adopted hometown of Allerona, she operates a small-group tour company offering immersive experiences in Italian village life. She also manages a guesthouse in Allerona's historic center.

Experience

Liz is a prolific freelance writer and editor with more than 25 years of experience. Her writings on travel, culture and wellness have appeared in major outlets including The Washington Post, Smithsonian, Travel + Leisure, Reader's Digest, and many others. She is also the author of multiple Frommer's guidebooks for Italy. Beyond travel writing, she has written across a wide range — profiles, arts and entertainment, interior design, lifestyle, medical newsletters, ad copy, press releases, radio spots, and even screenplays — and has worked as a development editor for more than 75 Frommer's Travel Guide editions worldwide.

Selected publications

Contributor to Frommer's Complete Guide to Italy and EsayGuide to Rome, Florence Venice, author of Frommer's Rome Day-by-Day

Author of The Architecture Lover's Guide to Rome (White Owl, 2018)

Education

Liz has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art from Ringling College of Art & Design and a Master's degree in Humanities from the University of South Florida. She completed doctoral coursework in Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of South Florida.

She is a member of the Responsible Travel network and the Adventure Travel Trade Association.

Fiona Rose founded and runs a home interiors business, Arts & Crafts Living, born out of her admiration for the Arts & Crafts Movement and love of the home. She has been lecturing about topics she feels passionately about since 2010 including William Morris, his artisan daughter May Morris, Frida Kahlo, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Fiona always aims to include the human stories behind the artistic endeavours of her subjects.

Selected publications

Book reviewer for the Journal of William Morris Studies and regular contributor to The William Morris Society Magazine.

Education

Fiona has a BA in Social Psychology from the University of Sussex. She is an accredited lecturer for The Arts Society.

Fiona is an active member of The William Morris Society, the Arts & Crafts Movement in Surrey association, the CFA Voysey Society, and the Friends of Red House.

Volunteering

As a heritage volunteer with The William Morris Society, Fiona serves on the Museum & Collections Committee, offering marketing and public relations support. She has also helped staff plan, organise, and promote several significant exhibitions.

Volunteer house guide and specialist lecturer for the David Parr House; an ordinary Cambridge terraced house with an extraordinary, hand-painted Victorian interior.

Fun work-related fact

Every room in Fiona’s home is decorated with at least two patterns by William Morris.

Fuchsia Dunlop is a James Beard award-winning food writer and cook specializing in Chinese cuisine. She trained as a chef at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine in the 1990s and has been researching Chinese culinary culture ever since. Fuchsia is the author of seven books and a regular contributor to magazines, newspapers, radio and television. TV appearances include including Ugly Delicious, Chef’s Table and Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, as well as numerous Chinese-language shows. Five of her books have so far been published in Chinese translation in China.

Experience

Fuchsia grew up in Oxford, UK, was education in Cambridge and Sichuan, and has been researching and writing about Chinese cuisine and food culture for more than 30 years.

Selected publications

Seven books including, most recently, Invitation to a Banquet: the Story of Chinese Food, and The Food of Sichuan.

Contributor to publications including FT Weekend, The Guardian, The Observer, Saveur and Gourmet.

Education

Fuchsia has a BA in English Literature from Cambridge University and an MA in Chinese Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies. She was a British Council scholar at Sichuan University from 1994-95 and also trained at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine in Chengdu.

Awards

Fuchsia has won four James Beard awards for her writing, as well as awards from the IACP, the Andre Simon Memorial Fund, the Guild of Food Writers and the Fortnum and Mason Food and Drink Awards.

Garrick Ramirez is a writer and photographer who is originally from Los Angeles, and currently living in San Francisco. He is perennially on the road, exploring the Western US and capturing its many notable dining, nature, and cultural destinations. He’s also a keen design enthusiast who never passes up a notably captivating space.

Experience

Garrick has 15 years of experience contributing to leading outlets and brands such as Fairmont Hotels, Condé Nast Traveler, and OpenTable. In addition to his writing, he has spent over a decade working with art & cultural nonprofits within the U.S.

Education

Garrick has a BA in Studio Arts from the University of California, Irvine where he was trained as a painter and videographer.

Gillian Rhys is a British journalist currently based in London after living in Singapore and Hong Kong for nearly a decade. She has travelled extensively in Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa and America.

Experience

Gillian has over 30 years’ experience as a lifestyle journalist covering fashion, food, design and travel. She has been a writer and editor for magazines, newspapers and websites in the UK, Asia, Australia and the US.

Selected publications

Gillian contributes to the BBC, London Evening Standard, The Sunday Times Style supplement, FT’s How to Spend it, The Guardian travel section, delicious magazine, Australian Financial Review, the South China Morning Post and CNN Travel.

While living in Asia she was resident editor of the LUXE City Guide Singapore and became a regular contributor to the South China Morning Post and the Asian editions of Robb Report and Tatler magazines.

She is a former academy voter for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and the World’s 50 Best Restaurants (Hong Kong and South East Asia regions) and contributor to both the World’s and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant Guides

Education

Gillian trained as a journalist at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism postgraduate programme following a Bachelor of Arts degree from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Fun fact

After decades of overseas travel, Gillian is enjoying exploring Great Britain again.

Helen began her writing career with a magazine journalism course at the London College of Communications - now part of the University of the Arts - which led to her first job on Good Housekeeping magazine. She embarked on a fully freelance career five years later and since then has specialised in luxury, design-related subjects, encompassing everything from furniture, interiors, art, antiques and architecture to craft, gardens and decoration.

Experience

Over the past four decades, Helen’s work has been published in many leading magazines and national newspapers, including 15 years of contributing to the Financial Times. She has written 27 books.

Helen launched her eponymous online gallery to promote the work of talented artists and makers within the super-prime sector of interior design and architecture. She is a passionate advocate of true artisanship, determined to champion the message that commissioning unique pieces keeps skills alive.

Selected publications

Craft Britain: Why Making Matters (co-authored with David Linley)

Light and Inner Light, a two-book monograph on the work of artist Chris Levine

Charity work

Helen actively supports the work of The King’s Foundation and the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), both of which promote craft and craftsmanship in Britain. She launched Dovetail in New York, an event to showcase the work of QEST Scholars. She has organised the first Curated Craft Fair at Daylesford in Kingham in the Cotswolds, UK, which included a space devoted to The King’s Foundation. She also took a stand of her own selected artists and makers to the first ever Downtown Design event at Riyadh.

Jen Ruiz is a lawyer turned travel writer and content creator. She is an Amazon bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and award-winning travel journalist with bylines in outlets like National Geographic, Fodor’s Travel, AFAR, Business Insider, and The Washington Post. Jen has been featured in Forbes, the Miami Herald, and the Daily Mail and named a Top Latina Travel Expert by Mitú and The Points Guy. She was the editor of Lonely Planet’s Central America guidebooks and is the solo female traveler behind Jen on a Jet Plane.

Selected publications

Books:

• The Affordable Flight Guide
• You Need a Vacation!
• The Solo Female Travel Book
• 25 Ways to Work From Home
• From Blog to Business
• 12 Trips in 12 Months
• All You Need Is Flights

Contributor to the Lonely Planet Panama Guidebook, Fodor’s Travel Puerto Rico guidebook, Offbeat by Lonely Planet.

Education

Jen has a BA in Political Science from Florida International University and a JD from University of Maryland School of Law.

She is a member of the North American Travel Journalists Association and won a Bessie Award for Most Impactful Piece of Writing, as well as a TBEX creator award for Outstanding Social Media Presence.

Jenny Adams is an author, travel writer and photographer, based in New Orleans. Originally from Alabama, she’s called New York City, Charleston, South Carolina and Montana home, and, for the last 20 years, she’s spent several months per year in southeast Asia. Her work focuses primarily on great meals, lesser-trekked locales, the American South, loud bars and worthy cocktails.

Experience

Jenny has nearly 20 years of experience in the field of journalism, and her work and images have appeared in more than 75 publications globally. She’s a frequent contributor to Conde Nast Traveler, AFAR, Garden & Gun, and Fodor’s Travel. In photography, she’s represented by the Where Y’Art Gallery of New Orleans. She is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and the New Orleans Photo Alliance.

Selected publications:

Books:

• Mixing New Orleans, Cocktails & Legends
• Hotel Monteleone: More than a landmark, the heart of New Orleans since 1886.

Contributor to the Fodor’s Travel Guidebook to New Orleans, 2026 edition

Education

Jenny Adams holds a BA in Corporate Communications from the College of Charleston.

Fundraising

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, when her own Manhattan apartment building took on 15 feet of water, Jenny discovered a knack for, and a love of, fundraising. With the help of friends and strangers, she has organized, hosted and co-hosted more than a dozen philanthropic events since 2012, raising more than $150,000 for a range of charities and causes.

Writer, editor, and photographer Joe Yogerst is home again along the coast of Southern California after many years living abroad and working as a journalist and magazine editor in South Africa, Britain, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Experience

After starting his professional career as an editor at Soccer America magazine in the San Francisco Bay Area, Joe worked as a freelance journalist in South Africa for the Washington Post and the Geographical Magazine (UK), a general assignment reporter for a suburban London weekly newspaper, managing editor of Cathay Pacific’s award-winning Discovery magazine in Hong Kong, and a business reporter for the International Herald Tribune in Singapore.

An offer to write in Hollywood brought him back to California and a four-year stint developing movies and penning murder mystery scripts for Mary Tyler Moore (MTM) Productions and Stephen J. Cannell Productions.

National Geographic came calling with a year-long project to write a book about driving the Pan American Highway from Texas to Argentina – the first of more than 40 book projects for National Geographic. Nowadays Joe also writes for CNN Travel, Forbes Travel, DestinAsian Magazine, the Los Angeles Times travel magazine, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach magazines, Europe Express and Good Nature.

Selected books

• Long Road South; 50 States, 5,000 Ideas; Wild Beautiful Places and 125 Years of National Geographic Photography in Africa (National Geographic)
• America As It Happened (Washington Post)
• The Vietnam War and The World War One Book (DK)
• Explore! America’s Journeys (Kane/Miller)
• Nemesis: A Novel of Old California (Blank Slate Press)

Joe has also contributed to travel guides on Argentina, Peru, Cuba and Costa Rica; Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Macau; East Africa and Egypt; Spain, Greece, England, Venice, Barcelona and Amsterdam.

Education

Joe earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Geography at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Master’s Degree in Journalism at the University of Oregon.

He delivers guest lectures to writing and journalism students at San Diego State University and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), and mentors student newspaper staff at UCLA.

