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Meet Sarah Khan

Journalist and Editorial Consultant

Sarah hooks readers with stylish, sophisticated writing…With fresh and surprising insights and a welcome sense of humor, this is travel writing that shines.

Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards

Blame Sarah’s parents for her itinerant profession: she grew up in Saudi Arabia, where her father worked for Saudia Airlines and her mother was a freelance journalist. With role models like these—and with many of her formative memories unfolding in airplane aisles at 30,000 feet—it’s no wonder she grew up to be a travel journalist.

After a year as Editor in Chief of Condé Nast Traveller Middle East, Sarah is currently a contributing editor at Condé Nast Traveler and at Robb Report, and is on the faculty of the Columbia School of Journalism’s Columbia Publishing Course. As an award-winning freelance travel writer, she’s reported from seven continents for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, Time, Food & Wine, and many others. Sarah’s work was chosen for The Best American Travel Writing 2021 and has won numerous awards, including an honorable mention as Travel Journalist of the Year in the 2021 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards.

A frequent podcast guest and event panelist and moderator sharing her insights on the travel and media industries, Sarah is also passionate about championing diverse voices. With four other colleagues from the industry, she co-founded Travel is Better in Color in 2020 to spotlight dynamic writers, editors, photographers, and publicists working in travel media today.

A disciple of maps, a connoisseur of global junk foods, a hoarder of hotel pens, and a master at sleeping through long-haul flights: Sarah has all the marks of a professional peripatetic. She has lived in six countries on three continents—Canada, Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, the UAE, and the US—and has 2.5 passports. To find out #whereintheworldissarahkhan, follow her on Instagram or Twitter @BySarahKhan.

Featured

Featured in

Al Jazeera Journalism Review interview

I was included alongside other journalists I respect, including Lola Akinmade Åkerström and Zinara Rathnayake,…
Featured in

Monocle podcast: The Concierge

I sat down with Robert Bound, host of Monocle's travel-centric podcast The Concierge, to chat…
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Virtuoso, The Journal: Checking In

I was featured this week in the newsletter Virtuoso, The Journal for my recent cover…
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Porter: 4 Travel Tastemakers Share Their Bucket-List Destinations for 2023
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Muslims Doing Things Podcast: Sarah Khan is a Travel Journalist
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Women We Watch in Tourism: Sarah Khan – Empowering Diverse Voices in Travel Writing

Recent Work

Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal: Saved by the Zipper

For years I've been frustrated with a seemingly universal allergy to zippers shared by all…
Condé Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler: The 24 Best Places to Go in 2024

Condé Nast Traveler's annual Best Places to Go list for 2024 just came out, and…
Vogue

Vogue: Makeup Is More Than Meets the Eye in Eyeliner: A Cultural History

I've been a fan of British-Lebanese journalist Zahra Hankir's work for years, and when she…