May
31
By Christine Delsol, San Francisco Chronicle, Thursday, May 31, 2007
“In travel publishing, as in all media, book topics come clustered like Muni buses at rush hour. Recent guides have been wooing women — solo or in gangs of girls — lovers of literature and travelers who care more about the hotel than the destination.” Christine’s review of Marybeth Bond’s 50 Best Girlfriends Getaways in North America, Stephanie Elizondo Griest’s 100 Places Every Woman Should Go, and others is here.
May
30
Edith Wharton biography
May 30, 2007 | Leave a Comment
“Travel and writing were twin passions for her, and they were often intertwined. She didn’t enjoy returning to America, in 1872, but …” Review by Amy Weaver Dorning.
May
30
Think it Through
May 30, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I love this example of the importance of critical thinking that I received via e-mail. Unfortunately, its source was not attributed.
A student at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26.
He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment.
In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “dihydrogen monoxide.”
May
28
Cash on Packing
May 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I ain’t takin’ nothin’ that’ll slow down my travelin’…
– Johnny Cash
May
28
The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2008
May 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
| June 1, 2007 |
From Travelers’ Tales: “The deadline for The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2008 is approaching fast. Get your stories in by June 1 to be eligible for next year’s edition of this popular collection. For information, go to our guidelines page; send your stories to submit@travelerstales.com.”
May
28
Finding the Story in Nonfiction
May 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
| June 11, 2007 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 9:30 pm |
Jan Goldberg
Finding the Story in Nonfiction:
Using Fiction Techniques to Make Your Nonfiction Sparkle
Book Passage in Corte Madera
Two Mondays • June 11 & 18 (6:30 pm to 9:00 pm) • $90 Sign Up
“Stories are an important element of nonfiction as well as fiction. Jan Goldberg helps you discover the story in your nonfiction, and she introduces you to a wide variety of techniques to make your nonfiction sparkle. These include researching, quotes/dialogue, hooks/leads, sensory description, specific details, show/don’t tell, active voice, and active verbs. Goldberg is an award-winning author of 65 books and hundreds of articles. She is an experienced, credentialed educator.”
May
26
Rowing Across the Pacific Ocean!
May 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Want to be inspired? Listen to this interview with Erden Eruc, who is leaving from San Francisco next week to row-singlehandedly-across the Pacific Ocean to Brisbane, Australia. “Born in Cyprus, and a Turkish citizen, Eruc is a longtime U.S. resident who has dreamed of a human powered, self-propelled journey around the world since 1997.”Sounds crazy, right? Don’t jump to conclusions. Eruc has already:
* Bicycled 5,546 miles roundtrip from Seattle to Alaska
* Climbed 20,320-foot-high Mt. McKinley (Denali)
* Bicycled 3,980 miles from Seattle to Miami
* Rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean between the Canary Islands and Guadeloupe
May
17
Emerson on travel
May 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Do not go where the path may lead,
Go instead where there is no path
And leave a trail.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
May
16
96 Hours Hotel Coverage
May 16, 2007 | 1 Comment
96 Hours Hotel CoverageHere’s the protocol for getting stories assigned, filed, photographed and paid. At the end is a recap of the format for the actual story itself. To see what has already been covered, check archives on sfgate.com (search in 96 Hours page). Also, Jeanne is looking for the classic “weekend escapes” or “one-tank wonder” stories, which pay $350, if you have a story idea that’s more than lodging.
May
13
Podcasting for Writers
May 13, 2007 | 1 Comment
I just completed an information-packed interview with Cheryl McLaughlin about podcasting for writers: what is podcasting, how can writers use it to promote their books, what you need to get started, etc. The interview is here, and these are links to some of the sites we discussed:
- Audacity “free, open source software for recording and editing sounds”
- Blog Talk Radio – Host and publish a live talk show for free
- Libsyn – “Podcasting made easy”
- Odeo Studio – Create and publish a podcast for free
- Overture – Keyword selector tool
May
13
KQED Perspectives
May 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment
On March 7 the Wild Writing Women hosted an excellent salon at the Monticello Inn, with featured speaker Mark Trautwein, editor of KQED’s Perspectives. KQED has the largest audience of any public radio station, ever, and Perspectives aired 265 pieces by 150 authors last year. Half of those authors were new to Perspectives. Mark said it’s sometimes a challenge to find five top-notch pieces per week, and encouraged submissions — there’s some good news. Here’s what he’s looking for:
- Personal essays, opinion pieces. A good idea, well expressed. (Humor.) Two minutes long (350 to 375 words).