Awards

Among Joe’s many magazine and book honours are eight Lowell Thomas Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers including two Travel Book of the Year gold awards. He was named the Caribbean Travel Writer of the Year in 2006 and has received awards for his nature writing from the San Diego Press Club.

Fun fact

Joe estimates that he’s spent at least two years of his life sleeping on the ground while camping in Africa, Asia and North America.

John Brunton is a journalist, author and photographer, originally from London. After spending five years in Malaysia, he is now based in Paris and Venice, travelling widely to produce articles for international newspapers and magazines, specialising in wine, food, travel and culture.

Experience

Originally a photographer in Malaysia, specialising in adventure travel, John became a Paris-based correspondent, moved to Venice and started writing, specialising in food and wine journalism.

John has 30 years of experience, contributing to The Guardian, The Observer, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Financial Times, Elle magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, South China Morning Post and International Herald Tribune.

Selected publications:

Books: Malaysian Contrasts, Foods from France, World Markets

Photography coffee table books on Mexico, Italy, United States, Malaysia Heart of Asia

Contributor to Lonely Planet themed books - World Wine Trails, European Wine Trails, Food Trails, Culture Trails, Global Coffee Tour, Global Chocolate Tour, Global Beer Tour, Global Distillery Tour, Offbeat Travel, The Joy of Exploring Gardens, The Joy of Swimming, Trip Builder

Education

John has a BA in Modern History from Bristol University, and an MA in American Studies from London School of Economics.

He is a member of international wine juries - Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Vinitaly International Wine Competition, Beaujolais Nouveau Trophy, Challenge Millesime Bio, Autochtona indigenous grapes.

He is also a member of Slowfood Jury, Frankfurt International Cheese and Charcuterie Trophy, Chevalier de Tastevin Sancerre and Nobile del Ducato dei Vini Friulani.

Awards

John has been awarded Pluma di Plata (Mexico) for travel writing and the Premio Collio (Italy) for wine writing.

John Garry is a travel writer covering everything from urban culture to outdoor adventures. He’s also a theater teacher, city cyclist and avid museum-goer who probably eats out too much in Brooklyn, NYC, where he lives.

Experience

After growing up in New York’s Catskill Mountains, John spent a decade performing in musicals across North America and Europe before jumping into travel journalism and setting down roots in Brooklyn.

Selected publications

He has contributed to more than 14 Lonely Planet guidebooks since 2021, covering destinations from Colombia to Canada, with a strong focus on New York City and the Eastern US. His work also appears in Fodor’s, Matador Network, AAA and other publications.

Charity work

On weekends, he teaches at NYC-based non-profit CO_LAB Theater Group, creating a social and artistic outlet for actors with developmental disabilities.

Awards

John is the recipient of four awards from the North American Travel Journalists Association, including Gold, Silver and Bronze for his work on articles related to the LGBTQ community and accessibility.

Jonathan Glancey is a London-born journalist, critic and author. He has lived in many parts of the world, including India and the Spanish Pyrenees, and in recent years in the Scottish Highlands, Venice and the Suffolk-Norfolk border in the U.K. His interest in architecture is life-long as is his fascination with design and engineering in all their many forms and his fondness for dogs, birds, aircraft, steam railway locomotives and dragonflies.

Experience

Jonathan began his career with the Architectural Review which took him around the world before joining the Independent as its first Architecture and Design Editor and moving to the Guardian where he travelled extensively including through Iraq shortly before the Bush-Blair invasion of 2003. Now freelance, he writes for newspapers, magazines and websites worldwide. His has made and contributed to numerous TV and radio programmes.

Selected publications

Jonathan's many books include The Story of Architecture, Lost Buildings, Where We Live, Spitfire: the biography, Concorde: the rise and fall of the supersonic airliner, The Journey Matters, Nagaland: A Journey to India's Forgotten Frontier, Giants of Steam and Operation Bowler: The Audacious Allied Bombing of Venice.

Education

Jonathan holds an MA from Magdalen College, Oxford.

He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a member of the Committee of International Architectural Critics (CICA), a Companion of the Guild of St George, a charitable education trust founded by John Ruskin, and Patron of The Betjeman Society. He has spoken at literary festivals from Cowes on the Isle of Wight to Auckland, New Zealand.

Julia Pearey is a freelance writer, editor, and copywriter based in Wiltshire, U.K.

Experience

More than 30 years in the publishing/editorial world. She started her career at a London agency working on Orient-Express Magazine, then went on to edit a variety of titles, including Island Visitor for people travelling to the Isle of Wight and Livewire, which was placed on the UK’s London to Scotland train service.

Since going freelance 18 years ago she has contributed to numerous publications and websites, working mainly in the sphere of travel, art and lifestyle. Most recent clients include Belmond, Abercrombie & Kent, Crystal Cruises and the Art Fund. Her more unusual projects have ranged from managing a peer-reviewed journal for dermatology nurses to copywriting a website for a dental studio on Australia’s Gold Coast.

Education

BA Hons in French and German at the University of East Anglia.

Interests

Huge supporter of anything animal/wildlife related, in particular (at the moment) helping dogs who have been badly affected by war.

Introduction

Kaeli Conforti is a travel writer, originally from New York City. She grew up in Hawaii and Florida, began her editorial career at Budget Travel magazine, and served as senior editor at The Points Guy. Following a two-year Working Holiday Visa stay in Australia and New Zealand, Kaeli moved to Washington, DC. She has since updated several DC guidebooks and continues to travel the world and write about her experiences.

Experience

Kaeli has more than 18 years of experience, contributing to Forbes, Thrillist, Lonely Planet, Mental Floss, Frommer's, Fodor's, Point.me, Shermans Travel, Tripadvisor, Budget Travel, Signature Travel Network, CNBC Select, Business Insider, The Points Guy, and Lending Tree.

Selected publications

Books:

• Day Trips from Washington, DC: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler (Globe Pequot, third edition)
• Frommer's Easy Guide to Washington, D.C. (2023 and 2023 editions)
• Fodor's Essential Australia (Outback chapter of the 2019 edition)

Education

Kaeli has a BA in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. She graduated Magma Cum Laude and is a proud member of Kappa Tau Alpha, the Journalism and Mass Communications Honor Society.

Introduction

Kate Mann is a journalist from the UK. She has been based in Munich since 2016 and Germany for longer, with stints in Köln and Berlin. She also spent two years working at the Slow Food headquarters in Piedmont. Her work mainly focuses on Germany, Austria and the Alps, and provides insights into food, culture and travel for British and international publications.

Experience

Kate began writing about Germany upon moving to Munich. She started with a blog, Munich Bites, which focuses on chefs and artisanal producers in Bavaria, before branching out into freelance journalism. Over the past decade, she has written for The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, Conde Nast Traveller, BBC Travel, Lonely Planet, National Geographic Traveller, Eater and more.

Selected publications:

• 100 years after Bauhaus arrived, Dessau is still a magnet for design fans The Guardian
• Alpine Reawakening: Bavaria's New Wave of Mountain Retreats SUITCASE Magazine
• Austria's under-the-radar city with a vibrant arts scene The Sunday Times
• Sick of talking about Brexit The Independent

Education

Kate has a BA in Geography, First-Class Honours, from the University of Exeter and an MSc. in Global Governance and Ethics, with distinction, from University College London.

She is a member of the Guild of Travel Writers and the Guild of Food Writers.

Introduction

Katy Salter is a food and travel journalist and content editor, based just outside of London, UK. She began her career as features editor for a leading food magazine, before moving into the worlds of food websites and freelance writing.

Experience

Katy is an experienced food and travel journalist, whose work has appeared in BBC Good Food, Conde Nast Traveller, Elle, Eurostar Magazine, Restaurant, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times and Sunday Times among many others. She has worked in-house for several UK food titles including Delicious and Waitrose Food. Her cookbook, Dairy-Free Delicious (Quadrille), was published in both the US and UK.

Her foodie adventures have taken her all over the world and include picking coffee in Costa Rica and tea in Kenya, learning how to make feta in the Greek mountains, sipping the best flat whites in Melbourne and foraging for razor clams in Brittany, France.

Education and volunteer work

Katy has a BA in American Studies from the University of Reading and has also lived and studied in the USA. In her spare time, she volunteers at a local school newspaper club, helping a group of children aged nine to 11 years old produce their own newspaper.

Award nominations

Katy has been shortlisted twice for The Guild of Food Writers’ Journalist of the Year, Fortnum & Mason Food Journalist of the Year and Best Journalist at Le Cordon Bleu World Food Awards.

Introduction

Kristin Luna is a Tennessee-based journalist, photographer, and storyteller whose work spans more than two decades across print and digital media. Her bylines include more than 50 international publications, such as Time Out, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, AFAR, Newsweek and USA Today. She is also the voice behind the award-winning travel blog Camels & Chocolate and the founder of public art nonprofit DMA (for Do More Art), which installs murals across the South, merging storytelling with community-driven placemaking.

Experience

Born in rural Tennessee, Kristin began her career in consumer media during college before moving to New York City, where she built a strong portfolio through in-house reporter and editor roles. She later spent several years in California, where she authored more than a dozen guidebooks and expanded into content marketing within the food and travel space.

Over time, her career has evolved beyond writing into a multi-faceted business that includes running a successful travel platform, producing large-scale public art projects, and creating visual and editorial assets for communities of all sizes. She is also a sought-after speaker and panelist, regularly presenting at national conferences on destination marketing, storytelling, content strategy and creative placemaking.

Selected publications

Books: Tennessee Curiosities; MTV Spain; Frommer's San Francisco Day by Day; Frommer's California (multiple editions); Frommer's San Francisco (multiple editions); Best Places Northern California, Frommer's Atlanta, Frommer's Memphis

Education

Kristin holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Electronic Media from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also studied at Sewanee: The University of the South, the University of Edinburgh, Hogeschool Utrecht in the Netherlands and Danmarks Medie og Journalisthøjskole in Denmark.

She serves on advisory boards for several academic institutions and tourism organizations, including the University of Tennessee's School of Journalism and Media, the Tennessee Hospitality & Tourism Association's Governor's Conference and Middle Tennessee State University's Tourism and Hospitality Management program.

Awards

Kristin has received multiple creative and industry honors throughout her career, including Mississippi's Travel Writer of the Year award and the Daughters of the American Revolution's Public Relations and Media Award, recognizing her commitment to historic preservation and education through her nonprofit work.

