OPEN TO WORK: Please email anniccaalbano[at]gmail[dot]com for writing and journalism job opportunities.

Annicca Albano (annie-kuh alba-noh) is a multimedia journalist and freelance writer born in the Philippines, based in Toronto. Her work has appeared in CBC, Spacing, The Philippine Star and Cosmopolitan Philippines.

For the past 10 years, Annicca has specialized in e-commerce copywriting, marketing and branding. She was a staff travel & lifestyle writer for the DG Traveler magazine, associate editor for ShopLite’s Money Mentor in-app magazine and community manager for BeautyMnl’s Self-Love Club before freelancing in 2020. Since then, she has produced content for small businesses and non-profit organizations in Seattle, California, Tennessee, Alabama and Toronto.

Annicca holds a BA from the University of the Philippines and studied journalism at Humber Polytechnic, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning student newspaper Et Cetera. Her reporting has explored food, culture and social inequities, often informed by her own experience as an international student and a granddaughter of farmers. While studying at Humber, she was selected as a recipient of the CJF Emerging Journalists Bursary Program and Global News Journalism Scholarship, received mentorship from Under the White Gaze author Christopher Cheung through the CAJ Spring 2024 Mentorship Program, and won third place in OCNA’s 2024 Better Newspaper Competition for a feature story on encampment residents in Toronto.

Like many others, Annicca discovered a newfound passion for cooking and baking during the pandemic lockdown. Her culinary exploration intertwined with her writing, culminating in her piece on the country’s national porridge and political symbol titled "In Defense of Lugaw" for The Philippine Star newspaper. It was then she recognized the power of food journalism: an avenue through which she could celebrate her culture while advocating for the truth. Although opposition leader Leni Robredo (who was given the nickname “lugaw”) lost against a dictator's son, Robredo has inspired Annicca and countless youth to speak up and strive for a more just society. Today, Annicca works at the Canadian Journalism Foundation, where she helps advance equity in media by coordinating fellowships for emerging Indigenous and Black journalists, awarding bursaries to BIPOC student journalists and connecting the community through free and low-cost panel discussions and networking events.