Sep

26

Mis-written signs

September 26, 2004 | Comments Off

Thanks to April Orcutt for sending these silly signs. April says, “While I doubt that these are real signs, they are fun in the grammar-punctuation way of “Panda eats, shoots and leaves.”

In an office: TOILET OUT OF ORDER. . . PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW.

In a laundromat: AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT.  Read more... (216 words, estimated 52 secs reading time)

Sep

26

Dahr Jamail’s Iraq Dispatches

September 26, 2004 | Comments Off

And now for another kind of travel writing. Thanks to Jeff Pfleuger, who is managing Dahr’s Jamail’s website, for sending this information:

“Weary of the failure of the US media to accurately report on the realities of the war in Iraq for the US soldiers and Iraqis, Dahr Jamail went to Iraq to report on the war himself.  Read more... (157 words, estimated 38 secs reading time)

Sep

18

Drug testing for writers?

September 18, 2004 | Comments Off

Is there no escape? Thanks to Bill Zarchy for sending the link to Rebecca Solnit’s article, “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Writer” about HDH (Human Grammar Hormone).

(Yep, I’m pretty far behind in my postings, but it’s still worth a read.)

Sep

18

North American Travel Jounalists Association (NATJA)

September 18, 2004 | Comments Off

Thanks to new NATJA member Sheila O’Connor for telling us about NATJA, “the world’s premier professional association of writers, photographers, and editors, dedicated to the travel and hospitality industries. NATJA’s mission is to:

- Support the professional development of our members
- Provide exceptional benefits and valuable resources
- Support high quality professional journalism
- Promote travel and leisure activities to the public
- Honor the excellence of journalism throughout the world.

Through our partnership with a Management Company, NATJA has created robust services and timely, in-depth media intelligence such as a Resource Center, online Newsletters and an exclusive eWire service that enables all NATJA members to help sell their work, find story leads & marketing opportunities and network among top industry professionals.

Sep

18

Young Pioneers

September 18, 2004 | Comments Off

Young Pioneers is a new magazine of Independent Travel Culture with one solitary goal in mind: to prove that long-term, low-cost world travel is easier — and much more rewarding — than you probably figure. It’s a themed magazine, with each issue exploring a different subculture of the independent travel universe. The current issue features interviews with Jeff Greenwald, Rolf Potts, and Lonely Planet’sTony Wheeler, among others.

Young Pioneers is looking for first-person essays by expats and working travelers. Read more, and submission info:  Read more... (578 words, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

Sep

18

DOJ’s Distant Views

September 18, 2004 | Comments Off

Thanks to Kathleen McClung for letting us know about the Distant Views section of Drexel University’s Online Journal — they’re looking for travel writing, and could provide you with nice clips if you’re just starting out.

“Send us your thoughts about your travels or the foreign places you are living in and we will post them, as long as they don’t violate our standards of propriety. If you have comments about what others have written about those places, please send us those too.  Read more... (189 words, estimated 45 secs reading time)

Sep

18

Traveling with food allergies?

September 18, 2004 | Comments Off

SelectWisely.com offers wallet-sized, laminated translation cards for individuals with food allergies traveling in countries where they don’t speak the language. The website lets travelers create personalized cards specific to their needs. Travel writers: this would make an excellent topic for an article on travel resources, international dining or traveling with food allergies.

SelectWisely.com offers cards:
- in 12 different languages (French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, German, Russian, Polish, 2 forms of Chinese and 2 forms of Portuguese, English)
- including 37 different foods (all common allergy foods such as nuts, milk, shellfish, wheat and eggs and as well as less common foods such as pine nuts, mushrooms and peas)
- in 6 different card types (single languages and multiple languages/foods per card).

Sep

5

Creative Writers Opportunities List

September 5, 2004 | Comments Off

Thanks to Eva Schlesinger for the link to the Creative Writers Opportunities List which “posts information for creative writers about publishing.” It lists calls for submissions and covers all genres, so you’ll have to search through a lot, but it looks very useful.

Sep

5

Trails Media Group

September 5, 2004 | Comments Off

From the Writers Market newsletter (Sept 3, 2004): Trails Media Group, Inc., publishes 12 titles a year, currently emphasizing travel, sports, recreation, home, and garden. The editors tell writers to follow their online submission guidelines. Trails Media Group publishes exclusively Midwest regional — Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana — nonfiction. Travel titles include Eating Well in Wisconsin, by Jerry Minnich, and Great Iowa Weekend Adventures, by Mike Whye.

Sep

5

Lonely Planet Publications

September 5, 2004 | Comments Off

From the Writers Market newsletter (Sept 3, 2004): Lonely Planet Publications publishes 60 titles a year. Most of their travel books are written on a work-for-hire basis. Lonely Planet publishes travel guides, atlases, phrasebooks, condensed pocket guides, and more. Titles include Hiking in Hawaii, by Sara Benson and Jennifer Snarski, and South Pacific Phrasebook, by Michael James Simpson.

Sep

5

Avalon Travel Publishing

September 5, 2004 | Comments Off

From the Writers Market newsletter (Sept 3, 2004): Avalon Travel Publishing publishes 100 titles a year. Avalon offers an advance up to $10,000. Nearly all their books are written by unagented authors and roughly half of them are by first-time authors. Recent titles include Road Trip USA, by Jamie Jensen, and The Practical Nomad, by Edward Hasbrouck.

Sep

4

InsideOut Travel Magazine

September 4, 2004 | Comments Off

Thanks to Andrew Dean Nystrom for letting us know that InsideOut Travel Magazine, “a bimonthly online publication for independent travelers, from first-time backpackers to those who have made traveling a lifestyle” is looking for submissions.

Sep

4

Travel Tips from the Wild Writing Women, LLC

September 4, 2004 | Comments Off

Wild Writing Women, LLC’s recent newsletter includes lots of useful travelers’ tips, including Jacqueline (the Food Flirt) Harmon Butler’s Tips for Dining Alone, 10 Tips for Perfect Packing, and Carla King and Lisa Alpine’s 10 Tips for Staying Safe on the Road. You’ll also find “I Wouldn’t Leave Home Without… The Travel Pros Tell Us What They Take With Them,” “The First Time I Saw Paris” by Georgia Hesse, and more good travel reads.