Introduction

Laura Hall is an award-winning writer and journalist based in Copenhagen. Originally from Manchester, UK, she covers Scandinavia, the Nordics and the Arctic from a cultural and travel perspective. She is a contributor to all the major broadsheet newspapers in the UK, along with the BBC. She also writes for multiple outlets around the world, from airline magazines in Hong Kong to travel magazines including Conde Nast Traveler and Afar in the USA.

Experience

Laura's background is in travel publishing as a travel guide author and editor, and she has broad experience across the travel sector, as a former founding director of family travel firm Kid & Coe and the former content lead of a national tourist board.

When she is not writing, Laura is most likely to be found swimming somewhere in the cold seas of Scandinavia.

 

Selected publications

Memoir: The Year I Lay My Head In Water, a memoir of swimming around Scandinavia in search of a better life.

Travel writing: Time Out Copenhagen, Footprint Reykjavik

Children's Books: One Day, So Many Ways, a picture book about world culture.

Contributor: Kinfolk Islands, Kinfolk Journeys, Lonely Planet Denmark, Lonely Planet Scandinavia

Education

Laura holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Oxford University and a post-graduate certificate in Periodicals Journalism from the London College of Printing. She is studying for an MFA in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University.

She sits on the jury for the annual CIFFT Tourism Press Award and is regularly called on to comment about the travel industry. She writes prize-winning fiction and was the runner up of the Tom Grass Spirit of Adventure Literary Prize in 2025.

Introduction

Lee Cobaj is a travel writer, guidebook author and the founder of luxury travel consultancy Alembic Creative. Lee lives in Hong Kong, the city where she grew up. She specialises in writing about luxury travel in Asia and contributes to a number of prestigious publications, including Conde Nast Traveller, The Telegraph, The Times, Robb Report, National Geographic Traveller and Travel + Leisure Asia.

Experience

After spending nearly two decades criss-crossing the globe as cabin crew, Lee now specialises in writing about high-end adventures and luxury hotels across Asia and the Indian Ocean.

Selected publications

Contributor to DK Eyewitness: Top 10 Hong Kong

Education

Lee Cobaj has a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Literature, Culture and Modernity, both attained at the University of Salford.

Charity work

As well as being a pet therapy volunteer, Lee is an active fundraiser for the Indochina Starfish Foundation, which supports impoverished children in Cambodia through education, football and community projects.

Fun fact

Lee has visit 60 resorts in the Maldives - and counting.

Introduction

Lee Marshall writes about travel, cinema and interiors for a range of international publications. The bulk of his travel writing centres on Italy, his home since 1984. Born in Bristol, he holds dual Italian and UK citizenship.

Experience

Lee moved to Rome on a whim in September 1984 with his partner, straight out of university. They have lived in Italy ever since, moving from Rome to a small town in Umbria in 2008. He became a full-time freelance writer and journalist in 1993, specialising initially in culture but soon focusing on his two core passions: travel and cinema.

Publications

Marshall's travel articles have appeared in Condé Nast Traveller, Travel and Leisure, Departures, The Telegraph, Time Out, Qantas Magazine, The Guardian, The New York Times and many others. He writes film reviews for Screen International, mostly from festivals. He has also been a regular contributor to World of Interiors for more than two decades.

Awards

Marshall was awarded the Premio Sicilia Terra Mediterranean in 2013 for his writing on Sicily in Departures magazine. He has served as a jury member at film festivals in Edinburgh, Bratislava and Salina.

Introduction

Lisa Gerard-Sharp is an award-winning travel writer, editor, author and speaker who also covers culture, cruising, the arts and lifestyle. As a dual British-Italian citizen based in London and on the French-Italian Riviera, she is especially attached to Italy and France, where she is mostly based.

Lisa is a storyteller who delivers in-depth travel writing, cultural talks and interviews.

Experience

Formerly London Correspondent to Italian Vogue, Lisa is a Londoner who has lived in Paris, Brussels, Rome, Florence, Siena and the French-Italian Riviera, her current writing base. It's an eclectic, award-winning range, spanning travel, heritage, fashion, food and wine, literature and the arts. She's as happy infiltrating the Sicilian Mafia as truffling with hounds in Piedmont.

Lisa is also a keen interviewer, hotel/restaurant reviewer and cruise journalist worldwide, who loves quirky cruises and tall ships. That's in addition to speaking at events or travel shows, including the France Show in London or luxury lifestyle shows in Cannes.

Selected publications

Contributor to outlets ranging from Time Out to The Telegraph, The Guardian to National Geographic Traveller, Wanderlust Magazine to World of Cruising, along with work for Lonely Planet, Italia Magazine, CNN and the BBC.

Sole author or contributor to books on heritage, language and education, along with in-depth guides to Italian and French regions, culinary trails, cultural walks and Mediterranean cruises for publishers ranging from Insight Guides to National Geographic and Dorling Kindersley.

Education

As a linguist, former teacher and academic writer, Lisa first trained in education, including roles as a language lecturer in Florence and director of studies of management training institutes in Brussels and Paris. Lisa is also a longstanding member of the British Guild of Travel Writers.

Awards

Lisa has won numerous journalism awards, including Best Travel Writer on Italy, awarded by the Italian Tourist Board, and Best Destination Feature, plus Best Transport Writer, for her work on cruising, from the British Guild of Travel Writers. She has won similar awards for her guidebooks on Italy and France and been acclaimed as a travel blogger by National Geographic Traveller.

Introduction

Mark Johanson is an American journalist who's lived in Santiago, Chile, for more than a decade. His stories about travel, adventure, food, design and the environment have appeared in numerous magazines (Travel + Leisure, TIME, Robb Report, Food & Wine, Outside, Dwell, Newsweek), newspapers (The Guardian, Sunday Times, FT, Chicago Tribune), digital publications (Punch, Narratively, Atlas Obscura), inflights (Hemispheres, Qantas) and global news outlets (National Geographic, Bloomberg, CNN, BBC). He has co-authored more than two-dozen Lonely Planet travel guides and coffee table books, as well as several Fodor's guides and NatGeo coffee table books.

Experience

In addition to his writing, Mark has worked as a presenter for Lonely Planet's video channel and been featured as an authority on travel writing in podcasts and books.

Selected publications

Mark's first literary work, Mars on Earth, was published in 2024 by Rocky Mountain Books. The photo-rich hardcover follows a 1,200-mile odyssey into the heart of the world's driest non-polar desert ― the Atacama.

Mark has also co-authored Lonely Planet guides to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Panama, Peru, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the U.S. and the Virgin Islands. He has co-authored Fodor's guides to Chile and Peru, and National Geographic coffee table books like the Traveler's Atlas of the World.

Education

Mark has a BA in Media Arts and Design from James Madison University.

Awards

Mars on Earth was listed among the best travel books of 2024 by both National Geographic and Geographical Magazine.

Andrea Goss Knaub is a creative writer and editor of books, magazine articles, scripts, songs, and creative content for websites and advertising campaigns, as well as a film and video producer. Originally from Pennsylvania, USA, she is based in Southern California and travels to live and share new experiences, beauty, and perspectives. On each adventure, she finds the equivalent of a local, favorite diner to soak in the local vibe. 

Publications and productions

Producer, director: Semaphore Summers documentary (Currently in production)

Producer, director: Ocean City Beach Patrol (Maryland) – Recruitment Video, (October 2024)

Book author / fiction novel: (2024) The Summer You Were Mine, Gypsy GoGo Creative 

Writer: The Allure of the Caribbean, Preferred Travel Magazine, Volume 30, (December 2025)

Writer: Treasures of the Caribbean, Preferred Travel Magazine, Volume 22 (2023)

Podcast roducer: What If? True Stories & Alternate Endings; Chicken Lips Productions (2021)

Book editor: Golden Torpedo (2016), Zenobia: The Patriot Way (2014), and Sandustee: The Search for the Nazarene’s Code (2013), Adamov, B., Wooster, OH: Packard Island Publishing

Film scriptwriter: Script adaptation from the novel Tan Lines by author Bob Adamov (2012)

Book co-author: Anderson, S. & Knaub, A. (2011) Beyond Screenwriting: Insider Tips and Career Advice from a Successful Hollywood TV and Film Writer. Van Nuys, CA: Sterling Dart.

Additional skills

Facilitator for diversity and equity conversation engagements (University of California, Irvine), former reader / judge for the Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project, adjunct college professor. 

Education

Andrea has a BA in communications/journalism from Shippensburg University and an MA in communication studies / organizational communications from Regent University.

Anja Mutić is a travel writer, editor and storyteller whose work explores the intersection of place, culture and personal transformation. Originally from Croatia and based between Europe and the United States, she has spent over two decades travelling the world, crafting immersive narratives that go beyond destination to capture the human spirit of travel.

She is the founder of Storyline Studio, a creative consultancy focused on storytelling, editorial strategy and brand narratives in travel and tourism. 

Anja has lived, worked and travelled on every continent except Antarctica. She once got lost on assignment in the Bolivian Amazon. She dances tango, a love affair that has shadowed her since first visiting Buenos Aires back in 2002. 

Experience

Anja’s work spans print, digital and experiential storytelling, with a focus on long-form narrative and cultural exploration. She has contributed to leading international publications including The Washington Post, Condé Nast Traveler, BBC Travel, Afar, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Travel + Leisure, among others.

Alongside her editorial work, she leads writing workshops, mentors emerging voices in travel writing and speaks at conferences and events worldwide. 

Selected publications

Contributor to Lonely Planet guidebooks and themed titles, alongside features and essays in major international publications.

Education

Anja has a BA in Comparative Literature and Philosophy from the University of Kent in Canterbury.

Awards

Her work has been recognised by the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), the North American Travel Journalists Association and the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Associations. 

Anna Prendergast is the deputy editor at creative agency Salt Lick. She's also a ​journalist covering travel, sustainability and social issues for titles such as Condé Nast Traveller, How To Spend It, The Telegraph, The Observer and Broadsheet London. When she's not crafting stories, she can be found scuba-diving, beach-combing, view-finding or tinkering with her campervan, Basil.  

Experience

Anna started out in fashion, working for designers such as Emilia Wickstead and Matthew Williamson. Having lived in Barcelona, Melbourne and Greece, she found her passion for publishing at Condé Nast Traveller, where she specialised in travel journalism.

Now based in London, Anna has over a decade of experience in storytelling for brands and publications. She has interviewed monks in Bhutan, bellyboarders in Cornwall and hoteliers in Costa Rica; she has navigated Nicaragua’s islands and reported from a convent in Melbourne. 

Anna has contributed to The Telegraph, The Observer, How To Spend It, Time Out, The Nudge, The Independent, Broadsheet London, Stylist, Glamour, Gloobles, Roadbook, Secret Trips, Luxury London and Country Life.

