Where are you based?

I live in Providence, Rhode Island with my husband and three children, and we spend summers in Northern Michigan, where I grew up.

What topics and places do you cover?

As both a photographer and writer, my work primarily focuses on connecting with culture and history through the visual world most notably in my books Patterns of India (Clarkson Potter, 2020) and Patterns of Portugal (Clarkson Potter, 2024).

I also cover a wide range of other topics, including sustainable living, family travel, gardening, local food and farming, adventure travel, and artisan communities. I'm particularly interested in the connection between people and place, often focusing on women. My work frequently explores New England's culture, lifestyle, and the artisanal and local food movement. I love a good road trip, as seen in my bestselling book, East Coasting (Artisan, 2024).

What outlets do you usually pitch (and write for)?

I regularly contribute to the New York Times, Vogue, Travel + Leisure, and Condé Nast Traveler.

Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?

Freelance

What are your professional pet peeves?

I certainly have a few! Perhaps most importantly, I am not a huge fan of impersonal pitches. I rarely open them or respond. I suggest PR agencies/ DMOs invest time in forming relationships with writers. I like to have an introductory call where we can get to know each other; I can find out more about their clients and they can learn more about the outlets I write for, my travel plans, how I like to be pitched, and what topics I cover.

I find last-minute trip invites frustrating. Not only can I never travel with a week or two notice, but be honest…someone dropped out and you are looking to fill a spot last minute. It's okay, just don't pretend otherwise!

I much prefer working without a confirmed assignment as I find that very limiting. I prefer to craft compelling stories rooted in genuine experiences and I always place my stories, 100% of the time. This whole thing only works if there is trust both ways: I trust you to plan a compelling trip and you trust me to write a compelling feature. There can be this misconception that travel writers are just looking for a free trip, and that couldn't be further from the truth. I have to decline around 90% of the trip invites, and I plan my travel several months in advance. I am looking for a compelling trip that will lead to strong editorial work, not a free trip.

Another pet peeve of mine is when a trip lacks a strong angle. How can I be expected to produce a story when little effort is made to find interesting angles for me to experience? It's equally disheartening when the itinerary is so packed that I don't get even a small window of time to explore freely. Honestly, my best stories come from unexpected and unplanned experiences.

In your past professional life, you were …

An admission director at a private school, a grant writer, and the director of academics at a nonprofit in Chicago serving under-resourced schools.

Where would you like to return to?

India, always. I've spent so much time there with my husband, Vijay, and our children. But I always long to return and I'd like to see more of the country since our travels have been limited to the north.

What's on your bucket list?

While this is my travel wish list, it is more a reflection of the places that are capturing my interest at the moment and many of these trips are already on the books. I want immersive travel. Travel that is intimately connected to the stories of the people who call that place home. Sri Lanka, Morocco, Japan, Madeira, Guatemala, Norway, Albania, Mozambique, Belize, and São Tomé and Príncipe. I'd love to get back to Ghana since the last time I visited was 20 years ago. Same with New Zealand…I spent six months traveling and researching there in college. I'd like to see more of Spain and Italy, and I'd love to take my daughter to France, which she has romanticized greatly!

I'd like to spend more time in Canada, specifically Nova Scotia and British Columbia. Here in the US, I'd love to spend more time out West as a family - Montana, Utah, and Wyoming specifically. I need to see more of our National Parks. A real bucket list dream is to see the Northern Lights, and as a Michigander, I'm ashamed to admit I've never been to the Upper Peninsula, so I'd love to take a kayaking and hiking trip there next summer.

Where do you travel for fun?

Northern Michigan is my favorite place in the world, and I spend July and August there with my extended family. I love taking day trips or spending the weekend on Mackinac Island. I also love road-tripping around New England. We're lucky to live close to such an interesting and easily accessible range of landscapes.

How best should people contact you?

To learn more about my books, puzzles, group trips, or consulting work, christinechitnis.com is best! Find my email address on my TravMedia profile here.) Please note, though, that I don't have the bandwidth to reply to all pitches.