SHANNON G. SIMS
JOURNALIST
ABOUT
Hi there, and thanks for your interest! My name is Shannon, and I'm an idea machine with 15 years of experience reporting and editing for major publications, including the New York Times, Bloomberg and the Washington Post. I was trained as a lawyer and speak Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. I am now based in Houston, Texas, and travel frequently.
What I cover
I often write about climate, the environment and extreme weather, and I am interested in how people adapt to those threats. I dusted off my law degree to investigate who is responsible for catastrophic flooding in west Houston and the relationship between fossil fuel companies and climate migrations.
I am proud to share perspectives that others may consider contradictory, like those of the victims of hurricanes who don't believe in climate change or the indigenous women who voted for Brazil's right-wing president.
I also enjoy exploring the lives of women breaking into traditionally male realms. In Brazil, I wrote about women drumming in Bahia and performing samba in Rio. I rode along with an all-female bike gang in New Orleans and Rwandan fisherwomen on Lake Kivu. I explored the dangers for women playing soccer in Zanzibar.
Travel writing is a passion as well. I drove across Cuba using music as my guide and floated deep into the Amazon in a hammock. I've sought out local finds among the beaches of San Andres, the restaurants of Asheville, the sugarcane fields of Barbados, and the rivers of Texas. I created guides for the New York Times Travel section's 36 Hours column in Acadiana, Aruba, Austin, Cartagena, Curaçao, the Florida Panhandle, Grenada, Houston, Olinda and Recife. I've also written about the challenges and costs of travel, and how social media impacts how and where people vacation.
My background
I've reported from more than 30 countries for The Atlantic, Bloomberg, Bloomberg Businessweek, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Travel + Leisure and others.
As an editor, I was formerly Bloomberg's Editor of Economics and Government for Latin America, and Senior Editor at the Houston Landing, a nonprofit newsroom. I managed an investigative project on predatory housing practices that led to a Department of Justice investigation and a Texas Headliners Excellence in Journalism Award.
My own reporting has been published on the front page of The New York Times and on the cover of Businessweek. My travel writing has been distinguished with a Lowell Thomas Travel Award from the Society of American Travel Writers and inclusion in The Best American Travel Writing anthology.
Film/TV: I've been featured in segments and documentaries on BBC, Bloomberg, MSNBC, PBS and, in Brazil, on O Globo (in Portuguese). My photojournalism and videojournalism have appeared in The Guardian, Pacific Standard, the New York Times and elsewhere, and I enjoy working collaboratively with multimedia teams and editors.
Audio: I've appeared on many podcasts hosted by Bloomberg and NPR. My career was explored on the podcast Two Writers Slinging Yang.
I am grateful to the Howard G. Buffet Fund for Women Journalists, The International Women's Media Foundation and The Institute of Current World Affairs for having generously supported my work.
If you are a freelancer trying to move up in your career, check out my consulting side hustle, Pitch Fairy. I can help you achieve your goals.
