Bio

This is the official website of Toronto-based journalist and writer Steven Zhou, whose work focuses primarily on issues related to national security, political extremism, and foreign affairs, with an emphasis on post-9/11 politics. His journalism and commentary usually revolves around the broad themes of political Islam, resurgent far-right politics, security, and post-9/11 attitudes in the West.

Steven is currently a freelance journalist. He is a Senior Online Contributor for CBC News and an Associate Editor at The Islamic Monthly, a Maryland-based print and online magazine focusing on post-9/11 issues.

Steven has worked as a journalist and producer for the Ottawa Citizen and CBC-Radio’s “Day 6” program, respectively. He worked for the city desk at the Citizen, covering everything from crime to politics. He also did just about everything–from producing stories to online blogging–for “Day 6,” a weekly current events show. 

Before starting his career, Steven graduated from Carleton University with a Master of Journalism (MJ) in 2013. He also graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology, in 2010. At U of T, he served as the Mississauga campus Student Union’s Minister of Social Justice and Associate VP-external Affairs.

Steven Zhou is a prolific contributor to multiple publications. His writing has appeared in the LA Review of Books, Buzzfeed, Vice News, CBC Online, the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, Salon, Quartz, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera America, OpenCanada.org, Policy Options, Now Magazine, the Literary Review of Canada, CANADALAND, Ricochet Media, Jacobin, The Huffington Post, Metronews Toronto, Briarpatch Magazine, The American Conservative, Middle East Eye, J-Source, BlogTo, and Muftah, among other outlets.

In 2012, He worked as a researcher and reporter for Farm Radio International after securing a travel grant at Carleton University’s Centre for Media and Transitional Societies. He travelled to Lilongwe, Malawi to cover development and political economy not long after protests and unrest shook the city before his arrival. That same year, he also worked as a staff reporter for Muslim Link, a community-based newspaper in Ottawa, Canada that focuses on Muslim affairs in the city and elsewhere. Steven covered everything from community events to incidents of Islamophobia.

From 2013-2015, Steven was the managing editor for The Mark News, an international op-ed syndication company that produced and syndicated two op-eds per week to 15 English language newspapers around the world, from Japan to Norway to Argentina. He produced each and every one of these pieces, while interviewing each contributor for a transcript that was converted eventually into an opinion piece via a ghost writer. Steven has produced pieces by over 200 contributors, from former PM of Ireland Mary Robinson to leading thinkers and analysts like Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer and Harvard University’s Joseph Nye.

From 2015-17, Steven was a board member of The Tessellate Institute (TTI), a charity status NGO that explores and documents the lived experiences of Canadian Muslims through academic research and the arts. He has contributed research to multiple projects and hosted multiple events, including a presentation of the national Muslim opinion survey co-sponsored by TTI and carried out by the Environics Institute. It is the only survey of its kind in Canada.

Steven is also an active member of the Canadian Muslim community and has worked on a number of issues concerning national security, human rights, and freedom of expression. He is currently a member of the Nation Security Committee of the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent advocacy group in Canada focusing on human rights education. Additionally, he has also worked as an Advocacy Intern from 2010-2011 for Human Rights Watch and has volunteered for a number of other organizations such as OXFAM Canada, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW), and Canadian Journalists for free Expression (CJFE).

Steven is an active speaker primarily in Canada on issues regarding national security, extremism, civic engagement, and the media. He has spoken at Ryerson University, the University of Toronto, and McMaster University, among other venues on these issues, particularly in relation to their impact on the Muslim community in Canada. Please email him for bookings. He’s also been interviewed by numerous media outlets, including CBC Radio, the Toronto Star, and Vision TV, among other platforms.

He is also available for ghost writing and copy editing/writing assignments. He has edited work that has appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, the Washington Post, the Brookings Institution, the Hill Times, and the Toronto Star, among other outlets. Please refer to the “Services” page for rates and how to contact him.