Oct
31
White Baboon
October 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
There is no end to travel blogs: “We are excited to announce the launch of a cool new site for those who love travel and good stories about travel adventures. White Baboon is a travel anthology chronicling the trips of some inspiring women who are traveling the world. It’s the Eat Pray Love of travel blogs, the Lonely Planet of self-exploration. It’s their travel diaries, travel photos, and travel guides of what they experience and who they become as a result of their voyages.”
Oct
31
Grammar from the NYT
October 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Thanks to April Orcutt for sending this link to the Times Grammar Blog.
A recent post discussed correct usage of the term, “begs the question” (hint: it is not equivalent to “raises the question”) and includes a link to the website BegTheQuestion.info, where you can order BTQ T-shirts and mugs, as well as business cards to hand out to people who misuse the term. (They begin: Oops! You used the phrase “begs the question” in an improper manner!) “Drop one in the offering plate at church after a pastor’s BTQ-laden sermon, send them to the newscaster or advertising copywriter in your life, or hand them to the president after his inaugural speech. (If Secret Service lets you, that is.) Just remember: these cards are meant to discreetly inform them of BTQ abuse, but they are no substitute for candor and respect.”
Oct
31
Volga!
October 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Jim and I traveled to Russia last month, cruising from Moscow to St. Petersburg on the elegant Volga Dream. We produced an illustrated travel journal (102 pages) of the trip, which was sponsored by Smithsonian Journeys and the Stanford Alumni Association. The trip operator was High Country Passage.
You can download a complete PDF for FREE for until November 15; check it out now.
Content includes photos and descriptions of:
- Uglich, known for producing watches and mineral water that cures nervous breakdowns.
- Yaroslavl, which will celebrate its 1,000th anniversary(!) in 2010 (good subject for travel articles).
Oct
31
Narrative Travel Writing Contest
October 31, 2008 | 1 Comment
| December 15, 2008 | ||
| 11:00 pm |
Travel writing contest calls for submissions on the ‘dangerous world’
Deadline: December 15, 2008 Professionals, freelancers and writers worldwide are invited to submit their travel stories to the 2009 Narrative Travel Writing Contest, organized by TransitionsAbroad.com.
The theme for this year’s contest is “Travel in a Dangerous World.” Submissions should address whether the world is truly more dangerous than it has ever been, or if governments and media have exaggerated the threats.
Stories will be judged based on their sensitivity to the people and culture being described, ability to engage the reader, and literary quality.
Oct
31
Social Media is like Ice Cream
October 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Or do I mean social media *are* like ice cream? At any rate, here’s a fun video explaining: Social Media is like Ice Cream
Oct
23
Word Play
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
For those who love word play, thanks to the Marina Bay Tides for these treats:
- I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
- She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
- A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
- The butcher backed into his meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
- No matter how hard you push the envelope, it will still be stationery.
Oct
23
Singlehanded Rower Erden Eruç
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
| November 6, 2008 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
Rowing for Children: For those of you who have been keeping track of Erden Eruç’s progress as he rowedââŹâsinglehandedââŹâfrom the waters off California to those off Papua New Guinea, you can hear a first-person account of the adventure at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon on November 6. Click on the link to learn more, or to RSVP.
From Erdun: “There will be dinner beginning at 6 p.m. and I will begin my presentation at 7 p.m. about my row across the Pacific Ocean from California shores to the Papua New Guinea waters…ĂÂ This singlehanded crossing by oars was especially meaningful for me since we raised about $47,000 for charity during that crossing to benefit the rural primary school children in regional boarding schools in Turkey.
Oct
23
Ireland — the Sacred and the Profane
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I love-love-love the format for the Wild Writing Women’s new e-zine about Ireland. It’s a 262-page downloadable, web-based, interactive, multimedia destination guide filled with photos, essays, articles, travel tips, reviews, music, interviews, linked resources, and more. And you can download the whole shebang for just $12.95. WWW Editorial Dominatrix Cathleen Miller edited, WWW Technical Virtuoso Carla King produced, and distribution was handled by AuthorFriendly, “the all-in-one website solution for authors.”
Oct
23
Author Friendly
October 23, 2008 | 1 Comment
And here’s a link to AuthorFriendly, who distributed the Wild Writing Women’s e-zine, Ireland, the Sacred and the Profane.
“AuthorFriendly.com is an easy-to-use tool that lets you market and sell your books and associated products online. It gives you a powerful web presence with many exciting features. We build the website and PayPal-powered bookstore, and then you have control:
- Modify the words and photos on your site whenever you like
- Send newsletters to your subscribers
- Publish a blog
- Let readers contact you and even review your book
- Optimize your books search engine placement
Oct
23
Live Binder
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Thanks to Kaye McKinzie for this link to Live Binder (“1000 bookmarks never looked so good”), a free online resource for organizing and sharing web pages.
Oct
23
San Francisco Victorian Home Walk
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
From Jay Gifford, owner: “The Victorian Home Walk tour has been showing visitors our world-famous architecture for over ten years. We go where the tour buses are not allowed, into the best Victorian neighborhoods. The tour departs daily (year round) at 11 a.m. from Union Square (corner of Powell & Post streets) and no reservations are required (participants just show up). This is a “green” tour; we use public transportation and walking (no hills).
