I got a new job!
I’m thrilled about some big news I’d like to share…I’m going to be the new space writer at WIRED magazine!!!
I’ve been biting my tongue until it’s official, and now finally it is. The next phase of my career is set to launch at WIRED on August 30! I’ll be writing about all things space, even while I’m grounded on Earth. My beat will include space exploration, space tourism, space politics, space conflict, space traffic, space diplomacy, etc., and all the fascinating characters, researchers, advocates, engineers, and profiteers involved. It will be glorious!
I’ve been a full-time freelance writer and journalist for five years now (or rather, I’ve been a part-time freelancer and a full-time dad). I’ve loved that work and I have many published pieces and accomplishments I’m proud of during that time, especially on the space beat.
As a freelance writer, I’ve long felt like my outsider or underdog status has been a big part of my identity. As a staff writer for a major magazine, I wonder if I’ll end up revising my perspective? We’ll see! In any case, I’ll continue to have solidarity with my community of freelancers, and I have a lot of respect for them. I’m glad to see so many people in the National Association of Science Writers, National Writer’s Union, Author’s Guild and elsewhere working to defend and expand freelancers’ rights, including their right to organize. Keep it up!
It’s been a blast writing all sorts of unique stories, including about marine archaeologists, space lawyers, scientific integrity policies, surveillance at the border, causes of gun violence, and more. Now I’ll be zooming in on space. I’ll literally have a whole universe to write about! Space exploration has always been what I’ve loved the most, ever since I was a kid watching Star Trek and Cosmos.
I’d like to thank my editors, including Brooke Borel and Ashley Smart at Undark magazine, Chris Gorski at Inside Science, Dean Visser and Lee Billings at Scientific American, Colin Schultz at Hakai magazine, and Michael Moyer at Quanta magazine, to name a few. (I’ve included links to a couple stories I’m particularly proud of, too.) Thank you also to all of my friends, peers, and my partner for encouragement along the way.
I’m excited to dive into my work soon at WIRED! It’s an honor to join a team of such talented writers and editors there, including Kara Platoni, Matt Simon, Maryn McKenna, Adam Rogers, and more. I will surely continue sharing my and my colleagues’ writing in this newsletter, too. Stay tuned.
Ramin’s Space is the newsletter by journalist and writer Ramin Skibba, which you can read about here. If you like it, please consider subscribing and sharing this post. Thank you to my new subscribers, too.
More about me: I’m an astrophysicist turned science writer and freelance journalist based in San Diego. You can find me at my website, raminskibba.net and on Twitter @raminskibba. I’m also former president of the San Diego Science Writers Association (SANDSWA) and on the board of the National Association of Science Writers (NASW), though the opinions I express are mine alone.