Alison Van Houten's journalism has been featured on the cover of TIME magazine and in other print publications including The Wall Street Journal, Outside magazine, and Sunset. It has been translated into French, syndicated in U.S. outlets like the San Francisco Chronicle and The Week, and cited in The Best American Travel Writing 2020 anthology. Primarily a cultural writer, she pens profiles, essays, and criticism, occasionally. She has lived in three countries and has reported from around the globe, including from one of the most remote inhabited atolls in the world. Previously, she worked on staff at the magazines Sunset and Outside. She is now a freelancer based in Northern California.