Amanda Castleman, a middle-aged white woman with dirty blonde straight hair, parted on the right. She has blue eyes and a wry smileWriter and Photographer Amanda Castleman specializes in travel, adventure, health, science, business and the environment. A former wilderness guide, she has won two Lowell Thomas awards and a grand silver Solas for Best Travel Writing for stories involving nature.

Amanda has worked on 30-odd books, including titles for National Geographic, Frommer’s, Michelin, Time Out and Rough Guides. She has taught journalism and travel writing since 2003, and has worked as a graphic designer, web developer and editor-in-chief, launching a magazine group and a Silicon Valley start-up.

EXPERIENCE

Write Like a Honey Badger (October 2019 to present)
Founder of a writing school with scholarships to encourage media inclusivity. Duties include teaching; managing and training instructors; website design and development (WordPress); instructional design; set-up and tech support for Google Classrooms; and advertising, social media and newsletter campaigns.

Freelance Writer, Reporter and Photojournalist, Seattle, WA (January 2004 to present)
Beats: health, science, technology, the environment, green living and travel (nature and adventure). Editorial clients include National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, Outside, AARP, AFAR, AAA Westways, American Way, Bon Appétit, Coastal Living, Delta Sky, Hemispheres, Hidden Compass, Islands, Outside, Marriott Bonvoy, Robb Report, Scuba Diving, Sierra, Sport Diver and USA Today

Regular contributor gigs

  • AFAR magazine: writing features, custom content and destination guides (Seattle, Vancouver, Dominica, Hawaii and Maui); reviewer and photographer (hotel, restaurants and attractions). 2016–present
  • The Seattle Times: reporting on green living, landscaping and DIY. 2016–present
  • Rutgers: covering research and healthcare for the New Jersey Medical School’s Pulse magazine and the School of Nursing Magazine. 2018–present
  • American Express’s Square: reporting on business, credit cards, events, fintech, travel and corporate social responsibility. Occasional photography and interviews with C-suite executives. 2010–2019
  • The Telegraph: reviewing hotels. 2017–2018
  • Travelgirl magazine— writer-at-large, travel news and features. 2006– 2016
  • Cruise Critic: reporting, photography and reviewing ships. 2014–2016
  • MSN: covering travel and weather, 2005–2012
  • Yahoo: travel and lifestyle coverage related to the London Olympics. 2011–2012
  • Luxury Magazine: writing about travel and lifestyle for Black Card members. 2011–2014
  • SagaCity Media — reporting for various Pacific Northwest titles, including Visit Seattle, Visit Tacoma, Visit Bellevue, The Washington State Wine Guide and The Washington State Visitor’s Guide. 2006–2015
  • The Seattle Post-Intelligencer: outdoor columnist. 2005–2009
  • Road and Travel: European travel editor, writing and photography. 2005–2010
  • Moviemaker Magazine: film-travel columnist. 2005—2009
  • The Daily Mail: travel writing. 2002–2005

Editor, Instructor and Content Writer, Seattle, WA (January 2004 to present)

  • Launches: The Silicon Valley start-up TripSketch, which involved creative direction, UX and UI design, and managing 77 colleagues. I also co-founded the Monkey Barrel Media coworking space, OTTER learning management system, The Travel Writing Master Class, Write Like a Honey Badger and Writing Rome.
  • Book contributions: Break Into Travel Writing; Frommer’s Dream Vacations; Frommer’s Best Hiking Trips in British Columbia; Greece a Love Story; Italy, A Love Story; Library of Things: A Cornerstone of the Real Sharing Economy; Lonely Planet’s Unique States of America; National Geographic’s Journeys of a Lifetime; Rough Guide to Italy; Single State of the Union and The Travel Writing Textbook.
  • Editing: Addiction.com, Knowledge Leader, Seattle Bride and Wanderlust & Lipstick. The Body Parts Menu of Good Table Manners, Due North and Traveling with Kids, plus titles for Frommer’s, Michelin and Thomas Cook.
  • Custom-content: AAA, AARP, Acura, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Express, American Forests, AOL, APEX, Boston Children’s, Chase, CVS, Delta, Enveritas, GEICO, Holland America, Island Outposts, Jones Advertising, Kori Krill Oil, New York Times‘ T Brand Studio, Marriot Bonvoy, Maui Visitors & Convention Bureau, MSN, New Jersey Medical School, PADI, Rutgers Nursing School, Shareable, Sierra, Travel Tacoma, Thomas Cook, United, The University of Wisconsin, Vertex, Virgin Atlantic, Virtuoso, Visa, Visit Bellevue and Vouch.

