Kristan Lawson

Travel & Lifestyle Writing and Photography by Kristan Lawson

I. Writing

Current Positions

Oakland Magazine — Columnist
Atlas Obscura — Writer
Modern Farmer — Writer
The Monthly — Contributor

Oakland Magazine
Viridian: The Future of Neighborhood Bars
Bizzy’s Dry Bar, the East Bay’s first alcohol-free cocktail lounge
Well Drinks — The Uncocktails
Drink Your True Colors
Drinking by the Clock
Exploring the Alameda Malt Flats
Mixologists Are the New Herbalists
The Shochu Must Go On
Tomorrow’s Amaros
A Loaf of Bread, a Glass of Scotch, and Thou
Sippin’ on the Bottom of the World
Battle of the Berkeley Bars Cocktail Competition
Tamarind Cocktails at Tamarindo
Artisanal Cider Renaissance
Going Sour: The Revival of the Phosphate Drink
East Bay Whiskey Arrives
Caipirinhas Are Sugar Cane Magic
A Cocktail That Changes Colors Right Before Your Eyes
Is Irish Coffee Irish?
The Oaksterdam at Hello Stranger
Around the World in 80 Sips
Intoxicating Atmosphere: Vodka Made From Fog
Mysterious Génépy’s Unlikely Journey from Ski Slopes to Speakeasies
Get a Grappa
Guide to Low-Alcohol Cocktails
Uptown’s Spice Route
You Say Tomato, I Say Mariko

The Monthly
Stealth Opening

Online sites which have recently published my travel, food and lifestyle articles (with links):

Atlas Obscura
Pantelleria’s Giardini Panteschi: The Ancient Walled Gardens Designed to Nurture a Single Citrus Tree
Giardino Pantesco “Places” entry

Modern Farmer
Jerusalem Artichoke Dilemma Finally Solved — With Ingenious Kitchen Alchemy
Now Even Wheat Has Terroir
Jurassic Farm: Can We Bring Prehistoric Bovines Back From Extinction?
Cuties, Pixies, Delites: How Marketing Rebranded A Fruit

Oakland Magazine
The Bloody Mariko Comes to Emeryville
The Physics of the Flaming Cocktail
New “Runway Spirits” Bar Stealth-Opens at Hangar 1 in Alameda
Marveling at the Eternal Sentinels of Sequoia National Park
Forget the Cream and Sugar: Nitrogen Is Coffee’s New Best Friend
Explore Angel Island for History and Spectacular Views
Cider Is Coming On Hard
Healdsburg Is Wine Country In Miniature
Pantelleria: Sciroccos, Saunas, and Sweet, Sweet Wine

Huffington Post
The Definition of Ripe
The Seven Faces of Palm Springs
America’s Pinkest City
Lava-cation: Start Planning Your Hawaii Volcano Holiday
What It’s Like to Ride in a Blimp
How to Get From San Francisco to Yosemite, Guilt-Free — on Public Transit
The Chufa Challenge: Taste-Testing Tiger Nuts
Sonoma’s Wackiest Wineries

Dogster/Catster
Welcome to Seborga: An Entire Nation of Cats
De Poezenboot, a Floating Cat Sanctuary in Amsterdam
Meet the Rescue Dogs of the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
A Deaf Pit Bull Learns Sign Language

Spoonwiz
Dry Creek Valley AVA

Traveling With Sweeney
How to Take Ghostly Travel Photos

Print newspapers and magazines which have previously published my travel articles:

Boston Globe
Denver Post
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
San Francisco Chronicle (pdf)
San Francisco Examiner
Westways
San Jose Mercury News
Los Angeles Herald Examiner
Oakland Tribune

Guidebooks

California Babylon: A Guide to Sites of Scandal, Mayhem and Celluloid in the Golden State — Co-author (with Anneli Rufus) (St. Martin’s Press, 2000)
Weird Europe: A Guide to Bizarre, Macabre, and Just Plain Weird Sights — Co-author (with Anneli Rufus) (St. Martin’s Press, 1999)
Goddess Sites: Europe — Co-author (with Anneli Rufus) (HarperCollins, 1991)
America Off The Wall, The West Coast: a Guide to Unusual Sights — Co-author (with Anneli S. Rufus) (John Wiley & Sons, 1989)
Europe Off The Wall: a Guide to Unusual Sights — Co-author (with Anneli Rufus) (John Wiley & Sons, 1988)
Time Out Guide San Francisco — Author of “Sightseeing” section (Penguin Books, 2002)
Virgin City Guide Los Angeles — Author of “Sightseeing” section (Virgin Publishing Ltd., 2001)
Virgin City Guide San Francisco — Author of “Sightseeing” section (Virgin Publishing Ltd., 2000)
Northern California Best Places — Contributing editor (Sasquatch Press, 1992)

Books on other topics

The Scavengers’ Manifesto — Co-author (with Anneli Rufus) (Penguin Tarcher, 2009)
Darwin and Evolution for Kids: His Life and Ideas — Author (Chicago Review Press, 2003) (translated into six languages)
The Rules of Speed Chess — Author (Jolly Roger Press, 1992)

II. Photography

Print magazines and newspapers which have recently published my photographs (with links):

