My name is Vanessa Chiasson and I work with value-seekers.

In an often tumultuous media landscape, I offer editors reassurance and results. I produce beautifully crafted freelance stories with clean copy, delivering drafts and revisions on deadline. My work is shaped by diverse sources, meticulous research, and over ten years of experience specializing in travel and human interest narratives.

My writing resonates with readers who crave more from the content they consume. I add depth to short service pieces and bring warmth to essays and features. I sculpt heartfelt stories that encourage readers to return again and again for positive, relatable, insightful pieces.

With over a decade of freelancing experience, I know all too well what it means to go from barely keeping your head above water to having a sense of agency as you steer your proverbial ship through the choppy waters of publishing. As such, I love working with other writers to hone their strategies through my cozy coaching services.

My bylines include The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Chatelaine, Modern Farmer, Reader’s Digest, Buzzfeed, USA Today, Travel Awaits, Matador, Cottage Life, Quench, Esprit de Corps, Insider, Ottawa Magazine, Atlas Obscura, and more. In 2013, I was honoured as the Travel Writer Of The Year by Norfolk County Tourism for my piece The Golden Spruce of Norfolk County and again in 2021 by the Ottawa Tourism Travel Writing Awards, receiving an honourable mention for my article Planning the Perfect Cozy Ottawa Staycation. I was a finalist for Feel Good Story Of The Year at the 2024 Canadian Online Publishing Awards for my Broadview piece, Domestic Violence Fundraiser Invites Brides To Wreck Their Wedding Dresses.

I am also the voice behind Turnipseed Travel, a personal travel blog chronicling my cozy microadventures since 2012. In 2014, TurnipseedTravel was named to the White House’s list of the top 100 most influential travel blogs and was awarded second place in the Canadian Web Log Awards for best travel blog.

My passion for writing has been shared with CBC Radio, CTV Morning Live, the Travel Bloggers Exchange Conference, the Women in Travel Summit, Travel Massive, the Travel Media Association of Canada, the Society of American Travel Writers, and more. From 2014-2021, I owned a boutique digital marketing agency, Sculpt Social.

Currently based in Ottawa and originally from Nova Scotia, I have lived in Kingston (Ontario) and St. John’s (Newfoundland), as well as France, Ireland, England, and Malawi. I’m a Travel Media Association of Canada and Canadian Freelance Guild member.