May
10
OpenRoad.TV
May 10, 2007 | Leave a Comment
An open letter from Doug McConnell:
Greetings,
I’m happy to announce, after many months of building, testing and tweaking, that www.OpenRoad.TV, The Traveler’s Video Guide to the American West, is now live and ready for everyone to use. It grows out of my lifetime of traveling and living throughout the West, the rich library of video and other content my team and I have amassed over the past fourteen years of producing Bay Area Backroads, and our collective passion for this extraordinary region.
May
6
Packed magazine
May 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Thanks to April Orcutt for sending the link to Packed, a free magazine targeted to backpackers in Europe. The home page has a bunch of links to hostels, the magazine has a lot of ads, and the articles have plenty of attitude. The website says they’re looking for freelance travel writers and photographers, but doesn’t mention rates.
May
6
Acteva
May 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I just checked out Acteva, an online registration management system that lets users manage event registration (including multi-level sales) online. Using Acteva, you can email event announcements and reminders; offer multiple registration choices, automatic discounts and a variety of payment options; accept RSVPs; print name tags; keep track of meal preferences; and lots more. I noticed the Small Business Administration is using Acteva to manage Small Business Week in San Francisco (May 5-11, 2007).
May
1
Don’s Place
May 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Don George has been busy at Don’s Place. Here are the highlights:
Feature Destination
SAFARI IN AFRICA: PART ONE – VISAS AND VACCINES AND PILLS, OH MY!
I’m about to embark on a two-week adventure to Kenya and Tanzania. But the journey begins at home — with visas, vaccines, and other essential preparations. Join me as I perfect my imitation of a human pin cushion.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GREECE
It happened 30 years ago, but it’s still one of my most magical memories: Timeless connections enliven an unexpected stay on the uninhabited island of Delos.
Apr
22
30 Days in Italy
April 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment
| May 2, 2007 | ||
| 7:00 pm |
Please join me and Francesca DeStephano, Georgia Hesse, Bonnie Smetts, and Phil Thompson, along with Executive Editor Larry Habegger, for a reading from the newly released Travelers Tales’ anthology, 30 Days in Italy. Other local contributors include Bill Fink, Constance Hale, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, Mary Noyes, Laura Read, and Michael Shapiro.
I’ll be reading “Banana Tower,” about dreams, disillusionment, and redemption at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Wednesday May 2 at 7 p.m.
Get Lost Travel Books
1825 Market Street
San Francisco, CA
(415) 437-0529
Apr
22
Greece: A Love Story
April 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment
| May 17, 2007 | ||
| 7:00 pm |
Diane LeBow will be reading from her story, “Dancing on the Wine Dark Sea,” with a few other contributors to the new Seal Press anthology, Greece: A Love Story: Women Write about the Greek Experience (Seal Press). Diane, President of Bay Area Travel Writers and winner of the recent Travelers’ Tales Solas Gold Award for Best Story of a Romance on the Road, tells the tales of three visits to the land of Homer over a 25 year period: love, death, visits to the sites of ancient Athenian fertility cults, and much more.
Apr
21
Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Award
April 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment
| May 15, 2007 |
“Now in its 76th year, the Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition continues the time-honored tradition of rewarding great talent with huge prizes. Grand Prize: $3,000 cash and an all-expense paid trip to New York City to share your work with four editors or agents. 1,001 winners will be chosen in all! For a complete list of prizes and guidelines, and to enter online, visit our Web site.”
