Writing

My name is Brittanie Shey Holland and I am a journalist who lives in Houston, Texas. I have a print journalism degree from Oklahoma State University where I specialized in First Amendment and censorship issues (and minored in French). I am the Web Editor at the Houston Press.

I blog regularly at Rocks Off, the Houston Press music blog, where my focus is on women and music. I write travel and sometimes news for The Press’ news blog, Hair Balls. I have written for Daily Fork, Village Voice Media’s national food blog; 29-95 and Hater Magazine, both based in Houston, and Helmet Hair Magazine, a Texas-based magazine for women who ride motorcycles. I was also a contributor at Houstonist, part of the Gothamist network. In 2006 I was a contestant on the second national Ultimate Blogger competition.

I have won several awards from the Oklahoma Press Association for investigative reporting and team reporting. Before joining the Houston Press I worked for the largest community newspaper group in Texas, the oldest newspaper in Oklahoma, and an Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame student newspaper. In 2005 I took a three-year break from newspaper reporting to move to Korea, work as a freelancer and travel the world.

“Brittanie’s a freelance writer that has amassed an incredible number of accolades as a journalist in a very short time, covering everything from food to travel to women’s issues. She is extremely literate but has a conversational style that makes reading a concert review seem like you’re hearing it from one of your friends. It also makes you wish you were there. Or that you performed better. ouch! Check out how she couldn’t stop running into Ralf Armin of Dead Roses the weekend of the last Free Press Houston Block Party.” — Matthew Wettergreen, founder of the Caroline Collective Coworking Space and Bandcamp, a DIY school for local bands.

I enjoy writing about travel, cocktail culture and women’s issues. I am fascinated by social media; I have kept a personal blog since 2004 chronicling my journeys around the world, much of it on two wheels. I am also a fearless crafter and have written about various projects both successful and awful. I often blog about my writing work. You can check the writing tag for frequent story-behind-the-story posts.

This gun is for hire — please contact me via email. Want to see some clips? Look below:

Selected writing

Texas Traveler

A series on weekend getaways, road trips and odd things to see in and around Houston, for the Houston Press.

• Angelton’s Mysetrious Houston of The Century — I go hunting for a Texas Mid-century relic (July 20, 2009)
• Brenham — Tiny horses and Blue Bell Ice Cream (July 13, 2009)
• Forbidden Gardens — A Chinese millionaire’s odd tribute to his home country, in miniature (June 1, 2009)
• Americana Alpacas — From cria to cardigan (May 4, 2009)
• Enchanted Rock — A mystical pink batholith in the center of Texas (April 27, 2009)
• Stonehenge II — This isn’t Spinal Tap! It’s a rural corn field near Hunt, TX (April 22, 2009)

Food & Drink

• Southern Star Brewery — Handcrafted taste in a can (Eating Our Words, June 29, 2009)
• Top 10 Summer Drinks — Recipes to help beat the heat (Daily Fork, June 22, 2009)
• Top 10 Weird Things I Ate In Korea — Including a meal that’s still moving (Daily Fork, June 4, 2009)
• BlueBonnet Wine Trail — Sippin’ through the Texas Hill Country (Hair Balls, May 25, 2009)
• Dean’s of Admission — Cocktails and vintage clothes (julib, April 23, 2009)
• $7 at Laredo Taqueria — Home of the best breakfast tacos in Houston (Eating Our Words, April 20, 2009)

Articles, Essays and Other Works

• Houston Museum Founders’ Grandson ODs — Obit for Dash Snow, great-grandson of the de Menils (Houstonist, July 14, 2009)
• Bike Culture in Houston — Fixies find a niche in the City That Oil Built (Hater Magazine, June 2009)
• Sailors, Speeches and Celebrations — Liveblogging the Obama inauguration with the Harris County Democratic Party and the Seafarers International Union (Houstonist, Jan. 20, 2009)
• Mr. Projector Benefit at Aurora Theater — Fundraiser for a Houston-area independent filmaker (Houstonist, Nov. 17, 2008)
• Houstonist Was There: David Sedaris — The author muses about the upcoming election and more at Jones Hall (Houstonist, Oct. 22, 2008)

Crafting

• Crocheted Cocktail Ring — CRAFT MAGAZINE Vol. 4 (Aug. 2007)
• Swapatorium — A site for junk antique collectors, where I wrote about my attempts to make crafts from vintage patterns

Personal Projects

• The Centennial Project — In honor of Oklahoma’s 100th birthday in 2007, I present two serialized first-person accounts of my family’s journey into the state, including how my great-great-grandfather made the 1891 Land Run.
• 26×365 — A project in which I try to write 26 words (my age at the time) about one person I have known, each day for a year.
• Shotgun Muse — A (now defunct) secret society for writers