Amy Yee @amyyeewrites is an award-winning journalist, currently with Chicago Sun-Times and previously  with Bloomberg/CityLab, writing about in/equality and solutions to social problems.

She is a former staff reporter and foreign correspondent for the Financial Times in New York and New Delhi. She lived in India from 2006 to 2013, Bangladesh in 2014-15, and reported from 10 countries in Africa from 2016 to 2018.

Her journalism has won three United Nations Correspondents Association awards; four South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) awards; first place for public health reporting in the Association for Healthcare Journalists (AHCJ); the 2023 Asian American Journalists Association award for political reporting; and other accolades. Four of her longform reported narratives were Notable Essays in the Best American Essays anthology from 2015 to 2021.

Amy has written for The New York Times, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Geographic, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Bloomberg CityLab, BusinessWeek, The Nation, The Atlantic.com, NBCNews.com, Foreign Policy.com, International Herald Tribune, Forbes, The Lancet, Science Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, ScientificAmerican.com, The Daily Beast, Undark (science magazine at MIT), Stanford Social Innovation Review, Boston Globe Magazine, Boston Globe, Ms. Magazine, Slate,  The Progressive, Roads and Kingdoms, Yes! Magazine, Atlas Obscura, Afar Magazine, Global Post (US), OnEarth.com, Far Eastern Economic Review.com and Buddha Dharma magazine, among other publications.

BOOK

Her narrative nonfiction book with a Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama about Tibetan refugees in India — as well as Australia, Europe , and the US — will be published in October 2023 by University of North Carolina Press. It is first person, deeply-reported literary journalism, as well as travelogue.

In 2017 the book manuscript was a finalist for the Restless Books $10,000 Prize for New Immigrant Writing.

JOURNALISM FOCUS

From 2016 to 2018 she reported solo from 10 countries in Africa. She has reported from 20+ countries in total: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania/Zanzibar, Mozambique, Australia, Bosnia, Russia, Sweden, Myanmar, Peru, China, Canada and the U.S.

Amy has written across a range of subjects. From south Asia she wrote about poverty and ways to promote human and economic development; business; business approaches to reduce poverty; clean energy; public health; arts, culture and travel.  She also wrote extensively on Tibet issues.

As a journalist, she focuses on solutions to social problems, such as climate change; reducing deaths of children and mothers in developing countries; and improving safety in Bangladesh’s garment factories; and much more.

She has the most articles (85+) in the Solutions Journalism Network’s Story Tracker besides SJN’s founders, with more stories not included in the database. Amy discussed her solutions journalism with SJN here.

Her produced radio work has aired on NPR (National Public Radio) and Voice of America. She recorded interviews and sound from the field, wrote scripts, and cut tape.

NOTABLE IN BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS

Her narrative essay about a literary walk in Delhi, India was a Notable Essay in the Best American Essays 2017 anthology.

Her long form article about reforming Bangladesh’s garment factories was a Notable Essay in the Best American Essays 2016 anthology.

And her article about climate change in the Sundarbans mangrove forests of Bangladesh won first prize in the United Nations Correspondents Association awards in 2014 and was also a Notable Essay in the Best American Essays 2015 anthology.

Amy Yee @amyyeewrites is an award-winning journalist for Bloomberg News/CityLab writing about in/equality, and a former staff reporter and foreign correspondent for the Financial Times in New York and New Delhi. She lived in India from 2006 to 2013, Bangladesh in 2014-15, and reported from 10 countries in Africa from 2016 to 2018.

Her journalism has won three United Nations Correspondents Association awards; four South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) awards; first place for public health reporting in the Association for Healthcare Journalists (AHCJ); the 2023 Asian American Journalists Association award for political reporting; and other accolades. Four of her longform reported narratives were Notable Essays in the Best American Essays anthology from 2015 to 2021.

Amy has written for The New York Times, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Geographic, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Bloomberg CityLab, BusinessWeek, The Nation, The Atlantic.com, NBCNews.com, Foreign Policy.com, International Herald Tribune, Forbes, The Lancet, Science Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, ScientificAmerican.com, The Daily Beast, Undark (science magazine at MIT), Stanford Social Innovation Review, Boston Globe Magazine, Boston Globe, Ms. Magazine, Slate,  The Progressive, Roads and Kingdoms, Yes! Magazine, Atlas Obscura, Afar Magazine, Global Post (US), OnEarth.com, Far Eastern Economic Review.com and Buddha Dharma magazine, among other publications.

BOOK

Her narrative nonfiction book with a Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama about Tibetan refugees in India — as well as Australia, Europe , and the US — will be published in October 2023 by University of North Carolina Press. It is first person, deeply-reported literary journalism, as well as travelogue.

In 2017 the book manuscript was a finalist for the Restless Books $10,000 Prize for New Immigrant Writing.