Awards

Anna was nominated AITO Young Travel Writer of the Year in 2023 for a report on how the van life movement is evolving to become more inclusive. Read it on Roadbook.

Arabella Bowen is a writer, editor, and creative strategist specializing in travel, art, and culture. Originally from Canada and based in New York, she writes about the cultural forces and institutions that shape how we experience places.

Experience
Bowen began her career as a journalist covering everything from politics to arts and culture for daily and alt-weekly Canadian newspapers. Her travel career took off after a three-month solo trip through southeast Asia - with a guidebook as her primary compass - inspired her to start writing travel guides when she came home. She went on to become Editor in Chief of Fodor’s Travel and Digital Content Director at AFAR, before co-founding SoloTrvlr, a travel platform designed to empower solo travelers to explore independently through trusted, local insight.

When she’s not writing guidebooks, she covers art, culture, and lifestyle trends, always tracking global art openings and cultural shifts worth traveling for. She also runs a consultancy advising cultural and media organizations on audience development, platform strategy, and multichannel storytelling.

Selected publications

Books: Co-author of Fodor’s New York City (multiple editions) and Rough Guides to Montreal & Quebec City (multiple editions), Canada, Caribbean, and Boston.

In addition to Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Arabella has also written for AFAR, Christie’s, Montreal Gazette, Indagare, New York Times, Popular Mechanics, Digital Party, and more. 

Education

Arabella holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Toronto and an MA in Media Arts from Concordia University in Montreal. She also holds a Level 2 Wine Certification from WSET and serves on the board of the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC).

Awards
Recipient of a Bessie Award for SoloTrvlr (Best Travel Website) and multiple Webby and Lowell Thomas awards for Fodor’s website, apps, and books.

Ari Bendersky is a lifestyle journalist, creator of the Something Glorious newsletter on Substack, and host of the YouTube series Family Meal. He has visited numerous wine regions throughout Italy, Spain, Argentina, the U.S. and beyond. He is based in Chicago with his husband and travels extensively. 

Experience

Ari started his career in Chicago in the early days of the dot-com era as the editor of the daily news for music startup JAMtv, which eventually merged with RollingStone.com. After living in San Francisco and working for Shutterfly, he returned to Chicago and started his freelance career. Over the years, Ari has written for the New York Times, WSJ, Wine Enthusiast, Men’s Journal, Food & Wine, Monocle, AFAR, Conde Nast Traveler, People, and many more. He was the founding editor of Eater Chicago. 

Selected publications

Books: Contributor to Fifty Places to Drink Wine Before You Die.

Education

Ari has a BA in political science from Syracuse University and a Masters in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He is certified as a WSET level 2 and is currently awaiting results of the WSET level 3 exam. 

Awards

Ari has been a semifinalist in the 67 Global Wine Communicator Awards each year between 2024 and 2026

Becca Hensley is a Texas-based journalist, poet, essayist, hotel expert and artist. She finds magic in ordinary things and turns found objects into stories. A world traveler since childhood, she has an insatiable curiosity, tends to laugh spontaneously and often brandishes a quirky perspective drawn from a frozen moment in time. 

Experience

Believing that travel writing can be an umbrella for all of her passions—including gastronomy, art, design, wellness, hotels and fashion. She has written about all aspects of global travel for four decades. She was a travel columnist for Austin Monthly for 20 years. With thousands of bylines in hundreds of outlets, her journalistic work has appeared in Town & Country, Architectural Digest, Esquire, Texas Monthly Travel + Leisure, Robb Report, Preferred Travel Magazine, DOTW, Toronto Star, TIME, South China Morning Post, Conde Nast Traveler, Elite Traveler, New York Post, Travel Curator, Harpers Bazaar, Chicago Tribune among others. Her poetry has been published In hundreds of literary journals including  New York Quarterly, Ploughshares, The American Poetry Review and Rattle.

Education

Becca has a BA in History and Spanish from the University of Colorado and an MA in World Studies and History from the University of Texas. 

Awards

Becca’s work has been recognized by journalistic organizations such as NATJA and SATW and won a variety of poetry awards. 

Other work

Her paintings have appeared in juried exhibitions and in magazines as illustration. She teaches healing journaling courses at spas, local venues, one-on-one and on ZOOM. Becca’s written three (so far unpublished) novels. For years, she served on the board of SAFE, Austin’s Domestic Abuse Treatment Center. 

Ben West is a journalist, author, photographer and playwright from London. He has travelled widely to produce articles for books and international newspapers and magazines.

Experience

Ben has written about travel, property, the arts, health and education, contributing to The Guardian, The Observer, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Financial Times, GQ, South China Morning Post, the New York Times and many others.

Selected publications

Books: Cameroon (Bradt Guides), London for Free (Pan Books), Buying a Home (Virgin Books).

Introduction

Blane Bachelor is an award-winning journalist and editor who writes for top global outlets including CNN, National Geographic, Afar, Fodor’s, the New York Post, Robb Report, and New York Magazine. Her main specialties are travel news, aviation, and consumer travel trends, but she especially loves writing about anything quirky and off-the-beaten-path, including haunted history and local legends. Throughout her 25-year career in journalism, Blane has held a variety of roles, including newspaper sportswriter, editor, guidebook author, and dating columnist. Blane was born and raised in Florida and has lived in four countries abroad, including Spain, where she learned to speak Spanish. Her current base is Amsterdam, where she resides with her husband and son. 

Selected publications

Books: Contributor to several National Geographic titles, including Great Outdoors U.S.A. and TravelAtlas. Blane also is the sole author of the forthcoming 100 Haunts of a Lifetime, which is scheduled to publish in fall 2027.

Education

Blane graduated cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism, a program that consistently ranks in the top 10 in the US.

Awards

Blane won a Silver Award from the 33rd Annual North American Travel Journalists Awards Competition for her story, “A culture of commemoration is still thriving in this Dutch town 80 years after its liberation,” which appeared in CNN Travel. She also won an honorable mention for a story on fly fishing from the Georgia Magazine Association in 2004.

Introduction

Based in Vancouver, Canada, Carolyn B. Heller writes about cultural experiences, food and drink, long-distance walking, road trips, cool hotels, and offbeat adventures from her travels to more than 50 countries on all seven continents. She has authored several guidebooks and contributed to dozens of other travel titles.

Experience

Carolyn has written for publications in Canada, the United States, and around the world, contributing articles to Afar, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, National Geographic (UK), BBC Travel, Fodor’s Travel, Wanderlust (UK), Going.com, Forbes Travel Guide, Luxury Latin America, Hotels Above Par, Montecristo Magazine, Dreamscapes, Edible Sea to Sky, and many other publications.

Selected publications

Carolyn is the author of several guidebooks for the Moon Travel Guides, most recently Moon Vancouver & Canadian Rockies Road Trip, a guide to road-tripping across Western Canada. She is a co-author of Lonely Planet’s Atlantic Canada and Boston guides, and she has contributed to numerous other Lonely Planet titles, including Canada, Experience Canada, Experience New England, Art Destinations, Parenthood Around the World, The Joy of Gardens, Electric Vehicle Road Trips: US and Canada, and Epic Snow Adventures, among many others.

Education

Carolyn has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University. She’s an avid language student, who has studied Spanish in Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Colombia. She speaks decent Spanish and French and enough basic Mandarin Chinese to order dumplings and possibly by a train ticket. She’s also taken cooking lessons in many countries, including Vietnam, Guatemala, Grenada, Japan, Chile, South Africa, and Indonesia.

Awards

A member of SATW (Society of American Travel Writers) and the Travel Media Association of Canada, Carolyn has received numerous awards from both organizations for her food and drink stories, service pieces, and features highlighting the contributions that Canadians of Asian descent have made to Canada.

Charlie Allenby is a London-based freelance writer who covers running, cycling, triathlon and adventure travel for international newspapers and magazines. He's not afraid of putting himself through the wringer for his work– whether that's taming mountain biking trails in Colorado or enduring the cobbled farm tracks of northern France – and regularly competes in ultra-distance events, marathons and sportives.

Selected publications
Books: Bike London: A guide to cycling in the city 

Education
Charlie has a BA in History from Reading University, and an MA in Magazine Journalism from City University, London.

Introduction

Daniel James Clarke is a travel writer, guidebook author and photographer from England, who has lived in Portugal since 2018. Having travelled to over 75 countries and been based in three continents, his work spans a variety of publications and topics, including newspapers, guidebooks and photography commissions.

 

Experience

With a background in hospitality and the performing arts, Daniel’s transition to travel photography was a natural evolution of his creative pursuits, and his shift into travel writing initially focused on food and wine, drawing on his expertise as a restaurant manager. While he has worked globally, in recent years he has focused on writing about his adopted home, Portugal, for the likes of Lonely Planet, The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Observer. 

Selected publications

Books: Lonely Planet Algarve (Author) and Lonely Planet Portugal (Contributor), alongside various other titles and coffee table books. 

Photography: Various photo projects, including displays of his work at Heathrow Airport as part of the GREAT! Campaign, in tourism destination marketing images, books and magazines, including Grazia and Lo—TEK Water.

Education

Daniel has a diploma in performing arts from Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead, UK, and is currently studying for his National Council for the Training of Journalists Diploma. He’s also undertaken various courses and training related to wine and sommelier activities, including with WSET.

Awards

Daniel’s Lonely Planet Pocket Algarve was awarded Travel Guidebook of the Year at the British Guild of Travel Writers awards ceremony in 2025, and his video production has won numerous ART&TUR (Portugal's CIFFT) awards. 

Introduction

Erica Firpo is a Rome-based travel and lifestyle journalist and podcast host who has spent over two decades decoding Italy from the inside out.

Experience

Originally a curator and art critic based in Venice, Erica shifted her focus to travel journalism after moving to Rome, where she developed a distinctive voice at the intersection of culture and place. Erica brings sharp local insight and a narrative style that captures the rhythm of place - where culture, food, art, and daily life intersect. She is the creator of Ciao Bella and host of the Ciao Bella podcast, offering a front-row seat to Italy’s creative world through conversations with chefs, artists, curators, and cultural tastemakers. With over 20 years of experience, she has contributed to international publications including AFAR, BBC Travel, Condé Nast Traveler, Fathom, Insider, The Guardian, Travel + Leisure, and The Washington Post. Alongside her editorial work, she has authored and contributed to more than 20 books and developed multimedia storytelling platforms that explore Italy through food, art, and contemporary culture.

