Tamara Thiessen

Journalist, writer, photographer, author, editor, I am both an incurable traveller and dilettante. Based between Australia and France, my stories as a foreign correspondent and travel writer have been published in newspapers and magazines worldwide. I have written on breaking news through much of Europe and in Australia – and am as globetrotting in my work as in life. Indeed, much of my writing life has been spent on the road – and living out of a suitcase. You get to see so much more of the world that way! Like a short-tailed shearwater (a Tasmanian muttonbird), I migrate constantly between my southern and northern hemisphere bases, seeking the kind of cultural enrichment that comes only with distance and difference. In the words of French philosopher Montaigne, that we may 'whet and sharpen our wits by rubbing them up on those of others'. Starting out as a television reporter in Canberra, I worked for several years as a news and current affairs journalist for ABC radio and Radio National before embarking on a freelance (and footloose) career as a foreign correspondent in Europe. An accomplished broadcaster, I have freelanced for many radio programs and been a newsroom editor, radio presenter and producer. Radio has been in my veins for decades, and I continue to adore it as a medium that puts you so intimately in touch with the lives of strangers. And through which you learn so much, in the space of hours, about history, world politics, the arts and science. I am a strange creature, combining in equal doses travel writing with breaking news coverage. As a news journalist, I’m interested in politics, social issues and the environment. As a traveller, that hard-to-put-your-finger-on thrill of exotic places and people that carry you far away from mundane existence ... whatever that is. You know, going for a walk, can take you to that place. But, hey, let's not underrate the importance of far horizons. Very much of this digital age, through a Covid stationary year I attracted a million views a month to my Forbes contributor page with my travel intel reports on the fallout of the pandemic on travellers in Europe, the US and Australia. These days, I continue to spend most of my time writing on travel, history and culture, fuelled by a passion for crossing cultures and dabbing my nib in new horizons. My stories on travel and culture appear in dozens of inflight magazines and publications such as National Geographic Traveller, Lightfoot Travel, Business Traveller, Condé Nast Traveller, Islands Magazine, Vacations & Travel and Signature Luxury Travel. While my news stories, features and analysis have been published in The South China Morning Post, The Singapore Straits Times, The Toronto Globe and Mail, The Montreal Gazette, Monocle, The Age, The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald. A hotel addict, I am also a long-time global correspondent for the likes of Hotel News Now and Hospitality Design. As you can see, I am the author of several books, mostly travel and cultural guides. The Borneo Bradt Travel Guide is a doorstop ... and will soon go to 5th edition. Which is wonderful, but scary ... as it makes me realise my age! Jokes aside, writing is in my DNA, and I hammer away at my keyboard pretty much non-stop by compulsion. Soon I hope to launch a small publishing imprint – and publish away to my heart's content with some niche travel guides and a few non-fictions. I would love it if you could join my potential readers list! Meanwhile, keep track of me on my website and on my Instagram account, @TamaraThiessenTravels. By the way, and totally unimportantly, I have a degree in journalism from Canberra University and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Strasbourg. I look forward to interacting with you soon, dear readers. Yours truly, Tamara