Joel Balsam is a Canadian freelance journalist and guidebook author who writes about travel, the environment, food, and culture — pretty much whatever interests him. After graduating from Montreal’s Concordia University in journalism and political science, he has been a freelance journalist for more than a decade, writing for publications like Afar, National Geographic, Time, The Guardian, BBC Travel, Lonely Planet, The Globe & Mail, and many more. Based in Montreal, Joel has traveled to more than 50 countries and lived in Ottawa, Toronto, Madrid, Medellin, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Oaxaca, and New Orleans. His work has been acknowledged for multiple awards, including a recent Canadian award for a feature on a river that became a legal person.