Selected publications

The Italian Way (Penguin RandomHouse 2025)

Lonely Planet: Experience Italy (2022) 

Le Immagini Raccontano (2022) - editor

Insight Guides: Rome Select (2011)

Fodor’s Guide to the Da Vinci (2006)

Little Black Book Rome (2005)

Little Black Book Copenhagen (2005)

Erica is author and contributor to more than a dozen of Fodor’s guidebooks packed with maps, recommendations, and everything else you need to experience Rome and Italy including Fodor’s Italy, Fodor’s Rome, The Best of Italy, Essential Italy and more, and several Lonely Planet Italy–related titles.

Contributor to Fodor series - World Wine Trails, European Wine Trails, Food Trails,

Culture Trails, Global Coffee Tour, Global Chocolate Tour, Global Beer Tour, Global Distillery Tour,

Offbeat Travel, The Joy of Exploring Gardens, The Joy of Swimming, Trip Builder

Education

Erica holds a BA in History of Art from University of Pennsylvania.

She is a member Ordine dei Giornalisti, Society of American Travel Writers and Stampa Estera (Foreign Press Association in Italy). 

Introduction

Florentyna Leow is a writer, translator, and private tour guide. Originally from Malaysia, she spent her university years in London before moving to Japan in 2015. She is based in Tokyo and Kamakura. She is a stickler for meticulous research when it comes to writing. Most of her time is spent thinking about food, creativity, and the state of the world. 

Since 2022, she has been the Editorial Director of sankaku, an independent print publication celebrating people and craft. Her first essay collection/memoir, How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart, was published in 2023. 

Experience

Florentyna has spent over a decade in the Japan travel industry in various capacities — tour planner, private tour guide, travel writer, content creator, social media copywriter, translator for travel-related government projects, and more — with a special focus on luxury and off-the-beaten-path travel. Her work has taken her all over Japan, from the craggy mountains of Hokkaido to the hot springs of Oita. 

Her writing has appeared in a wide variety of magazines, newspapers, and websites. These include: BBC Storyworks, Urchin’s Home, Gastro Obscura, Culinary Backstreets, FARE Magazine, cheese, Japan Times, SBS Food, TripAdvisor, Time Out Tokyo, Lucky Peach, WILD Magazine, Roads & Kingdoms. 

In general, her preference is for longer pieces that enables her to explore a subject or story with the depth and nuance it deserves. 

Selected publications

Books: How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart (author), sankaku vol. 2 and vol. 3 (editor and contributor), Lonely Planet Experience Tokyo (contributor).

Education

Florentyna has a BA in Japanese from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, which included a strong secondary focus on Edo period art history. 

Introduction

Hillary Richard is an award-winning journalist, photographer, and professional adventurer. She grew up near New York City before moving to Boston for college. She spent time living in and working for magazines in Sydney, Australia and Galway, Ireland before returning to the New York metro area. She has reported from all seven continents. 

Selected publications

Hillary has written features for National Geographic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, Vogue, The Boston Globe, Virtuoso, Robb Report, Luxury Magazine, BBC Travel, AAA Explorer and regional AAA magazines, and many other consumer and trade publications. Her photography has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Robb Report, BBC Travel, Time Magazine, and AAA. 

Education 

Hillary has a BS in journalism and history from Boston University. During the pandemic, she began a Master’s degree at Harvard virtually. Earlier in her career, she completed a sustainability reporting fellowship with the Thomson Reuters Foundation and the United Nations in New York. Hillary has won two awards from the North American Travel Journalist Association for articles in National Geographic and Vogue.

Introduction

From Ireland, John O’Ceallaigh is a luxury-travel journalist and consultant based between Dubai and London. Formerly the luxury travel editor of The Telegraph, he writes about luxury travel for many of the world’s leading travel titles. A voracious traveller who has stayed in hundreds of leading hotels, he is also an advisor to some of the world’s leading hospitality companies. 

Experience

John’s interest in travel began when he won a scholarship to be an Irish youth ambassador to Japan at 16, an honour that saw him travel alone to the country as a teen to spend a summer attending high school while living with local families. After many years of backpacking as a student, he became immersed in the fancier end of the travel spectrum after becoming The Telegraph’s luxury travel editor. After many years in that role, he became a freelance travel writer and now contributes to the likes of Condé Nast Traveller, Robb Report, Elite Traveler, National Geographic Travel and Architectural Digest Middle East. He is the host of the industry podcast The Luxury Travel Edit, regularly appears on and hosts industry panels, and speaks about luxury travel on TV and radio. In addition to his journalism work, he is a consultant for luxury hospitality companies, advising on matters such as branding, guest experience and creative concepts. 

Education

John has a first-class degree in Sociology and German at the University of Manchester. 

Fun fact

Having visited 70-odd countries to date, John’s current travel focus is going to new-to-him destinations. That was the prompt for a recent trip to Palau (which receives approximately 70,000 international tourist arrivals a year), Uzbekistan, Namibia and Azerbaijan. Future dream trip locations include Kazakhstan, Armenia, Djibouti and Bolivia. 

Introduction

Jenny Hewett is a Sydney-based freelance travel writer who grew up in Australia, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur. As a diplomat brat, she caught the travel bug early; she grew up riding bikes in Canberra, skiing in South Korea and eating roti canai in Malaysia, and as an adult has lived and worked in Dubai and Bali. She’s an expert solo traveller and has stayed at more luxury hotels than she can count. Jenny has a special interest in emerging destinations and expedition travel, particularly Antarctica, and is passionate about skiing, small-ship cruising, and wildlife and nature.

Experience 

Jenny started her career in women’s fashion magazines at Australia’s then largest publisher before moving to Dubai, where she lived for seven years. Her last three and a half years there were spent as a section editor of weekly Time Out Dubai. She moved to Bali in 2015 and has been a freelance travel writer ever since.

She writes regularly for Australia’s top tier travel publications including Escape (The Sunday Telegraph), Traveller (the Sydney Morning Herald), Travel + Luxury (The Australian and Luxury Travel Mag. She also regularly contributes to Travel + Leisure Asia. 

Jenny has been interviewed on radio multiple times on various subjects, including her expertise on Bali. 
She is a member of the Australian Society of Travel Writers. 

Education 

Jenny has a Diploma in Journalism from Macleay College in Sydney and a Bachelor of Arts (Media & Communications) from Southern Cross University in Australia. 

Introduction

Jennifer D Walker is a British-Hungarian writer originally from the UK. After splitting her childhood between Sussex and Budapest, she also lived in Frankfurt am Main, Madrid, and Tbilisi before moving to Budapest in 2013. She specialises in Central Europe, mostly covering Budapest and Vienna. She’s passionate about hidden places, quirky museums, and exploring places in depth. 

Experience

Jennifer has an unorthodox background in travel writing, having started her professional career as a nuclear physicist and obtained a PhD in physics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid before changing careers to pursue writing. 

Her work has been published in CNN Travel, Lonely Planet, BBC Travel, Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic Travel, The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, EasyJet Traveler, and Forbes, among others. She is also the author of the Vienna and Budapest chapters for the guidebook Moon Prague, Vienna, & Budapest and has contributed to Lonely Planet publications such as Secret City, Global Coffee Tour, Global Distillery Tour, and Around the World in 80 Food Trucks. 

Selected publications

Books: Moon Prague, Vienna & Budapest (co-author), Moon Budapest and Beyond (author), Contributor to Lonely Planet themed books – Secret City, Global Coffee Tour, Global Distillery Tour, and Around the World in 80 Food Trucks. 

Education

Jennifer has an MPhys in Physics with Satellite Technology from the University of Surrey, a Master's in Nuclear Physics from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and a PhD in Physics from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid.  

Introduction

Isabella Noble is a bilingual British-Australian travel journalist who grew up in Málaga in southern Spain. Now based mostly in Barcelona, she specializes in Spain for a wide range of international media and is also a Lonely Planet guidebook author. 

Experience

Isabella has over a decade of experience in travel media and has contributed to publications such as The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, i News, The Independent, Planeta and National Geographic Traveller, as well as Preferred Travel. After being raised in Andalucía, she has also lived in London, Melbourne and Toronto and spent time as a digital nomad. Alongside Spain, she often covers other destinations such as India and Canada. Isabella has written more than 50 Lonely Planet books, many of them as lead or solo author. 

Selected publications

Lonely Planet: Books on Barcelona, Andalucía, the Canary Islands, Ibiza and Spain generally, as well as India and Canada guides and coffee table titles such as The Mediterranean, Gourmet Trails Europe and Best in Travel. 

Planeta: Spanish-language guidebooks to Cádiz, Lanzarote and El Hierro. 

The Telegraph: Spain general expert and hotel reviewer, Granada destination expert. 

Education 

Isabella has a First-Class Honours BA in English Language & Literature from King’s College London.

Awards

She has been shortlisted for the Spanish Tourist Board’s Sustainable Media Awards and was a judge for the 2024 Telegraph Hotel Awards. 

Introduction

Ishay Govender is a South African food, culture and travel journalist and cookbook author, based between Cape Town and Lisbon. A former lawyer, she centers narratives on women and marginalized communities, with a focus on expanding space and access for historically disadvantaged voices within food and creative industries.

Experience

Originally trained and practising as an attorney in South Africa, Ishay transitioned into journalism, specializing in food, culture and travel writing. Her work explores the human stories, histories and social dynamics that shape what and how we eat, with a particular focus on identity, migration and belonging.

She is the founder of SA POC at the Table (SAPOC), an initiative working to expand networks and opportunities for South African and African chefs, cooks, sommeliers and creatives of colour, including writers and photographers.

Ishay has contributed to a wide range of international publications including National Geographic, Food & Wine, Whetstone, Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, Sunday Times Travel (UK), Literary Hub, Food52, Vice Munchies, Globe & Mail, Tenderly, New Frame, Roads & Kingdoms, and airline publications such as SAA and Singapore Airlines magazines. She has also contributed to and updated sections of the Fodor’s South Africa guide.

Selected publications

Books: Curry: Stories & Recipes across South Africa (Human & Rousseau)

Contributor to international publications including National Geographic, Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, Food52, Literary Hub, Vice Munchies, Globe & Mail, Tenderly, New Frame, Roads & Kingdoms, Sunday Times Travel (UK), Panorama – The Journal of Intelligent Travel, Culture – Cheese magazine, and airline publications for SAA and Singapore Airlines

Contributor to and updater of the KwaZulu-Natal chapters of the Fodor’s South Africa guide

Education

Ishay has an LLB and an LLM (Masters of Law) from the University of the Free State, South Africa, specializing in intellectual property. She is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa and remains on the non-practicing roll.

Awards

Winner of FoodXX Award for journalism covering the intersection of culture, food and social justice

Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans.

