Ash Abraham

On the Move

From the Egyptian Revolution the Korean Peninsula to Canada’s Capital and Music City

“Egypt Disappears” was the headline my friends and family read on the evening news as I sat on a plane flying toward Cairo on the eve of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. I’d just graduated with a degree in Global Studies, from the University of Tennessee. Upon arrival, I was caught in a nation-wide media blackout, and I had inadvertently flown into the biggest story in the world but had no access to any actual information on what was going on beyond my field of vision.

On my first night in Cairo, I pushed past my own fear, taking to the streets to bear witness to the makings of a revolution. That was the night I decided to become a journalist.

From Egypt, I moved to South Korea, and began editing scripts for Open Radio for North Korea, a Seoul-based organization which broadcasts news over the demilitarized zone and into North Korea.

I moved to Canada and graduated with a Master of Journalism from Carleton University in 2019. After graduating I began working as an associate producer and reporter with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

In 2021, I helped to launch CBC Ottawa’s first Creator Network - mentoring young emerging storytellers and producing multimedia projects and short documentaries for CBC’s digital, TV, radio, social and streaming platforms. I also report and produce stories with CBC’s ‘content diversification’ team, writing community-based stories with creative digital and video treatments and strong feature writing.

When I am not in the newsroom, I ghost-write and edit investigative books and memoirs. Writing books is my family’s business, and our home in Tennessee was built on manuscripts.

Whether writing a 50-word radio script or a 50,000-word manuscript I feel profoundly lucky to be a professional listener and story-gatherer. Excited to be back in Nashville and ready for the next chapter of life.

Quick facts about Ash:

I’m Syrian-Italian so I will attempt to overfeed you

Grew up in Nashville, Tennessee

Hosted a community radio show and fell in love with all aspects of audio production

Moved to Canada with only one suitcase 

I’m a dual American-Canadian citizen

Traveled to Russia to see where Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment

Taught English as a Second Language for six years in Korea and Canada

Graphic novel enthusiast (Adore anything by Jeff LeMire)

I ghost-write works of investigative journalism and memoirs

My cat is named Locutus and she’s living long and prospering