Oakland Magazine
Unlocking Locke’s Past
Exploring Alviso
Wandering the Micro-Nation of Seborga
Basking is Mandatory in Palm Springs
Kings Canyon is Yosemite Without the Crowds
Monaco is More Than a Tiny Tax Haven
Half Moon Bay Is Quaint in the Right Way
Nebraska’s Worth a Visit
So Near, Yet So Fair: Travel to Mendocino Village, Caspar, and Fort Bragg

The Monthly
Burmese, If You Please
A Crash Course in Casablanca
Foam on the Range

Online sites which have recently published my photographs (with links):

KQED’s Bay Area Bites
Bay Area Foodmakers Command a Huge Presence at SF’s Fancy Food Show
Matcha: Silky and Smooth, It’s Not Just for Tea Ceremonies Anymore
Wild Game Is Invading Bay Area Menus, But Why?
With Bowling Balls, Cute Kittens and Cotton-Candy Cocktails, Theme Restaurants Bounce Back
Is Dorm Food the Bay Area’s Best Dining-Out Deal?

The Huffington Post
How Can You Tell Whether or Not You’re in an English Supermarket?
Step Aside, San Francisco: “SF” Now Stands for Sioux Falls
10 Things to Do in the Wine Country If You Love Animals More Than You Love Wine
Soldiers, Superstars, Coachella and PTSD: How They All Intersect
You Know You’re on the Big Island When…
Behind the Scenes at Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel
Seborga: The Micronation Inside Italy Where Time Stands Still
11 Amazing Fruits & Vegetables of Which You Might Never Have Heard
Million-Dollar Vistas Amidst Shattered Glass: The Exquisite, Embattled Albany Bulb
Why Should We Wake Up Before Dawn in Nebraska?
How to Visit a Vineyard
It’s Always Halloween in Virginia City
Pixies: They’re Cuter than Cuties
Let’s Make Puglia the New Umbria

Psychology Today
Where Is Your True Home?
War-zone memories haunt celebrity photographer Greg Williams
[teaser photos by me] [examples of credits for teaser photos]

Alameda Magazine
Maker’s Common Launches Fall Menu

Fathom
Aix Marks the Spot

Travelgirl
In Search of Sweet Wines

Spirituality & Health
Luxury Therapy
Sometimes “Sorry” Means Something Else

Gayot.com
Masottina’s Massive Eco-Friendly Winery a Work in Progress
The Winter Fancy Food Show Spotlights Culinary Trends

Medium
How It Feels to Be Hated

Oakland Magazine‘s “East Bay 365” column
Viridian to Open Soon on Broadway
2020 Food Trends Revealed
Family-Run Distillery Expands
Oakland Foodmakers Win sofi Awards
Ex-East Bayite Celebrates Hawaii’s Sustainable Farms
Trumer Pils Donates $50,000 to Wildfire Aid
Cocoa Puffs-Infused Negroni
Calavera Pop-Up Dinner: Eight-Hour Suckling Pig and Grasshoppers
Hendrick’s Flying Cuke Cruises East Bay Airspace
Ajanta Restaurant Has Been Sold
East Bay Stars Shone at Eat Drink SF
General Mills Works With Oakland Nonprofit to Protect Bees
Berkeley Humane’s Beerfest: a Sudsy Success
Trendy New Trends List Says Oakland Is Trendy
Hopscotch Chef Kyle Itani
Molecular Biology’s Foaming It Up at Berkeley’s Joshu-Ya Brasserie

Dogster/Catster
Berkeley Wins a Visit From Famous Feline Grumpy Cat
Grumpy Cat Stars at Macy’s
Oakland’s Cat Town Cafe, the First Cat Cafe in the U.S.
Puppies Romp in the SPCA Holiday Windows Event

GoNOMAD
Pantelleria: Land of Liquid Prayers

Spoonwiz
Spoonrocket

Bay Citizen
Fancy Food Show Dispatch: 2011 Food Trends

East Bay Express
East Bay Chocolatiers Rule

Epicuring
Behind the Wine, Within the Whiskey

Traveling With Sweeney
How to Take Ghostly Travel Photos

Boomer Women Travel
Cruising for Loners

Dibs
Officially Local: How “appellations” and “AVAs” ensure the authenticity of local specialities
They Don’t Eat Tacos in Peru

Print magazines and newspapers which have previously published my photographs:

Diablo Magazine
Cosmopolitan
San Francisco Chronicle
San Jose Mercury News
Westways

Books which feature my photographs:

Mummies, by Jennifer M. Besel (Capstone Press, 2007)
Everything You Know About God Is Wrong, edited by Russ Kick (The Disinformation Company, 2007)
The Fortune-Telling Book, by Raymond Buckland (Visible Ink Press, 2004)
Skulls and Skeletons, by Christine Quigley (McFarland & Co., 2001)
California Babylon, by Kristan Lawson and Anneli S. Rufus (St. Martin’s Press, 2000)
Weird Europe, by Kristan Lawson and Anneli S. Rufus (St. Martin’s Press, 1999)
Magnificent Corpses, by Anneli Rufus (cover photo) (Marlowe & Co., 1999)
Celtic Mythology, by Simon Goodenough (MetroBooks, 1997)
The Strange But True? Casebook, by Jenny Randles (Piatkus Books, 1995)
Goddess Sites: Europe, by Anneli S. Rufus and Kristan Lawson (HarperCollins, 1991)