This brick row house in Lancaster, PA is my new home and homebase for freelance writing. I'll focus on magazine articles full-time while also developing several book and teaching projects. So far I've got a few articles in the June and October issues of Spirit magazine, and will be busy with more assignments (and home improvement projects) throughout the summer.
My second to last week at Backpacker was a good one. On Thursday night the staff won a National Magazine Award for "General Excellence" in our circulation category (250,000-500,000). And on Friday we picked up four Maggie awards (given out by the Western Publications Association). The NMA "Ellie" is especially magical, as it caps off my two years at Backpacker with recognition of the strong, good work the entire staff puts into every issue.
If you flew Southwest Airlines in April you could reach into the seatback pouch and read two short articles I wrote for that month's issue of Spirit. The first is about luxury camping, while the second describes why this summer will be the last for the Delta Queen, a 80-year-old riverboat with oldtime touches stretching back to Mark Twain's era. Check out both articles in the April table of contents.
After 67 years of waiting, the world might soon know what happened to the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney during its battle with the German raider Kormoran in November 1941. A search is underway to find the wrecks of both warships off the west coast of Australia. I wrote about the battle and the controversy for World War II magazine, although the article was never published.
I've recently written a series of articles for Spirit, the inflight magazine for Southwest Airlines. The first story previews the return of the CBS drama "Jericho" to prime-time (Tuesdays, 10pm) in February after a cancellation scare last year. Look for more Spirit articles by me in the March, April, May, and September issues.
Best Life magazine asked me to write two articles about health issues of concern to men: baldness and erectile dysfunction. The first article appears in the March issue on the Health page, and the second is scheduled for May.
A few months ago Harvard's Office of Career Services asked me to advise students on how to succeed at media-related internships. My response, which includes suggestions like finding a senior editor champion and constantly pitching story ideas, is included in a new "Harvard Guide to Summer Opportunities."
I want to write a guide to pursuing a journalism career; tackling questions like 'How can I advance from intern to editor?' and 'Should I send clip PDfs with my pitch?' I'll describe strategies, give tips, and outline all of the advice I've learned and dispensed. Now I just need to find a good guide on how to write a book...
Alaska was the subject of a Nature article I wrote for the October 2007 issue of Backpacker. For years, I've wondered what future exists for the Final Frontier, especially in the competing industries of recreation and resource extraction. In this article, Which Way North, I explore some of the possibilities.
Before I left Pennsylvania I wrote an infographic guide to camping for the October 2007 issue of Men's Health. From how to build a fire, to how to tie a taut-line hitch, my advice appears in the "Instant Expert" section, on page 96.
Last year the editor of DestinAsian, a luxury travel mag focused on the Pacific Rim, asked me to write a narrative about my 2005 trip to Easter Island. No problem. I had plenty of stories still to tell, and the 3,000-word feature appeared in the June/July 2007 issue (pdf) to accompany some breathtaking photographs by Frédéric Lagrange.
I recently wrote an essay for Harvard's Office of Career Services describing my transition from consulting to journalism a few years ago. Titled, "From PowerPoint to Publishing: How I Quit My Consulting Job to Become a Magazine Editor," the essay is part of OCS's Alumni Voices program and is available on their website.
When I applied to college 11 years ago I received valuable advice from several dedicated teachers and mentors. Ever since then I've volunteered to advise high school students applying to college. I recently published an op-ed to the Lehigh Valley's Morning Call newspaper that outlines key strategies to get in.