About: Bio

Simon Akam was born in Cambridge, England. After leaving the Perse School he held a British Army Gap Year Commission in The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

He then read English Literature at Oxford University, where he edited The Oxford Student and travelled widely in Europe and Africa.

After graduating he moved to Egypt to study Arabic and freelance. While in Cairo he also applied for and won the Fulbright Alistair Cooke Memorial Scholarship. Named after the celebrated BBC broadcaster, each year the award sends a British journalist to study in the United States.

Simon moved to New York City in July 2008. After graduating from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he worked at the New York Times as a James Reston Fellow, covering a wide variety of stories across the New York area.

Simon is currently in Istanbul, Turkey on a placement with Reuters. His writing has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement, the Financial Times, the New Statesman, and Tatler. He speaks German and Arabic and enjoys riding and ski mountaineering.

Photograph by Adam Golfer www.adamgolfer.com