SAPOC was awarded the Eat Out Game Changer Award.

Introduction

James Litston is a London-based freelance travel writer whose work appears frequently in the Telegraph, Times, Independent and numerous other UK newspapers and magazines. 

Experience

His areas of specialism include Greece, Australia, the Balearics and expedition cruising, as well as wildlife, adventure, edgy city breaks and luxury travel.  Among his most treasured travel experiences is snorkeling with Galapagos penguins, which he wrote about for Preferred Travel magazine. 

Introduction

Jonathan “Jon” DeHart is an author, journalist and tour designer focused on culture, society and travel across Asia. Originally from the United States, he has lived and worked extensively in Japan and southeast Asia and is now based in Thailand, traveling widely throughout the region. He specializes in travel writing, cultural analysis and long-form reporting, with a particular emphasis on Japan.

Experience

Jon is the author of Moon Travel Guides’ Japan guidebook, now in its third edition, and Tokyo, Kyoto & Hiroshima guidebook, now in its second edition. His work spans the length of the country — from major urban centers to lesser-known regions — with detailed research into food, accommodations, nightlife, arts, outdoor experiences and cultural traditions.

He has written more than 500 published articles for international publications including Travel + Leisure, BBC Travel, Vice and The Diplomat. His reporting has been selected for “best of the web” lists by The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, Foreign Policy and RealClearWorld.

In addition to his journalism, Jon has worked as an editor for The Diplomat, as well as for international financial newswires and a monthly print publication. He has overseen Asia-focused reporting across multiple platforms, managing contributors and shaping editorial direction.

Beyond writing and editing, he provides bespoke Japan itinerary design, develops full-scale tour programs, and consults for leading behavioral insights and cultural research agencies, interpreting social and consumer trends across Asia.

Publications

Moon Travel Guides

Moon Japan (1st edition, 2020)

Moon Tokyo, Kyoto & Hiroshima (1st edition, 2021)

Moon Japan (2nd edition, 2022)

Education

BA in Asian Studies (High Honors), University of Cincinnati

Journalism coursework, UCLA

Freeman Award for Study in Asia

Languages: English (Native), Japanese (Professional Working)

Introduction

Julie Schwietert Collazo is a bilingual journalist, editor and fact-checker who lives in Mexico City. She is also a travel advisor and former tour guide for EF Smithsonian. 

Experience

Julie has been an independent freelance writer, editor and fact-checker for 20 years, working for both traditional and digital media, as well as corporate and NGO clients. She is the contributing author to the guidebooks DK Mexico, DK Top 10 Mexico City, and DK Top 10 Cancún and Yucatán, and is the author of MOON New York State and MOON Hudson Valley and the Catskills. 

Selected publications

Books: The Book of Rosy (El libro de Rosy), published by HarperOne and HarperCollins Español and named by Kirkus as one of the best nonfiction books of 2020.  

Corporate clients have included: Bayer, Marriott, JPMorgan Chase. 

Nonprofit and NGO clients have included: Electronic Frontier Foundation, Inter-American Development Bank.

Media clients have included: AFAR, Americas Quarterly, Audubon Magazine, DISCOVER, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, Lonely Planet, Longreads, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Scientific American.

Education

Julie has a Master of Social Work degree from New York University and a Bachelor’s in English and Women’s Studies from Emory University.

Introduction

Kasia Dietz is a bi-cultural Paris-based travel writer originally from the Hamptons, New York. Following a career in advertising, Kasia ignited her passion for travel in 2007 by visiting 32 countries in 13 months. Soon afterward, she fortuitously met a handsome Italian on New York City’s Prince Street, and five months later, followed him to begin her Paris chapter. 

Experience

After years spent writing an award-winning blog while designing her namesake handbags, Kasia began contributing to global media and now fulfils her long-held writing dreams by publishing stories about travel, lifestyle, food, and fashion for Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, National Geographic, Harper’s Bazaar, SilverKris, and France Today, among others.

When not jetting off on an adventure with her husband and son, working feverishly on a deadline, exploring her adopted home, or guest lecturing at international universities, Kasia leads fashion tours focusing on local designers and artisans. 

Introduction

Vivien Devlin is an arts, lifestyle and travel writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her specialist subjects are Scottish tourism, culture, heritage, hotels, bars and restaurants, city and regional guides, as well as cultural adventures worldwide. She is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers.

Experience

She is co-founder of the Scottish Hotel Awards (2003), now Hotels of the Year, and judges various categories (spas, design, food and beverage), on hotel visits each year.

Vivien has a passion for slow travel – classic train journeys (Orient Express/Belmond), and small-scale luxury cruises by boat, barge and ship, on cultural and culinary voyages around the world, as well as island-hopping cruises around the Hebrides, Seychelles, Caribbean, Mediterranean and Pacific Oceans. She has been on grand voyages circumnavigating South America and Australia, and a five-month cruise around the world.  She contributes to Cruise International, Cruise Trade News, Mundy Cruise News, Ensemble, Scotland magazine and Great Boat Journeys.

With a great interest in wine and spirits, she attends regular media and trade events, and reviews wine, gin, vodka, whisky and ready-to drink cocktails, as well as books on drinks. She writes reviews on new bars and restaurants for Smart Leisure Guide.

For 20 years, Vivien has enjoyed an inspiring career with BBC Radio, on arts, drama and travel programmes, with wide experience as a broadcaster and public speaker, giving talks for Silversea cruises, National Gallery of Scotland, and Edinburgh International Book Festival.  

 She contributes regular reviews of visual arts, drama, dance, and in August, covers theatre, art and literature at the Edinburgh Festivals, the largest cultural event on the planet, for Edinburgh Guide.

Selected publications

Kings, Queens and People’s Palaces (Scottish Variety Theatre).

Edinburgh and East Coast Scotland.

Michelin Guide to Edinburgh.

Great Boat Journeys of the World.

Education

Vivien has a BA in English Literature and has also studied American literature and sociology. 

Awards

Visit USA for city guide on Pittsburgh. 

Levi jeans new drama prize, Jack Kerouac and Beat Generation. 

Introduction

Keri Bloomfield is a New Zealand-born author and writer based in Denmark, specialising in cultural insight, integration and contemporary Scandinavian society. She is the author of Nothing Like a Dane, a widely recognised account of integrating into Danish culture.

Experience

She has more than 25 years’ experience working alongside various thought leaders and HR professionals, with a focus on people, communication and community-building.

In 2016 Keri moved to Denmark with her Danish partner and daughter, an experience that later shaped her writing. 

Her work now focuses on cultural identity, integration and the contrasts between Danish and international perspectives, combining personal insight with her authentic approach to observational storytelling.

Published in 2022, her memoir Nothing Like a Dane has been described as “a book that has not been written before,” offering an unfiltered account of fitting into Danish society. The book has reached an international readership and was recommended by Lonely Planet, which called it “a witty and unvarnished take on life in Denmark”.

Publications

The International (Denmark)
Featured in Lonely Planet – Denmark 

Education

Keri Bloomfield graduated from Victoria University of Wellington, where she developed her interest in communication, culture and storytelling.

She has since built on her academic background with extensive professional experience in event management and people management roles, working across New Zealand, England and Denmark which has sharpened her understanding of communication, leadership and cross-cultural dynamics.

Alongside her professional roles, she has developed her writing through independent publishing, as a contributor for The International (Denmark), and establishing herself as a voice on cultural integration in Denmark. She continues to contribute to discussions on identity, communication and cultural understanding through her writing and speaking engagements.

Introduction

Kerry Walker is an award-winning travel writer, author and photographer, based near London. A lover of mountains and wild places, she lived in Germany’s Black Forest for seven years and has been writing about the Alps for the past two decades for publications including Lonely Planet. Her work appears frequently in international magazines and newspapers.

Experience

After completing an MA in translation two decades ago, Kerry swiftly decided she preferred writing to translating and used her languages instead to travel the globe, often with her camera in hand. 

Kerry’s has travelled to all seven continents – from the frozen wilderness of Antarctica and the Arctic to the Australian Outback – all in the name of a story. Kerry’s writing appears frequently in publications including The Telegraph, The Times, Lonely Planet, National Geographic Traveller, Condé Nast Traveller, the iPaper and The Independent. A specialist in Central and Southern Europe, Kerry is the co-author of dozens of Lonely Planet guidebooks and coffee table titles. 

Selected publications

Kerry’s books include the Lonely Planet guides to Great Britain, Wales, Austria, Switzerland, Sardinia and Munich, Bavaria and the Black Forest.

Education

Kerry has an MA in Technical and Specialised Translation from the University of Westminster and a BA in Languages and Linguistics from the University of Essex. She is a full member of the British Guild of Travel Writers.

Awards

Kerry has previously won awards for travel guide of the year (Travel Press Awards) and best online feature (Visit USA Media Awards). In recent years she has been shortlisted multiple times for the AITO Travel Writer of the Year Awards, Travel Media Awards and British Guild of Travel Writers Awards.

Introduction

Kim Foley MacKinnon is an award-winning Boston-based journalist, author and photographer. While she travels the world to cover travel and food, she has a deep knowledge and love of New England.

Experience

Getting her start at the Boston Globe newspaper while a student at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, gave Kim a solid foundation in the craft of journalism. Covering everything from local news to profiles, she found her love of travel writing after her first travel piece appeared in the newspaper. From there, she went on to become a guidebook editor, author and travel writer. For the past 25 years, she has contributed to Forbes, Travel + Leisure, AAA, Time Out, Fodor’s, BBC, U.S. News & World Report, Cruise Critic, Food Network, among others.

Selected publications

Books: 100 Things to Do in Massachusetts Before You Die; Secret Boston; 100 Things to Do on Cape Cod & the Islands Massachusetts Before You Die; Outdoors with Kids.

Contributor to several additions of Fodor’s books – Boston; New England.

Education

Kim has a BA in English from University of Massachusetts, Boston.

She is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and is a former president of the organization.

Awards

Kim has won two Lowell Thomas travel journalism awards.

Introduction

Kimberley Lovato is a freelance travel journalist who splits her time between San Francisco, California, and France. Her work focuses on travel, food, destination guides, and meaningful personal experiences that connect travelers more deeply with place. She writes regularly about San Francisco and the French Riviera, combining practical planning insight and observation with narrative storytelling.

Experience

Kimberley has more than 20 years of experience writing travel and lifestyle features for major national and international publications. Her work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Preferred Travel, Travel + Leisure, The Saturday Evening Post, Virtuoso: The Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, and numerous other print and digital outlets. 

