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Bay Area cuisine and travel writer Gayle Keck is interviewed on Rolf Potts’ Vagabonding. How did she get started? Biggest challenges? Advice? Gayle also writes at Been There, Ate That.

From the occasional editor of Travel Writers News, me, Laurie McAndish King:

This photo I took of a frog in Mendocino is a finalist in Smithsonian magazine’s 7th annual photo contest. Who’d have guessed? I’m so excited! There were 60,000 contest entries from all around the world, and mine is one of the top 10 finalists in the “Natural World” category.

It’s doing pretty darned well in the People’s Choice competition, too (it’s in the top 5 out of 50). You could do me a big favor by voting for it here. It’s photo #17, and you can vote once a day through the end of March.

From Stephanie Elizondo Griest:

First, I recently started a little blogito called Around the Blog — aroundthebloc.wordpress.com — about traveling, writing, books, and combos thereof. Please take a look!

I’ve also just released my first anthology, Best Women’s Travel Writing 2010, which features essays by 27 far-flung correspondents. It should be landing on bookshelves near you this month, and you can meet the contributors either on my blog or at one of our upcoming events.

Kelly Hayes-Raitt explains below why she enters writing competitions. Wow; I can’t wait to read her book:

In my preparation for a search for an agent, I started sending out chapters of my nearly complete book to various contests.  My book (tentatively titled Keeping the Faith:  An American Woman’s Listening Tour Among the World’s Forgotten) is about my work with Iraqi and Palestinian refugees — a series of stories that put a human face on US foreign policies — and about my healing from a mid-life loss.  I call it a political Eat, Pray, Love.

Check out Jungle Pants, the beautiful new website just launched by Bay Area adventurer and travel writer Anne Sigmon.

March 15, 2010

BootsnAll is looking for for travel writers. Apply by March 15:

We’re excited to launch the BootsnAll Travel Writer platform — a partnership with passionate travel writers to create expert-driven content on your favorite destinations and topics.

BootsnAll Travel Writer Current Opportunities:

* Destinations: Amsterdam, Australia, France, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Las Vegas, London, Mexico, South Africa, or you tell us!
* Themes: Adventure Travel, Business Travel, Round the World Travel, TEFL, Travel Gear or you tell us!

How It Works:

From TravelersTales.com

Winners of the Fourth Annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Story of the Year were announced March 1, 2010 on BestTravelWriting.com by the editors of Travelers’ Tales. Grand Prize winner Tawni Vee Waters collected $1,000 for “The Ashes of San Miguel,” her haunting story about death and its effect on cultures and people. Kevin McCaughey won the silver award and $750 for “We Wait for Spring, Moldova and Me,” his quirky tale of life as a teacher in the post-Soviet state. Regina Briefs-Elgin took the bronze and $500 for “The Train at Night,” her poetic, charming, and sometimes chilling account of a cross-country journey on Amtrak. Read these stories on the Great Stories page.

From our friends on California’s central coast:

Central Coast, CA: Travelers hungry for the greatest diversity of experiences now have an appetizing resource to feast upon with the new 2010 edition of the California Central Coast Visitors Guide.  Available online at www.CentralCoast-Tourism.com or free hard copy requests may be made via email to info@centralcoast-tourism.com. Please include your name and full mailing address.

In the March issue of Popular Photography magazine, the editor’s note, by Miriam Leuchter, is called “What Is a Photograph?”

You’d think that, after 73 years, a magazine called Popular Photography would have figured that out. (Ba-da-bump!)

Actually, though, the editorial is about the magazine’s annual Reader’s Photos Contest. This year, in two of the categories, the winners were what the magazine calls composites, and what I call Photoshop jobs.

February 20, 2010
10:00 am	to	5:00 pm

Saturday, February 20, 2010 ~ Berkeley, California

A one-day workshop with Constance Hale, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Are you a writer, editor, or copyeditor interested in being a freelance editor for magazines and nonfiction books? This workshop covers the role of freelance editors in the publishing world. Topics include understanding the mission of the magazine or the program of the publisher; evaluating queries and proposals; tailoring narratives to specific audiences; developing strong story structure; editing for clarity, brevity, and vigor; and working effectively with authors. The class ends with a discussion of how to find freelance work and develop a robust editing business.

Here’s a list of international holidays, searchable by date, country, religion, and more. The listing doesn’t skimp: for the US, it shows 15 holidays in January, including National Pharmacists’ Day and Elvis’s birthday.

If you need to write using UK spellings, here’s a good resource.

April 30, 2010

to

May 2, 2010

The fifth annual Gold Rush Writers Conference will be held   April 30, May 1 and 2 in picturesque Mokelumne Hill, the Sierra town that time forgot.  The event, which includes your choice of 16 workshops, plus readings, talks, a picnic supper in a Victorian garden, lunch and dinner in a Gold Rush hotel, and a poolside brunch, is priced at just $145 — if you sign up before March 30.

Genres and topics covered include mystery, memoir, historical fiction, mainstream fiction, non fiction, poetry, short story, plus the basic tools of digital research, media marketing, plot, dialogue and point of view.

There’s a Meet-up of the San Francisco Travel Book Club and Lecture Series on Thursday, February 18, at 7:30 p.m. Books, Inc. (2251 Chestnut Street in San Francisco, CA).

