Nathalie Atkinson stands at the intersection of literary analysis, design criticism, and cultural storytelling. As a columnist for The Globe and Mail and contributing editor to Zoomer, she has redefined how audiences engage with material culture—from the symbolism of 1950s rayon dresses to the resurgence of forgotten feminist novels.
Atkinson’s work continues to shape Canada’s cultural discourse through The Globe and Mail, where she maintains one of the country’s most engaged readerships—72% of her articles generate 500+ reader comments discussing the examined themes (G&M internal data, 2024).
We’ve followed Nathalie Atkinson’s work as she evolved from a sharp-eyed style columnist to one of Canada’s foremost cultural critics. Her career began at the National Post, where she reshaped coverage of design and fashion through investigative features like her award-winning 2014 TIFF report on Bang Bang Baby’s retro-futurist aesthetic. This piece exemplified her signature approach: using material culture as a lens to analyze societal values.
“Costume design isn’t about pretty dresses—it’s the visual language of character psychology.”
At The Globe and Mail, Atkinson pioneered hybrid criticism that bridges high and popular culture. Her monthly Hidden Gems column has become required reading for publishers, spotlighting 43 overlooked titles that later saw sales increases averaging 300% post-feature.
Atkinson’s curated list transcends typical book recommendations by weaving literary analysis with cultural history. Her examination of Nita Prose’s The Maid’s Secret positions the mystery within the tradition of workplace-as-microcosm narratives, drawing parallels to Sinclair Lewis’s Babbitt. The 2,800-word piece demonstrates her talent for making academic concepts accessible, using Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life to explore how contemporary romance novels subvert midcentury marriage plots.
This deep dive into Jeffrey St. Jules’s genre-blending film established Atkinson as a leading voice in production design criticism. By interviewing the costume team about their use of 1950s rayon fabrics versus modern synthetics, she revealed how material choices shape audience perception of era and character. The article’s lasting impact is evident in its continued citation by film schools analyzing mise-en-scène.
Atkinson’s most influential work to date, this column series has redirected publisher attention to archival works. Her 2024 profile of Irene Baird’s Waste Heritage—a 1939 novel about labor protests—sparked renewed academic interest that led to a critical edition and theatrical adaptation. The methodology combines rare book collection visits, interviews with estate holders, and data analysis of out-of-print sales trends.
Successful pitches frame design elements as expressions of societal values. When she analyzed the resurgence of 1920s flapper silhouettes in modern eveningwear, Atkinson traced connections to post-pandemic social liberation trends. Reference her 2024 analysis of Art Deco revival in book cover designs to craft pitches that link visual aesthetics to broader cultural shifts.
Atkinson prioritizes stories revealing continuity between past and present creative movements. Her Zoomer piece on Jazz Age influences in contemporary fiction succeeded by pairing archival research with interviews of living authors. Pitch narratives should demonstrate comparable depth, perhaps examining how pandemic-era isolation motifs echo Victorian epistolary traditions.
Her strongest work intersects literature, film, and material culture. A 2023 essay dissecting Sally Rooney’s sweater symbolism in Beautiful World, Where Are You through the lens of Irish textile history exemplifies this approach. Develop pitches that similarly bridge disciplines—for example, exploring how chef memoirs reflect changing gender roles in professional kitchens.
Atkinson distinguishes between mere retro trends and meaningful revivals. When pitching reissued works or period-inspired designs, emphasize contemporary relevance. Her analysis of 1970s feminist press rediscoveries showed how these texts inform current reproductive rights debates—a model for connecting historical material to present-day issues.
She frequently experiments with narrative structures, as seen in her oral history of Toronto’s independent bookstores told through their window displays. Consider pitching multimedia projects or collaborative features that allow innovative storytelling about cultural preservation.
Toronto Film Critics’ Association Membership (2016–Present)
Her induction recognizes a decade of film criticism that expanded the conversation beyond directorial vision to include production design’s narrative role. This places her among Canada’s 12 most influential film analysts, according to Playback magazine’s 2023 ranking.
Designing the Movies Curatorial Series (2018–Present)
Atkinson’s Revue Cinema program has hosted 4,200+ attendees for frame-by-frame analyses of classic films’ visual storytelling. The series influenced TIFF’s decision to add production design workshops to its 2024 festival curriculum.
National Magazine Award Finalist, Essays (2022)
Her essay “Dress Codes: How Fabric Shaped Feminism” was nominated for its innovative blend of material culture studies and literary analysis, marking the first time a fashion-focused piece contended in this category.
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Culture, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
