Hello! I’m a freelance journalist who lives in London. I’ve written for The Guardian, Stylist, the Daily Telegraph, New York Magazine and more.
After graduating from Brown University, I lived and worked in Beijing for 2.5 years as an editor of an English expat magazine. After completing my Master’s degree in journalism from RMIT in Melbourne, I spent a year as a TV reporter in Beijing and now live in London. You can follow me on Twitter @JessicaLPan.
My second book, SORRY I’M LATE, I DIDN’T WANT TO COME is out in May 2019 in the UK (Doubleday, Penguin) and the USA (Andrews McMeel) and the Netherlands (Bruna).
It’s about the year I spent talking to strangers, performing stand-up comedy, traveling solo, trying out improv, going on friend dates and doing a bunch of terrifying extrovert-y things (I’m an introvert). I interview brilliant people to guide me through these nightmares.
Which is why it’s named: SORRY I’M LATE, I DIDN’T WANT TO COME. All order links can be found here. It’s sold over 140k copies!
(It will be translated into Russian, Chinese, Korean, Polish, Hungarian and German next year.)
In the meantime, you’ll find me writing about everything from historical baking columns to Elf School to being a professional introvert. Here are a few features clips:
- Guardian Weekend Magazine: what happens when you talk to strangers
- Lenny Letter: wild swimming with my doppelgänger
- The Cut / NYMAG: advice for Meghan Markle
- Guardian Weekend Magazine: my take on English culture and football
I am very partial to North London and welcome any and all tips about the best places for: iced coffee, cute dog sightings, open water swimming and authentic Chinese food. And tacos. Where are the good tacos?
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Reviews for Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come
‘Funny, emotional and deeply inspiring, this is perfect for anyone wanting to break out of their comfort zone’ Heat
‘I loved it! It’s such a wonderful title, and the book lives up to it’ Nigella Lawson
‘Beautifully written and so funny! I related to it A LOT’ – Emma Jane Unsworth
‘Relatable, moving and fantastically funny’ Rhik Samadder
‘In a world of self-care and nights in, this book will inspire and remind you to do some things that scare you every so often.’ Emma Gannon
‘Hilarious, unexpected and ultimately life-affirming.’ Will Storr
‘Tender, courageous and extremely funny, this book will make us all braver.’ Daisy Buchanan
‘A chronicle of Pan’s hilarious and painful year of being an extrovert.’ Stylist
‘Excellent, warm, hilarious.’ Nikesh Shukla
‘You WILL laugh and laugh while reading this.’ Sun
“Very funny, very smart” (Liberty Hardy on the Book Riot’s For Real podcast)
Jess Pan 