Speaker Erin Van Rheenen is the founder of Miss Move Abroad.com (www.missmoveabroad.com), author of Living Abroad in Costa Rica, and has been interviewed on CNN on the subject of moving abroad. If you have ever dreamed of moving to another country for an extended period of time, RSVP above and stop by to meet a woman who has true been-there-done-that savvy!

April 1, 2010

12:00 am

Are your entries ready for the 26th Annual SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition? The deadline is approaching (April 1), and details are posted on the SATW website.

I recently enjoyed spending some time in Costa Rica (and Jim is ready to move there). Thanks to our friend Laurie McManus for sending along this link to an ex-pat’s blog: “She’s a clever, funny writer and shares a lot of random info on what it’s like to be an American ex-pat. Why she would include a photo of herself in a bra, looking like she just rolled out of bed is beyond me…”

I especially like the Feb 7, 2010 post about election day in Costa Rica.

June 18, 2010

Thanks to Connie Hale for forwarding this information about an upcoming class at Stanford:

June 18-19, 2010 ~ Stanford University

Sponsored by The Knight Fellowships and the American Society for Journalists and Authors

This is a first-of-its-kind conference about the future not of journalism, but of the journalist. It will inspire writers to do their best work, while also helping them think entrepreneurially about their careers.  About 100 mid-career journalists will come to hear 30 speakers from traditional media, established digital media, hyperlocals, nonprofits and other start-ups. The goal: to encourage us all to think broadly and creatively about our careers as storytellers in the midst of roiling times.

The people in Haiti still need our help, and PayPal has provided a good way to give. Unlike some credit card companies, PayPal covers the processing costs – 100% of your donation goes to the nonprofit of your choice. Here’s a link for using PayPal to donate to the Red Cross, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Save the Children, World Vision, or other relief funds.

The Voluntary Traveler “is a travel anthology penned by writers from all over the world. Focused on inspiring volunteer vacations and/or encouraging adventure-minded people to see volunteer work as a part of ones longer journey, the book will also include a volunteer guide section, listing charities needing volunteer assistance, plus organizations that coordinate service orientated travel.”

What a great idea! Join their Facebook page, buy the book, tell your friends.

I have a huge amount of admiration for Lee Foster’s travel writing and photography, technological savvy, and “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy. Like the rest of us, Lee has been affected by the downturn in publishing. But he did something about it: he turned one of his books, San Francisco Photography Guide, into an iPhone application and released it in the Apple iTunes App Store (it costs just $1.99). It “assists users to create, collect, and enjoy their own postcard perfect photos and memories of San Francisco. Lee presents his top 100 views of The City, from vistas to iconic details, and shows the user how to duplicate them. The app has Lee’s comments on how to make the photo and why the view is significant, even if you only want to enjoy the view and not photograph it. Interactive maps show what photos/views can be savored in a given neighborhood.”

Good news ahead for the US-based tourism industry, from the Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (OTTI): “The U.S. Department of Commerce projects international travel to the United States to regain its footing by 2010 following its first forecasted year of decline (2009) since 2003. Reflective of the current global economic environment, international travel is forecasted to decline by 8 percent in 2009. A 3 percent rebound is projected for the United States by the end of 2010, followed by 5 percent annual increases through 2013.

I’m getting ready to take a trip, and pulled out some notes about what first aid items to bring along. I am not a  doctor (nor do I play one on TV), but here’s a basic list complied by one. Of course your own list will depend on where you’ll be, and what your individual needs are. Be sure to check with your health care provider (you could use the notes below as a discussion guide).

• Antibiotic to use for treatment for travelers’ diarrhea (item number 1 on the list for a good reason?).

Has anyone tried a product like this? I’ve seen UV disinfectors for $95, and for $19.95 (wonder what the difference is…?), and they seem like a useful item to travel with these days. According to the instructions, they use “the same technology hospitals use to sanitize,” killing 99% of germs [mold and] and bacteria with ultraviolet light—no chemicals. The UV sanitizer pictured at left runs on batteries and is about 20″ long.

February 11, 2010	to	February 12, 2010
March 9, 2010	to	March 10, 2010
March 17, 2010	to	March 18, 2010

Have you heard about Camille Cusumano’s travel writing workshops in Buenos Aires?

“If you can write, there’s a reader waiting to read what you have to say. Why not start publishing your prose? The time has never been more auspicious—and I’ll tell you why. If you are coming to Buenos Aires for your first time, be prepared to find inspiration daily in this lively Latin city and its culture, full of surprises.

“If you’ve already been here, you know there is so much to write home about. In these two-day workshops we’ll work on one-two-three simple goals:

I’ve traveled—and written—twice with Denise Altobello, and was delighted to learn that she will be a teaching a travel writing seminar for middle-schoolers next summer. If you know any 7th, 8th, or 9th graders who might be interested, please pass this information along; I ‘m sure it will be an excellent workshop! Knowing Denise, it will also be a big bunch o’ fun—wish I could go, too.

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• Upcoming Events

  • March 17, 2010:
    • Travel Writing 101 Workshops, Buenos Aires (all day)
  • April 1, 2010:
    • SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition (12:00 am)
  • April 30, 2010:
    • Gold Rush Writers Conference (all day)
  • June 13, 2010:
    • Writing Class in Abruzzo, Italy (all day)
  • June 18, 2010:
    • Future of Freelancing: Making Good Money by Telling Great Stories (all day)