PILGRIM MAGAZINE

founder, editor, curator of stories

Raw, narrative, mission-inspired storytelling, focused on people and places, the beauty of observation, conscientious journeys, and talking to strangers.

Involvement: Founder, editor, curator of stories; branding, art direction, design direction, copywriting, editing, UX strategy, social media, analytics

The brand: Officially launched in June of 2018 (though the idea was born in the Amazon in June 2015), Pilgrim Magazine publishes stories that take readers on rich adventures through narrative storytelling. While journeys are at the root of all we do, journeying with purpose, cultural and environmental awareness, and compassion are unshakeable values. 

We believe that Pilgrims live their stories, with a deep awareness that there are ever-evolving narratives happening all around us. Pilgrims are people who are curious, observant, and receptive. People who are doing beautiful, meaningful things—who believe in purposeful living. People who not only talk to strangers, but listen to them. People who take the long way and believe that wrong turns are often right turns. People who read and sing and think and create and aimlessly wander and color outside the lines. People who are advocates for fellow humans, conscientious explorations, and Mama Earth.

Graphic designer: Alix Northrup

Front-end developer: Katie Clarke

Editors & curators of stories: Hayli Nicole, Rachel Estes


Featured section: Portraits of Humanity

(launched in 2021)


More than anything else, we are inspired by human stories—connection, community, the exchange of raw experiences. Portraits of Humanity seeks to capture and share the rawness and wholeness of being human. In a world enamored by busyness, we seek the slow moments where a sometimes simple interaction can change our entire course, wake us up, enrich us, teach us something, set our souls on fire.

Through words, shared experiences, mutual observations, these are the stories of (re)connecting with people—and becoming more human in doing so.

Featured section: (Found) at Sea

(launched in 2021)


Some of the greatest adventure stories of all time originate at—or by—the sea. And some of the greatest adventurers ever known have been those wayfarers who’ve found themselves found at sea. These are stories that celebrate the significance of our seas, our seafarers, and the stories that come when the two converge. From islands in the middle of the North Atlantic to those barely discovered, and seaside cottages where drifters have drifted to tall ships and their captains coursing Force-5 seas in search of…something, these tales capture the magic of our world’s greatest resource. And, in the midst of a climate crisis—and the domino effect this is having on marine life and resources all around the world—conservation, sustainability, activism, research, science, and responsible tourism will be a focal point of our storytelling. To love our seas is to protect our seas. And we’re eager to tell stories of both.

A selection of Pilgrim Magazine stories, written by contributors from all over the world