JOURNALISM FOCUS

From 2016 to 2018 she reported solo from 10 countries in Africa. She has reported from 20+ countries in total: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania/Zanzibar, Mozambique, Australia, Bosnia, Russia, Sweden, Myanmar, Peru, China, Canada and the U.S.

Amy has written across a range of subjects. From south Asia she wrote about poverty and ways to promote human and economic development; business; business approaches to reduce poverty; clean energy; public health; arts, culture and travel.  She also wrote extensively on Tibet issues.

As a journalist, she focuses on solutions to social problems, such as climate change; reducing deaths of children and mothers in developing countries; and improving safety in Bangladesh’s garment factories; and much more.

She has the most articles (85+) in the Solutions Journalism Network’s Story Tracker besides SJN’s founders, with more stories not included in the database. Amy discussed her solutions journalism with SJN here.

Her produced radio work has aired on NPR (National Public Radio) and Voice of America. She recorded interviews and sound from the field, wrote scripts, and cut tape.

NOTABLE IN BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS

Her narrative essay about a literary walk in Delhi, India was a Notable Essay in the Best American Essays 2017 anthology.

Her long form article about reforming Bangladesh’s garment factories was a Notable Essay in the Best American Essays 2016 anthology.

And her article about climate change in the Sundarbans mangrove forests of Bangladesh won first prize in the United Nations Correspondents Association awards in 2014 and was also a Notable Essay in the Best American Essays 2015 anthology.

At the UNCA awards ceremony in New York  with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in December 2015.

AWARDS

In 2014 she won first prize in the United Nations Correspondents’ Association (UNCA) journalism awards contest for reporting about climate change adaptation in Bangladesh. Her work was recognized by UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon at a ceremony in New York.

In 2015 she was a Silver Winner in the UNCA awards again for reporting about climate change in Bangladesh and was recognized at a gala ceremony in New York.

In 2013 she was a bronze winner in the UNCA contest for stories about reducing deaths of children in Bangladesh and India.

In 2016 she won “Outstanding Business Story” in the South Asian Journalists Association’s (SAJA) annual journalism contest for her long form analysis about reforming Bangladesh’s garment factories.

In 2017 she won the SAJA award for Best Literary Non-Fiction for her essay about a literary walk through Delhi.

In 2013 she was a two-time winner in the SAJA awards in the Commentary and Arts/Culture categories for articles published by the New York Times about the economic impact of intestinal worms in children in poor countries and about the world’s largest Passover Seder (in Kathmandu, Nepal) in The Atlantic.com.

Amy has been a finalist seven other times in the South Asian Journalists Association’s (SAJA) annual journalism contest in the Features, Enterprise Reporting and Business categories in 2017, 2014 and 2012.

She was part of a team that won First Prize for public health reporting in the 2013 Association of Healthcare Journalists annual contest for her in-depth analysis of how Bangladesh and India have reduced the deaths of young children and new mothers.

In 2023 she won Asian American Journalists Association’s award for political reporting for an article about voting rights of Asian American voters in Philadelphia.

In 2023 Society of Professional Journalists Northwest awarded her second place for racial equity reporting about new museums in Vancouver Chinatown; one is funded by the Canadian government as a reckoning for past discriminatory policies focused on Chinese migrants.

In 2023 she won Chicago Journalists Association’s award for Best Business story and was a finalist for Best Technology story.

In 2020 she won Honorable Mention in the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) awards for articles from Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and Israel. The judges wrote that her work “brought us from the vineyards of Israel to coastal Mozambique, showing that there are no boundaries in environmental reporting. That she managed to accomplish this work on a shoestring budget as a solo freelancer is testament to her commitment and passion for environmental journalism.”

In 2022 she was a finalist in the Chicago Journalists Association awards in the business category. In 2019 she was a finalist for the Fetisov Journalism Awards in the environment category.

In 2008 she was part of a global team of Financial Times reporters named finalists for Best Newspaper Story of the Year in the UK for a series on the environment.

PHOTOS

Her photos have appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic.com, Washington Post, NPR, Bloomberg, Bloomberg CityLab, The International Herald Tribune, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Economist.com, Financial Times, The Atlantic.com, The Nation, The Christian Science Monitor, The Boston Globe, The Lancet, Roads and Kingdoms, Undark, Voice of America (VOAnews.com), Buddha Dharma magazine, NBCNews.com, Atlas Obscura and Terrain.org.

Amy was a 2019 fellow at MacDowell in New Hampshire and the Logan Nonfiction Program near Albany, New York. She was a 2014 Knight Bagehot Fellow in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University in New York where she also earned a masters’s degree.

SPEAKING

• Asian American Journalists Association 2021 and 2013 conference on international reporting and AAPI data
• 2021 panelist speaking about data and policy at Connecticut government conference
• 2020 one-hour guest talk to a Harvard Kennedy School class about climate change and media
• 2020 panelist at the Journalism & Women Symposium 2020 about climate change coverage
• Moderated panels in 2015 and 2013 at international conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh about environment and business.