Deadline: May 15, 2007
Apr
21
Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards
April 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment
| May 1, 2007 |
“Win $3,000 in cash. Gain national exposure for your book. Catch the attention of prospective editors and publishers. Writer’s Digest is searching for the best self-published books of the past few years. Whether you’re a professional writer, part-time freelancer, or a self-starting student, here’s your chance to enter the only competition exclusively for self-published books.
THE CATEGORIES:
Mainstream/Literary Fiction
Genre Fiction
Nonfiction
Inspirational (Spiritual, New Age)
Life Stories (Biographies, Autobiographies, Family Histories, Memoirs)
Children’s Picture books
Middle-Grade/Young Adult books
Reference Books (Directories, Encyclopedias, Guide Books)
Poetry
ENTRY DEADLINE: Tuesday, May 01, 2007″
Apr
2
Mysterious North Korea
April 2, 2007 | 1 Comment
| May 23, 2007 | ||
| 7:00 pm |
Put this one on your calendar: Closed-off North Korea is one of the world’s last travel frontiers. Chris Springer has visited this reclusive nation and has spent 12 years researching its mysterious past. The author of Pyongyang: The Hidden History of the North Korean Capital, Chris will show rare photos illustrating the country’s bombastic architecture and pervasive cult of the leader. Chris will discuss the bizarre experience of traveling to North Korea and will also reveal aspects of life concealed by the authorities. Visit his website.
Wednesday, May 23, 7 pm
free admission
Get Lost Travel Books
1825 Market Street, San Francisco
415-437-0529
Mar
18
Gold Rush Writers Workshop
March 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment
| May 4, 2007 | ||
| 12:00 am |
From Antoinette May: “The time’s come to stake your claim on this year’s Gold Rush Writers Workshop, slated for May 4-6, 2007 in Mokelumne Hill — the very center of the 49er gold rush. This event offers a unique venue, a unique agenda, and it brings together unique (and fun!) personalities! There’s really nothing to compare with it.
“The faculty includes best-selling authors, award-winning writers, and university professors. They’ll lead small, interactive workshops in short story, poetry, novel, memoir, young adult fiction, nonfiction, flash fiction, biography… all in three days … whew! Not to mention our featured luncheon and dinner speakers!
Feb
28
15th Annual Writer’s Digest Int’l Self-Published Book Awards
February 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
| May 1, 2007 |
“CALL FOR ENTRIES
MORE THAN $15,000 IN PRIZES!
“Win $3,000 in cash
Gain national exposure for your book
Catch the attention of prospective editors and publishers
“Writer’s Digest is searching for the best self-published books of the past few years. Whether you’re a professional writer, part-time freelancer, or a self-starting student, here’s your chance to enter the only competition exclusively for self-published books.
“THE CATEGORIES:
- Mainstream/Literary Fiction
- Genre Fiction
- Nonfiction
- Inspirational (Spiritual, New Age)
- Life Stories (Biographies, Autobiographies, Family Histories, Memoirs)
- Children’s Picture books
- Middle-Grade/Young Adult books
Feb
28
Travel Classics Europe 2007
February 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
| May 17, 2007 |
Thanks to Karen Misuraca for sending this info: Heads Up Travel Writers! Dates and location of Travel Classics Europe 2007 have been released. TC conferences sell out months ahead.Travel Classics Europe 2007
May 17-20
Galway, Ireland
at the glam new g Hotel
(Conde Nast Traveller says it’s one of the best new hotels in the world)
More information here
Registration begins Dec 1, 2006
Aer Lingus offers media rates
Tourism Ireland offers extensive pre- and post tours
Feb
28
76th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition
February 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
| May 15, 2007 |
“GRAND PRIZE: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors or agents. Writer’s Digest will fly you and a guest to The Big Apple, where you’ll spend three days and two nights in the publishing capital of the world. While you’re there … (etc.)
“Compete to Win in 10 Categories:
- Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
- Memoirs/Personal Essay
- Magazine Feature Article
- Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
- Mainstream/Literary Short Story
- Rhyming Poetry
- Non-rhyming Poetry
- Stage Play
- Television/Movie Script
- Children’s/Young Adult Fiction