;ontributors
Michael Harris (“A Week in the
Woods,” page 84) is the author
of The End of Absence, which won
a Governor General’s Literary
Award in 2014. His new book,
Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular
Life in a Crowded World, is
available in April. Harris writes
about civil liberties, the media
and the arts for dozens of
publications, including The
Washington Post, Wired, Salon
and The Globe & Mail. He has
been a finalist for the RBC
Taylor Prize, British Columbia’s
National Award for Canadian
Non-Fiction, the Chautauqua
Prize, the CBC Bookie Awards
and several National Magazine
Awards. He lives in Vancouver
with his partner, artist
Kenny Park.
Michael Harris
Writer
Matthew Teller
Writer
For most of his life, one way or
another, British writer, journalist
and broadcaster Matthew Teller
(“Kuwait City by Design,” page
68) has been wrapped up with the
Middle East. From his first visit as
a child in 1980, when he smelled
cumin for the first time in
Jerusalem’s spice markets, he
has been lucky enough to live,
work and travel across the region.
Teller writes for BBC News and
publications around the world,
from The Times of London to
National Geographic Traveller,
and has produced and presented
documentaries for BBC Radio
from destinations as far apart as
Beirut and Antarctica.
Carolyn Purnell
Writer
Historian and writer Carolyn
Purnell (“Coming to Our
Senses,” page 88) earned her
doctorate in modern European
history from the University
of Chicago. Based in North
Holly wood, California, she is a
history instructor, freelance
writer and lover of bizarre facts.
Her first book, The Sensational
Past: How the Enlightenment
Changed the Way We Use Our
Senses, published in February
by W. W. Norton & Co., looks into
the ways that people put their
senses to use in the past and
ultimately shows that although
our bodies have not become
dramatically di;erent, the way
we think about our senses has
changed over the years.
Geo; Lung (“The Heart of
Vietnam,” page 106) has been
capturing images of people,
lifestyles, food, travel, architecture and interiors, and still lifes
for over 20 years. Based in Sydney,
he works around the world,
shooting images for clients such
as book publishers and international advertising agencies. His
photography also has appeared
in publications including
Gourmet, Travel + Leisure,
Harper’s Bazaar, Entertaining and
Travel, Vogue Living and Belle.
Geo; Lung
Photographer