Hi, I'm Jana. I’m Taiwanese-Australian-American freelance journalist, writer, and investigative researcher living in the San Francisco Bay Area. My work can be read in The Atavist Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Nylon, Truly Adventurous, among other publications, and was also recently honored at the 2023 ASJA Writing Awards & the 65th SoCal Journalism Awards. You can listen to my latest audio interview with the Creative Nonfiction Podcast here, and read a recent Q&A interview I gave to Famous Writing Routines here. 

 

I mostly focus on character-driven longform narratives, but also write shorter trend pieces and consult on other non-fiction projects. I run my own (very small) publication, Unearthed, which features interviews with noteworthy individuals and hometown heroes. Highlights include: Meaghan Good, an autistic woman in Indiana single-handedly running one of the largest missing person databases in the US, and Chris Atkeson, the real-life robotics professor who inspired one of Disney’s most beloved animated characters.
 

I was born in Japan, immigrated to Australia just before my sixth birthday, and have been living in the US since 2013 with my husband and our two dogs. In my free time, I enjoy practicing martial arts, my photography skills, attending small-town rodeos, window shopping, deep-sea fishing and, in general, striking up conversations with strangers. My English name comes from my birth name, 加娜 (Jiā nà) , which is pronounced like chicken parmigiana.

 

I’m a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), as well as the Los Angeles Press Club. The best way to reach me is via email: jana@jmeisenholder.com