Meet Alexis & Contact

I’m a journalist writing a travel memoir about backpacking solo through Africa. I fund my pursuits by helping small businesses, organizations and individuals use social media.

I left my reporting job with the Houston Chronicle in May 2008 to backpack through West Africa, Cameroon and Madagascar, freelancing for various publications along the way. Through my travel blog, Inkslinging in Africa, I brought readers along for the ride as I voyaged by boat to Timbuktu, to Cameroon to deliver a gift to a grieving polygamous family and to Madagascar to discover the howling Indri lemur. That blog is now serving as the skeleton of my book.

My travels don’t end with Africa; I’ve also bungee-jumped in New Zealand, road-tripped through Ireland and fondue-dipped in Paris. What’s next? South America. Or maybe Southeast Asia. Or Tasmania…

During my three years with the Houston Chronicle, I covered politics out of the paper’s Washington bureau, then transitioned to the Houston newsroom to report on city hall. Later, as a health reporter, I followed a young couple as they tried to save their unborn twins from a rare disease and chronicled a sick teenage boy’s wait for a donor kidney. (Read some of my newspaper clips here.)

I learned to love journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where I completed the master’s-degree program. I’m also an alumna of Colby College.

This is my first book. I’m represented by literary agent Rachelle Gardner.

I do some of my best thinking while running.

Want to contact me? The best way to get in touch is via e-mail: alexiskgrant@gmail.com.

You can also find me on:

Look forward to connecting with you!

A few stories on travel and writing that I’ve written for other publications:

• In Modern Cameroon polygamy doesn’t pay. A news story for The Christian Science Monitor about the decline of polygamy. It features the Cameroonian family who plays a major role in my travel memoir. (Nov. 2008)

• Baylor’s West African AIDS project perseveres. A Houston Chronicle article about a pediatric AIDS clinic in Burkina Faso. Jean’s story is included in my book. (Sept. 2008)

• In Africa, the discussion is of Obama. An Op-Ed for the Albany Times Union about traveling in Africa when Obama’s running for president. Africans want him to win, but they doubt he will. Another topic I explore in my memoir. (Oct. 2008)

• Seven Things I’ve Learned So Far (about writing). Guest post for The Guide to Literary Agents blog. (Jan. 2010)

• Three Little-Known Beach Getaways in Western Africa. For the Matador Network. (June 2009)

• Ten Tips for Blogging from Developing Countries. For the Matador Network. (April 2010)

My favorite interviews with me:

• Marianne Elliot’s blog. On building a writing community.

• Mira’s List. A look inside a writer’s retreat. (Nov. 2009)

• On Writers’ Retreats and Travel Writing. Podcast with The Creative Penn. (Oct. 2009)