Selected publications

Books:
Kimberley is the author of two guidebooks to San Francisco, a cookbook about the people and food of the Dordogne region of France, and, most recently, Pisa Loves Bella: A Towering Tale of Kindness, a travel-themed children’s picture book encouraging curiosity, kindness, and self-acceptance.

Online destination writing:

She recently created www.OneTripWonder.com, where she publishes destination guides, neighborhood explorations, and travel-planning resources focused on Northern California, the French Riviera, and other places where she finds inspiration in the world.

Awards

Kimberley is the recipient of numerous writing awards, including two Lowell Thomas Awards, presented by the Society of American Travel Writers, and two from the North American Travel Journalists Association. Her personal essays have also been recognized with Solas Awards.

Education

Kimberley holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Southern California. 

Introduction
Kuntal's work sits at the intersection of hospitality, storytelling and brand. An entrepreneur, travel writer and brand ambassador working with some of the world’s most respected luxury hotel brands, she brings an intuitive understanding of place and people to everything she does.
Born in India and raised across the Middle East and the US, her perspective is naturally layered in equal parts cultural memory and global exposure. Now based in Dubai for more than a decade, she travels extensively to produce work across international magazines and digital platforms with a focus on hotels, hoteliers, gastronomy, travel and culture. Her work is grounded in experience rather than observation, which gives it a sense of depth that feels both personal and yet, precise.

Experience
It was at Oberoi Hotels that Kuntal refined the discipline behind hospitality – the detail and quiet anticipation that defines exceptional service.
It also finds expression in her entrepreneurial work. Through her company, Palazzo Hospitality, a bespoke executive talent search firm, she brings her nuanced and intuitive approach to C-Suite talent; looking beyond roles and profiles to understand alignment and long term fit.
Alongside this, she has worked closely with a select portfolio of luxury hotel brands in an ambassadorial capacity, shaping narratives and representing luxury and lifestyle brands across international markets. Her work is defined by an insider’s understanding of hospitality where the smallest details often define the most memorable experiences.
Her writing has found its way into publications including Preferred Travel Magazine, where she explores destinations through a lens that is much more about feeling as it is about place.
Education
Kuntal studied psychology before graduating from the renowned Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development, an institution that has shaped some of the finest hoteliers in the region. Together, the two disciplines gave her an early understanding of both people and service; what drives behavior and how the best experiences are quietly curated.

Introduction

Lola Akinmade is an award-winning visual storyteller, international bestselling author, and travel photographer. She has dispatched from more than 80 countries and her work has been featured in National Geographic, New York Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, Travel Channel, Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet, Forbes, and many more. She has collaborated with commercial brands such as Dove, Getty Images, Mercedes Benz, Intrepid Travel, Electrolux, ASUS, and National Geographic Channel, to name a few.

Selected publications

In addition to contributing to several books, her travel book, Due North, received the Lowell Thomas Gold Award for Best Travel Book, and she is also the author of international bestselling "LAGOM: The Swedish Secret of Living Well" available in over 15 foreign language editions.  

Her internationally acclaimed novel In Every Mirror She's Black was a Good Morning America (GMA) Buzz Pick, Apple Editors' Pick, Amazon Editors’ Pick,  and Independent UK Best Thought-provoking Story. 

Her novel Everything is Not Enough is an NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literature, Jennette McCurdy Book Club Pick, a Washington Post, Sunday Times, and Amazon Editors’ Pick, among others. 

And her novel Bitter Honey was an Audible UK Best of 2025,  Glamour Magazine SA Pick, Amazon Editors’ Pick, People  Magazine, Essence, and Stylist Best Book Pick.

Education

Lola has a BSc in Information Systems and Geography, and MSc in Information Systems from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from Harvard Business School.

Awards
In addition to several awards and mentions over the years from SATW and NATJA, as storyteller, Lola was featured on Condé Nast Traveler's Women Who Travel Power List. 

She was named one of the Most Influential Women in Travel by Travel Pulse, a Hasselblad Heroine (partnership with prestigious Hasselblad camera brand) and Bill Muster Travel Photographer of the Year bestowed by the Society of American Travel Writers. 

Her photography was shortlisted for the TPOTY awards and Global Peace Photo Award and longlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize. She was also honoured with a MIPAD 100 (Most Influential People of African Descent) Award within media and culture and a Newsweek Future of Travel Storytelling Award, to name a few recognitions. 

Her photography has also been featured in several solo and group exhibitions around the world, including most recently Hasselblad Foundation's Fotosalongen.

Philanthropic work

She has collaborated with several NGOs as a photojournalist and photography mentor including the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), the Swedish Red Cross and World Hope International, to name a few.

Fun travel fact

She was featured in a vignette as a National Geographic photographer called “Through The Lens” which aired on Nat Geo channels across the globe for several years.

Introduction

Mandy Sinclair is a travel writer, consultant and PR specialist, originally from Ontario, Canada. After visiting Morocco in 2009 on a holiday, she decided to return for a five-month stay. The stay turned into several years in Marrakech, writing for international newspapers, magazines and guidebooks, specialising in travel, lifestyle, and arts and launching Why Morocco podcast series. 

Experience

She was the food and drink editor and writer on the Monocle Travel Guide to Marrakech, Tangier and Casablanca. In 2023 she researched and wrote the North Atlantic Coast chapter for the Lonely Planet Morocco guidebook and returned to her roots to write the Toronto, Niagara and southwestern Ontario chapter for the Lonely Planet Canada guidebook. Most recently, she has contributed to Monocle Radio’s The Urbanist and The Menu, and the Toronto Star. 

Selected publications

Lonely Planet: Canada 16, Toronto, Niagara, Southwestern Ontario chapter, 2024.

Lonely Planet: Morocco, North Atlantic Coast chapter, December 2023.

The MONOCLE Travel Guide Series Marrakech, Tangier + Casablanca, Editor and writer Food and drink chapter, October 2019.

Education

Mandy has a BA in Mass Communication and French from Carleton University and a diploma in Public Relations from Algonquin College.

She is currently pursuing a certificate in creative writing from the University of Toronto. 

Awards

Mandy, alongside colleagues, has been awarded the Innovation Award from Festivals and Events Ontario for launching a dedicated train experience to Oktoberfest celebrations in Ontario, Canada. 

Born in the UK, Margaret Kemp is a lifestyle journalist, based between London, Paris and the world. Intensive cookery courses at The Cordon Bleu, London, a wedding gift from a very astute ex-husband, gave her the base that would take her travelling (leaving the astute one behind) in search of rare food and wine experiences, such as the vineyards of Thailand, 'gator hunting in South Florida, learning to make eye-watering spicy food in Kerala; pasta making in a tiny Tuscany trattoria. 

Experience

Margaret is a prominent lifestyle and food journalist who frequently contributes to France Today magazine and Bonjour Paris. She has contributed to Preferred Travel, The Guardian, The Financial Times Weekend and FT How To Spend It.com, The Spectator, Condé Nast Traveller, Food & Travel, and Luxos Magazine. She also advises as consultant to luxury hotels and restaurants. Over the years, she has amassed a faithful following on BonjourParis. www.bonjourparis.com  

Education

Peterborough and St Margaret’s High School for Girls, Harrow. 

Triangle College, W1 Cordon Bleu, London.

Awards

Cordon Bleu graduation Grand Diplôme.

Introduction

Matt Fripp is a British writer and entrepreneur now based on Île de Ré, a small island off France’s Atlantic coast. He is the founder of Jazzfuel, a platform which explores jazz history through stories, and supports professional musicians with their careers. 

Experience

Matt began his career as a professional musician in London before moving into artist management and live booking, where he worked closely with venues, festivals and promoters across Europe. The role involved constant travel, offering a first-hand view of the different local scenes that shape how music is performed and received.

This experience continues to inform his writing, which often explores the connection between music and place — from historic jazz cities to smaller, lesser-known scenes that play an equally important role in keeping the music alive.

Selected publications

Through Jazzfuel, he now writes and publishes content for an international readership, combining industry insight with a broader cultural perspective on jazz.

Education

Matt has a Bmus(hons) degree from London's Guildhall School of Music & Drama where he studied jazz saxophone.

Introduction

Matt Fripp is a British writer and entrepreneur now based on Île de Ré, a small island off France’s Atlantic coast. He is the founder of Jazzfuel, a platform which explores jazz history through stories, and supports professional musicians with their careers. 

Experience

Matt began his career as a professional musician in London before moving into artist management and live booking, where he worked closely with venues, festivals and promoters across Europe. The role involved constant travel, offering a first-hand view of the different local scenes that shape how music is performed and received.

This experience continues to inform his writing, which often explores the connection between music and place — from historic jazz cities to smaller, lesser-known scenes that play an equally important role in keeping the music alive.

Selected publications

Through Jazzfuel, he now writes and publishes content for an international readership, combining industry insight with a broader cultural perspective on jazz.

Education

Matt has a Bmus(hons) degree from London's Guildhall School of Music & Drama where he studied jazz saxophone.

Introduction

Martin Gayford is a writer, critic and curator. 

Experience

He is the author of books on Michelangelo, John Constable, Vincent van Gogh, Lucian Freud and David Hockney and collaborated on a survey of world sculpture with Antony Gormley. In 2004 he was the sitter for a portrait by Freud, and in 2013 sat for one by Hockney. He has worked on many exhibitions, both in Britain and abroad. His most recent books include How Painting Happens (and why it matters) published in 2024 and My Heart is This: Tracey Emin on Painting, 2026.

Introduction

Mark C O’Flaherty is an author, design journalist and photographer. For most of the last decade he has split his time between New York and London, where he grew up. He works regularly on design stories in France, Italy and Japan, and writes regularly about architecture and hotels. He also presents and participates in panel events in galleries and cultural spaces in London and New York including the National Gallery and Sarabande.

Experience

Mark started his career as a DJ and a show producer at London Fashion Week before moving into music photography. He then split his focus between writing and photography, moving more into travel, profiles and interiors. 

He has been writing and shooting for the Financial Times for more than 25 years and is a regular contributor to FT Weekend, HTSI, the New York Times, the Telegraph, the Sunday Times, House & Garden, Corriere della Sera, 10 Magazine, AD Middle East, Business Traveler, Elite Traveler and Harrods Magazine. He has a monthly hotel review column in the Telegraph. 

As a photographer he has worked for Issey Miyake, Hermès, Knoll, Nobu, Diane von Furstenberg, Established & Sons, Richard James and Jeremy King Restaurants. He is also the founder and editor of CivilianGlobal.com.

Selected publications

Books: Narrative Thread - Conversations on Fashion Collections (Bloomsbury), Sanctum – At Home with the Uncanny (Thames & Hudson).