EDUCATION

Amy has master’s degrees from Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA, Columbia University in New York and an MFA in creative writing from Hunter College in New York. She graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts magna cum laude with honors. She was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts.

CREATIVE WRITING

Amy’s reported narrative essays have been published by Massachusetts Review, Electric Lit, Roads & Kingdoms and Crab Orchard Review. Her poems have been published under a pseudonym by Salamander, Bayou, Memoir (and), J Journal, Aunt Chloe, Cultural Daily, Farmerish and other literary journals.

[When I was a freelance journalist, I experimented with virtual tip jars, both powered by PayPal! Two options to donate here:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AmyYeeWrites and https://ko-fi.com/amyyee ]

AWARDS

In 2014 she won first prize in the United Nations Correspondents’ Association (UNCA) journalism awards contest for reporting about climate change adaptation in Bangladesh. Her work was recognized by UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon at a ceremony in New York.

In 2015 she was a Silver Winner in the UNCA awards again for reporting about climate change in Bangladesh and was recognized at a gala ceremony in New York.

In 2013 she was a bronze winner in the UNCA contest for stories about reducing deaths of children in Bangladesh and India.

In 2016 she won “Outstanding Business Story” in the South Asian Journalists Association’s (SAJA) annual journalism contest for her long form analysis about reforming Bangladesh’s garment factories.

In 2017 she won the SAJA award for Best Literary Non-Fiction for her essay about a literary walk through Delhi.

In 2013 she was a two-time winner in the SAJA awards in the Commentary and Arts/Culture categories for articles published by the New York Times about the economic impact of intestinal worms in children in poor countries and about the world’s largest Passover Seder (in Kathmandu, Nepal) in The Atlantic.com.

Amy has been a finalist seven other times in the South Asian Journalists Association’s (SAJA) annual journalism contest in the Features, Enterprise Reporting and Business categories in 2017, 2014 and 2012.

At the UNCA awards ceremony in New York  with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in December 2015.

She was part of a team that won First Prize for public health reporting in the 2013 Association of Healthcare Journalists annual contest for her in-depth analysis of how Bangladesh and India have reduced the deaths of young children and new mothers.

In 2023 she won Asian American Journalists Association’s award for political reporting for an article about voting rights of Asian American voters in Philadelphia.

In 2023 Society of Professional Journalists Northwest awarded her second place for racial equity reporting about new museums in Vancouver Chinatown; one is funded by the Canadian government as a reckoning for past discriminatory policies focused on Chinese migrants.

In 2020 she won Honorable Mention in the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) awards for articles from Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and Israel. The judges wrote that her work “brought us from the vineyards of Israel to coastal Mozambique, showing that there are no boundaries in environmental reporting. That she managed to accomplish this work on a shoestring budget as a solo freelancer is testament to her commitment and passion for environmental journalism.”

In 2022 she was a finalist in the Chicago Journalists Association awards in the business category. In 2019 she was a finalist for the Fetisov Journalism Awards in the environment category.

In 2008 she was part of a global team of Financial Times reporters named finalists for Best Newspaper Story of the Year in the UK for a series on the environment.

PHOTOS

Her photos have appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic.com, Washington Post, NPR, Bloomberg, Bloomberg CityLab, The International Herald Tribune, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Economist.com, Financial Times, The Atlantic.com, The Nation, The Christian Science Monitor, The Boston Globe, The Lancet, Roads and Kingdoms, Undark, Voice of America (VOAnews.com), Buddha Dharma magazine, NBCNews.com, Atlas Obscura and Terrain.org.

Amy was a 2019 fellow at MacDowell in New Hampshire and the Logan Nonfiction Program near Albany, New York. She was a 2014 Knight Bagehot Fellow in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University in New York where she also earned a masters’s degree.

SPEAKING

• Asian American Journalists Association 2021 and 2013 conference on international reporting and AAPI data
• 2021 panelist speaking about data and policy at Connecticut government conference
• 2020 one-hour guest talk to a Harvard Kennedy School class about climate change and media
• 2020 panelist at the Journalism & Women Symposium 2020 about climate change coverage
• Moderated panels in 2015 and 2013 at international conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh about environment and business.

EDUCATION

Amy has master’s degrees from Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA, Columbia University in New York and an MFA in creative writing from Hunter College in New York. She graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts magna cum laude with honors. She was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts.

CREATIVE WRITING

Amy’s reported narrative essays have been published by Massachusetts Review, Electric Lit, Roads & Kingdoms and Crab Orchard Review. Her poems have been published under a pseudonym by Salamander, Bayou, Memoir (and), J Journal, Aunt Chloe, Cultural Daily, Farmerish and other literary journals.

[When I was a freelance journalist, I experimented with virtual tip jars, both powered by PayPal! Two options to donate here:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AmyYeeWrites and https://ko-fi.com/amyyee ]