Rachel Simon is a journalist for The New York Times, The Cut, Travel + Leisure, and many other outlets. She is also the author of the nonfiction book Pickleball for All: Everything But the "Kitchen" Sink (Dey Street, 2022) and was previously an editor at Bustle and Mic. A New York native, she earned a B.A. in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College and now lives in Raleigh with her husband and dogs. In her spare time, she creates personalized crossword puzzles via her Etsy business YourCrossword. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter, or find her at your local ice cream shop on the hunt for the best cookies-and-cream.