Education

Mark studied Film, Video and Photo Arts at the School of Communication (University of Westminster, formerly PCL) in London.

Introduction

Maira Olia is a travel writer, essayist and public speaker. She went to Boston to attend university more than 45 years ago and decided to stay.  She has written nine travel guidebooks and specializes in Boston and New England travel.

Experience

Maria began her career writing parenting essays for magazines and newspapers including Working Mother Magazine and the Boston Globe. As a freelancer, she has written hundreds of magazine, newspaper, and on-line articles specializing in travel and parenting.

Selected publications

Books: Day Trips from Los Angeles, Day Trips New England, Off the Beaten Path Massachusetts, No Access Boston.

Education

Maria has a BS in International Business and Finance from Northeastern University.

Introduction

Michaela Trimble is a freelance writer for some of the world’s top publications, including T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Vogue, Condé Nast Traveler, The Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, and more. She’s a long-time resident of Mexico City and enjoys covering all things Latin America, travel, design, wellness, and spirituality. When she’s not reporting on her adopted country’s unique culture and welcoming spirit, she’s busy teaching online writing workshops and hosting immersive creative retreats. She’s currently finalizing her debut novel and is represented by Mollie Glick at CAA. 

Introduction

Mike Gerrard is an award-winning writer who covers travel and drinks. He divides his time between his homes in the Cambridgeshire Fens and the Arizona desert. He has contributed to newspapers, magazines and websites worldwide, and has written or contributed to over 40 guidebooks.

Experience

Mike was in his early 30s when he decided he wanted to be a travel writer, and sold his first travel piece, about the Greek island of Rhodes, to The Daily Telegraph. Since then he’s made his living from writing about travel and drinks, with a special interest in Greece and the USA, and has contributed to The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, The Washington Post, and many more.

Selected publications

Books: Cask Strength, Behind Bars, The National Geographic Traveler Guide to Greece.

Author of or contributor to guidebooks for DK, Insight, Michelin, Rough Guides, AA, AAA, Thomas Cook, Fodor’s, New Holland, Moon Publishing and others.

Awards

Travelex Award for Best Travel Consumer Magazine Feature

British Guild of Travel Writers Award

Two Awards for Excellence from the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild

Benjamin Franklin Award in the USA for a guidebook to Paris

One of the Press Gazette’s 50 Most Influential Travel Journalists in the UK

AITO Online Travel Writer of the Year

Shortlisted for AITO Travel Blogger of the Year for a story on his Travel Distilled website

Monisha is a British journalist and author of a number of books about railways around the world.

Experience

Initially a feature writer and copy editor for Time magazine, Monisha travelled to India to research her first book on Indian railways in 2010 and has since freelanced for The Guardian, The Observer, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, National Geographic Traveller, Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveller where she is a contributing editor.

Selected publications

Books: Around India in 80 Trains (Hodder), Around the World in 80 Trains (Bloomsbury), Epic Train Journeys (Gestalten), Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train (Bloomsbury), editor of The Untold Railway Stories (Duckworth Books).

Education

Monisha has a BA (Hons) in French from the University of Leeds and a post-graduate diploma in magazine journalism from City University, London.

Awards

Around the World in 80 Trains won the National Geographic Traveller Book of the Year, Epic Train Journeys was shortlisted for the National Geographic Traveller Photography Book of the Year and her latest book, Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train was shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year. Monisha won the Travel Media Award for National Consumer Feature of the Year in 2022 and won the Freelance Writing Awards Travel Writer of the Year in 2021.

Shannon Sims is a journalist, editor and consultant based in New Orleans. She was raised between Louisiana and Texas, managed a hotel on an island in Italy, and spent a decade based in Brazil reporting on Latin America. 

Experience

Originally trained as a lawyer, she has since spent 15 years reporting and editing for major publications. Her reporting has been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Washington Post, Travel + Leisure, The Guardian and others. 
As an editor, she was formerly Bloomberg's Editor of Economics and Government for Latin America, and Senior Editor at the Houston Landing, a non-profit newsroom. She managed an investigative project on predatory housing practices that led to a Department of Justice investigation.

She is often featured in television, podcast or radio segments and documentaries, including those on the BBC, Bloomberg, MSNBC, PBS and, in Brazil, on O Globo (in Portuguese). Her travel writing was featured on Conde Nast’s Women Who Travel podcast.

She speaks fluent Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Her reporting often takes her to far-flung places; she has reported from a canoe in the Amazon and from the beaches of Zanzibar. She loves sharing the magic of travel with readers, and believes this work creates more empathy in the world. In her free time, she volunteers with organizations that work to reforest Louisiana.

Selected publications

Her writing has been included in anthologies such as the Best American Travel Writing. 

Her work, which often takes a legal bent, has also been cited in dozens of legal journals, including Harvard Law & Policy Review, Columbia Law Review, Georgetown Environmental Law Review, Northwestern Law Review, Boston College Law Review, and in analysis briefs published by the US Department of Justice and the Brazilian government. 
 

Education
Shannon has a BA in International Relations from Pomona College, and a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law with a concentration in environmental law. 

Awards
Her multimedia travel reporting has been distinguished with a Lowell Thomas Travel Award from the Society of American Travel Writers, and her editing has been recognized with a Texas Headliners Excellence in Journalism Award. 

Sarah Gillespie is a freelance travel and lifestyle writer from Scotland, now based in Glasgow. Born in Dundee and half-Filipina, she specialises in travel, culture and lifestyle features, with particular expertise in Scotland and the Philippines. 
 

Experience 
Sarah was previously commissioning editor at Culture Trip. Her freelance bylines include Travel + Leisure, The Times and Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, National Geographic Traveller UK and the South China Morning Post. She has appeared on BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4’s Bargain Holiday Secrets. 
 

Selected publications 
Contributor to Lonely Planet Philippines: 15th edition. 
 

Awards 
Sarah has received the AITO Travel Writer of the Year 2025 Gold Award in the Under 1,500 Words category, as well as an Inspire Global Media Award win in 2024, and AITO Silver and Bronze awards in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

 

Paul Oswell is a freelance travel journalist and author, originally from Lancashire, England. He
has lived in London, New Orleans and Bangkok, and is now based just outside Manchester. He
writes for a wide range of British, American and international publications, specializing in travel.

Experience
Paul has more than 25 years of experience, contributing to The Guardian, Travel & Leisure (US),
Condé Nast Traveler (US), Business Insider, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail,
The Sunday Times, The Irish Times, The Evening Standard, The Mail on Sunday, The Sunday
Times Travel Magazine, United Airlines Magazine (US), Luxury Travel Magazine, Conference
and Incentive Travel Magazine, Atlanta Magazine (US), Iberia Airlines Magazine.

Selected publications
Books: The Great American Road Trip (Gestalten), Bucketlist North America (Universe Press),
New Orleans Historic Hotels (History Press). Paul has also worked extensively with Dorling
Kindersley on their travel guides for New Orleans, Las Vegas, Orlando, California, The USA and
Bangkok.

Education
Paul has a BA in Applied LInguistic from the University of East Anglia.

Awards
Friends of Thailand: Best International Media Prize.

Ocean Malandra is a widely published journalist, author, and travel writer from San Francisco, California. Now based part-time in Bogota, Colombia he travels extensively in Latin America covering sustainable food and travel as well as producing investigative solutions-based environmental journalism.

Experience

Ocean has been published in more than 30 different magazines and media outlets including Vice, Conde Nast, Lonely Planet, Mongabay, The Earth Island Journal, USA Today Travel, and Paste Magazine, where he wrote the environmental column EarthRx. 

He is the current author of the Colombia series of guidebooks for Moon Travel Guides.

Education

Ocean studied communications at City College of San Francisco before earning a BA in English at Portland State University. He has professional certificates in Sustainable Tourism from the University of Copenhagen and Writing for Social Justice from UC Berkeley. 

Paul Richardson is an author and journalist. He left London for Spain in 1989, spending the decade of the 1990s in Ibiza. In 2000 he moved to Extremadura where he now runs a 12-acre homestead in the far north of the region, producing his own wine, olive oil, fruit and vegetables, and meat. His eight published books include works on Spanish food and culture, British cuisine, cacao and chocolate, and recipe books. His most recent book, Hidden Valley, is a memoir of life as a self-sufficient farmer. 

Experience

After working for WINE magazine and Taste, Paul moved to ES magazine (a supplement of the Evening Standard newspaper)  as arts editor. In 1990 he went freelance and now works as a contributing editor at Conde Nast Traveller, also contributing regularly to the Financial Times, Guardian, The Times, Telegraph, Departures, The Australian Travel & Luxury, Saveur, and Prior. He is destination editor for Spain at online travel company Essentialist.

Selected publications

Our Lady of the Sewers and other adventures in deep Spain

Indulgence: in search of the best chocolate in the world

Cornucopia, a gastronomic tour of Britain

A Late Dinner: discovering the food of Spain

Rustic Spanish (Williams-Sonoma)

Hidden Valley, finding freedom in Spain’s deep country

Education

Paul received a First in English at Clare College, Cambridge University. 

Charlotte Eggleston-Johnstone is a travel writer and editor based in one of England’s most beautiful regions: Yorkshire, where she grew up. After spending 14 years in London, many of which spent on the Telegraph’s travel desk, she moved back to Yorkshire to start her freelance business. Since then Charlotte has written features and guides for a number of top newspapers and magazines, and knows all the cool places to hang out in York and Leeds. 

Experience

Charlotte started writing articles for specialist magazines and local and regional newspapers. Her love of travel and hotels soared after an internship with Telegraph Travel’s Hotels team, which led her to a position overseeing all the hotel guides (print and online), and then senior content editor with the production team. Over the past 10 years she has written hundreds of hotel reviews, visiting properties all over the world – from the northern fjords of Iceland to remote Indonesian islands – as well as numerous articles and guides for publications including The Times, The Independent, The Observer, The i Paper, The Daily Mail and Good Housekeeping. She is currently Telegraph Travel’s official destination expert for York and Leeds, having recently written comprehensive guides to both cities. She takes every opportunity she can to explore them – there’s always something new to see.

Selected publications

Contributor to The Telegraph, The Times, The Independent, The Observer, The i Paper, The Daily Mail and Good Housekeeping.

Sub-edited IMPRESSED by Printmakers Circle, a hardback art book.

Education

Charlotte has a BA in English Language and Communication from King’s College London, an NCTJ-accredited diploma in Journalism, and a Masters-level post-graduate qualification in Digital Marketing Strategy and Analytics from the London School of Economics.