Elizabeth Bisland (1861-1929) was an American journalist, editor, and travel writer. Born in Louisiana, Bisland fled her homestead with her family during the Civil War, later settling in Natchez. As a teenager, she began publishing poems in the New Orleans Times Democrat, which would soon offer her a job. In 1887, Bisland moved to New York City, where she found work with The Sun and The New York World, eventually taking a position as an editor with then-fledgling magazine Cosmopolitan. Her break came in 1889, when she was sent on assignment to compete with Nellie Bly--who worked for the New York World¬-on her journey around the globe. Although both women departed from Manhattan on the same day, and despite the press generated by their competition, Bly remains more widely recognized for her role in the stunt. Upon returning, Bisland published her account of the adventure as In Seven Stages: A Flying Trap Around the World (1891).
