The SunBreak

About Us

The SunBreak is a conversation with Seattle. We're here to talk with everyone from politicos, chefs, and athletes, to artists, filmmakers, musicians, scientists, and neighborhood activists. Think of us as a little ray of sun shining through that infamous Seattle chill--a group of friendly people who won't keep quiet and mind our own business. We encourage like-minded Curious Georges to post to the site, but if you'd rather just sit back and read, we won't judge. Thanks for stopping in!

Editor & Publisher [twitter]
Michael van Baker moved to Seattle in 1987 to attend Seattle University, and his affection for things with Seattle in the name is as yet undiminished. Earlier incarnations have seen him wearing marketing hats at Seattle Opera and the San Francisco Examiner and editing Seattlest.

Sports
Seth Kolloen, a fourth-generation Seattleite, has been obsessing over local sports since seeing his first Mariners game on Bruce Bochte T-shirt day. Former executive editor of Sports Northwest Magazine and contributing columnist to the Seattle P-I, he's written for the Stranger, Seattle Metropolitan, Deadspin, and every bathroom stall south of 85th St.

Arts
Jeremy M. Barker was born in Portland and studied theatre and comparative literature at the University of Oregon. He's been writing about Seattle arts and culture since moving here in 2003. Previously, he was the performance arts editor for Seattlest.

Literary [twitter] [facebook]
Constance Lambson roamed the U.S. as a dependent of the Marine Corps for a couple of decades, before landing in Seattle in the 1980s. She's been here more often than not ever since. Her true home is in books, and her ultimate goal is to spend her life reading and sharing them. She can also be found on GoodReads.

Film & TV
Audrey Hendrickson is kind of a big deal. She was Chicago-born and –raised, but doesn't miss the weather one bit (the people and the politics are another story). She spends a great deal of time watching movies and going to shows, reading Videogum and The Awl, and quoting Arrested Development (yes, still). Her favorite stuff on television includes 30 Rock, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and pretty much any VH1/Bravo reality trashvaganza. She tends to agree with Glenn Kenny. Additionally, she always tries to keep on hand at least two pounds of Tillamook extra sharp cheddar cheese.

Food
Jay Friedman, gastronaut, is one of the most intriguing and innovative food writers in Seattle. You may know him from "Dishin'" for Seattlest, or City Arts' "Dish-Off," in which he challenged chefs to create meals based on songs. Combining food writing with his other life as a sex educator, you can also find him in Edible Seattle (a regular "Hot Plate" piece about sex and food) and Seattle Weekly's "Sexy Feast." When not eating out or writing about it, Jay is most likely in the kitchen making kimchi, xiao long bao, or anything with offal. You can find most of his writing at his personal blog, Gastrolust.

At-Large [twitter]
Josh Bis is a contributing editor at The SunBreak. He tumbls at sciencevsromance.net. Since the first volume of his autobiography will not be published anytime soon, here: Lured to Seattle during the twilight of the Clinton administration by a PhD program at the University of Washington, he lives on Capitol Hill, has become embarrassingly dependent on espresso, and stopped watching Grey's Anatomy after that ridiculous ferry storyline. He takes photographs of musicians and can't resist launching tiny websites that he inevitably forgets to update.