Starre Julia Vartan

Hi, I’m Starre.

I write about health & science, the natural world, and the female body—especially the parts that are strong, misunderstood, or totally ignored. My science journalism and investigative reporting has been published in National Geographic, Scientific American, The Washington Post, Undark, New Scientist, and other outlets where curiosity is a job requirement. I’ve also published essays in Aeon’s Psyche, Candidly, and others, and short fiction.

My second book, The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us About the Power of the Female Body (Seal Press/Hachette, July 2025), has been published in the US & Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and is forthcoming in China and Korea. It is a science-backed, myth-busting love letter to the female body—an exploration of the female body’s sensitivity, endurance, immunity, longevity, and more.

I started my career as a geologist (yes, I’ve licked rocks), then earned an MFA in nonfiction from Columbia University and never stopped writing. I’ve lived in Sydney, Madrid, the Big Island of Hawai‘i, California, Connecticut, Washington state, Oregon, western Massachusetts, and New York, and I’ve explored 31 countries—so ask me about packing light (and weird plane snacks).

When I’m not writing, I’m swimming in cold water, running barefoot in the woods, sculpting clay goddesses, or flailing joyfully in an ecstatic dance class.