Freelance Journalist, Editor and Book Author, Greece, Cyprus and England (October 2002 to January 2004)
Regular contributor to The Athens News, The Daily Mail, The International Herald Tribune, Italy Daily and Wired News. Instructor at Writers.com. Freelance outlets included BBC Thames Valley, Ms. Magazine, Underwire and Wired. Books contributions included the AA Key to Rome, (editing), Rome in Detail, and Time Out Athens. Book editing: DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: France (also layout) and Greece: Garden of the Gods.

American Academy in Rome, Italy (September 2000 to August 2002)
Visiting Writer. Other projects included producing Aristophanes’ Clouds at the Museo Nazionale Romano’s Palazzo Altemps, and writing and directing the play Il Cowboy di Natale.

Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times, Newsquest, Oxford, UK (September 99 to August 2000)
Senior Feature Writer and Sub-Editor. Although primarily a reporter —specializing in books, the environment, human-interest and travel — I also edited, copyedited, proofread, designed pages, and assisted with infographics and other visuals, using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Oxbow Books, Oxford, UK (September 98 to September 99)
Web and Graphic Designer for an independent publisher. Duties included design and maintenance of a commercial web site, book publicity, cover design, typesetting and proofing.

Freelance Editor and Designer, Oxfordshire, UK (October 97 to September 98)
Clients included Past Times, Woolacott Davidson Advertising and Oxford University Press.

The Gist Magazine Group — circulation 40,000, Oxford, UK (November 96 to October 97)
Founding Editor in Chief of four localized monthly magazines covering current affairs and entertainment. Duties included commissioning, editing, desk-top publishing and staff management (hiring, training and supervising).

The Daily, University of Washington, Seattle, America (September 93 to September 96)
Various positions including Editor-in-Chief and News Editor. Duties included reporting, photography, subbing, editing and DTP. As Editor, I trained new employees and directed a 60-person staff (circulation 18,000).

Savage Love Live, Seattle, America (September 94 to September 96)
Part-time Researcher. I prepared background for pundit Dan Savage’s weekly radio program.

AWARDS

  • Travelers’ Tales Solas Award, silver for coverage of aquatic journeys
  • Lowell Thomas (travel writing’s ersatz Pulitzer) silver in cultural writing
  • Travelers’ Tales Solas Award for Best Travel Story of the Year, grand silver
  • Lowell Thomas bronze in Adventure Writing
  • First-place In-depth Reporting, Society of Professional Journalists, West Coast
  • Columbia Scholastic Press Association – Golden Circle Awards
  • Pacemaker Award (for top five student newspapers in America)
  • Most Hated Liberal on Campus, University of Washington Conservative Club

EDUCATION

  • BA in Latin with a classical studies minor, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
  • National Outdoor Leadership School’s Cascades Mountaineering Course
  • Diving: PADI open-water, advanced and dry suit certification
  • Red Cross Lifeguard and CPR Certification (1991-94)

BOOKS

 

SKILLS

  • Tools: Adobe Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and Lightroom. Also Brevo, Canva, Calendly, Google Analytics and Ads. Google Workplace, Hootsuite, IFTT, Microsoft 365, WordPress, Otter.ai, and various database and teleconferencing programs. Very CMS savvy.
  • Internet: web design and development, SEO, HTML, CSS, tweaking basic JavaScript and Drupal nodes, UI/UX flows and keywording
  • Graphics: photography; experience with packaging, book covers, website branding, newspaper and magazine design, and outputting digital files for color reproduction
  • Languages: competent Italian; mediocre Spanish; fading German, Latin and ancient Greek

OTHER EXPERIENCE

  • Co-founder of The Monkey Barrel, an office co-op in Seattle (2011)
  • Co-founder of OTTER, a learning management system (2010)
  • Founder and instructor, Writing Rome (2009)
  • Producer for the revival of Clouds in Rome (2001)
  • Producer of Aristophanes’ Clouds for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2000
  • Co-author of the play Il Cowboy di Natale (Rome, 2000)
  • English tutor to a disabled university student (1995-96)
  • Assistant wilderness guide, Tired Dog Tours (1992-93)
  • Lifeguard and swimming instructor, YMCA (1989-93)
  • Participant in John Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth (1987-90)
  • Child actress, American Dairy Association commercial (1986)
  • Museum interpreter at Plimoth Plantation (1984-6)