Nelson Sigelman

Nelson Sigelman grew up in the Dorchester section of Boston and graduated from Boston English High School. He attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and spent much of his junior year traveling through Europe, where he learned how to interact with people who did not share his values or background.

Following graduation and another year spent working and traveling in Europe, in 1975 he purchased a one-way ticket and traveled to Japan where he remained for four years, teaching English and practicing Kendo (Japanese fencing). In 1980 he returned to the States and went to work in Boston. After eight years, he moved to Martha’s Vineyard and took a job selling advertising for The Martha’s Vineyard Times where editor Doug Cabral allowed him to begin a fishing column. His writing abilities and personality soon put him on the reporting side of the newspaper.

Nelson worked for 27 years at The Martha’s Vineyard Times. He was a reporter, later news editor, and from 2014 to October 2016, editor of the award winning weekly newspaper. For 26 years he wrote a popular weekly fishing column and occasional hunting column. Over the years his reporting and columns have been honored by the New England Newspaper Association, the New England Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America. In 2012 he was inducted into the prestigious Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby Hall of Fame. He lives in Vineyard Haven with his wife Norma.