“We have a standard policy that any travel writer can take the tour for free any day; just give us your business card as payment and identify yourself at the beginning of the tour. Please let us know if you have any questions.”
Oct
23
BlogWell Conference
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
| October 28, 2008 | ||
| 6:00 am | to | 5:00 pm |
Check out BlogWell’s upcoming conference: How Big Companies use Social Media–8 great case studies in corporate social media. It’s October 28th at the San Jose Convention Center, from 1-5 p.m. $200.
“Unprecedented insight on social media from Cisco, Intel, Wells Fargo, Walmart, UPS, Kaiser Permanente, Graco, and Home Depot. Measuring ROI, managing teams, dealing with legal issues, working with agencies, BtoB blogging, internal communications, blogging in regulated industries and creating great content. This is the best opportunity available for anyone looking to get started or improve their corporate social media efforts.
Oct
23
Tango, an Argentine Love Story
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
| November 6, 2008 | ||
| 7:30 pm | to | 8:30 pm |
| November 21, 2008 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
Tango, an Argentine Love Story, by Camille Cusumano will celebrate with several more Bay Area booksigning events. More info at Camille’s website.
- November 6, at 7:30 pm
Books Inc. in the Marina
2251 Chestnut Street
San Francisco - November 21st at 7:00 pm
Book Passage
Corte Madera
Oct
23
Help a Reporter
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Thanks to Cheryl McLaughlin for the link to Help a Reporter, a site that hooks journalists up with source material and quotable experts.
Oct
23
Creative Commons
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Thanks to Elizabeth Weaver for sending the link to Creative Commons, a free source of content, or a way to distribute your work, or both, depending on your point of view. Creative Commons “provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. You can use CC to change your copyright terms from ‘All Rights Reserved’ to ‘Some Rights Reserved.’”
Oct
23
Etihad Airways
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
From a 10/20/08 Travmedia.com press release:
“Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is launching a new first and business class inflight magazine. Etihad Airways carries more than 6.5 million passengers annually.
“I am seeking articles and contacts for luxury travel, luxury goods and products, and relevant stories especially from the Middle East. Any other press releases, interviewees etc which are relevant to a high end lifestyle, business and travel magazine would be most welcome.
“This is intended to be an ongoing request and there is no deadline.”
Contact Mike MacEacheran, Editor, ITP Publishing
mike.maceacheran AT itp.com
Oct
23
Congratulations to Gayle Keck
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Congratulations to Gayle Keck for her SATW silver win (Category 11: Article on Marine Travel). Her winning article “Pirates of the Mediterranean,” ran in The Washington Post.
Oct
23
Congratulations to Christopher Baker
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Congratulations to Christopher P. Baker, freelance writer-photographer, for winning the gold in SATW’s Category 1: Grand Award – Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year.
Judges’ comments about the Grand Award winner-Travel Journalist of the Year: “Christopher Baker specializes in the Caribbean, and from Cuba to Costa Rica, he knows his territory. … he’ll help you get to know it, too – with insights into the people, surveys of the landscape and all the how-to hints a traveler could want. …”
Oct
23
Congratulations to Catharine Hamm
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Congratulations to Catharine Hamm, Travel Editor of the LA Times, for an SATW gold award:
Category 2: Newspaper Travel Sections (27)
2A ââŹâ Newspapers with 500,000 or more circulation
Gold: Los Angeles Times, Catharine Hamm, Travel Editor
Silver: The Houston Chronicle, Harry Shattuck, Travel Editor
Bronze: The Boston Globe, Anne Fitzgerald, Travel Editor
Judges’ comments about the Best Newspaper Travel Section top winner in circulation above 500,000, the Los Angeles Times: “Travel sections should take the reader away, and the Times’ sections accomplish that and more. … the writing is of such a high caliber that it is difficult to put the section down. …”
Oct
13
Guatemala: A Journey Through the Land of the Maya
October 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment
| November 7, 2008 | ||
| 7:00 pm |
I’ve seen this book, and it’s beautiful. Hope you can join Kraig and Michael for the launch celebrations:
Kraig Lieb and Michael Shapiro celebrate the publication of Guatemala: A Journey Through the Land of the Maya. Lieb, a photographer for Lonely Planet, will show slides illuminating the land, traditions and celebrations of the Maya in Guatemala. Shapiro, who wrote the text for this pictorial book, will address questions about traveling to Guatemala and the best places to see there.
Two free venues:
Friday, Nov. 7, 7pm
Copperfield’s Books
138 N. Main St.
Sebastopol, Calif.
707-823-2618
Oct
13
Narrative Story Contest
October 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment
| October 27, 2008 | ||
| 12:00 am |
“Awards: First Prize is $1,500, Second Prize is $750, and Third Prize is $300. The prize winners will be announced in Narrative. Additionally, ten finalists will be chosen and announced in the magazine. All entries will be considered for publication. (Limit of two entries per individual.)”
Oct
13
Road Junky 2008 Gonzo Travel Writing Contest
October 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment
| December 31, 2008 | ||
| 12:00 am |
Road Junky 2008 Gonzo Travel Writing Contest – HellĂÂ Trips
Let’s face it, stories about people falling in love, getting high on drugs and enjoying stunning mountain views only take you so far. There hasn’t been a movie made yet that begins ââŹĹAnd they will all live happily ever after …ââŹÂ
There’s way more juice in hearing about the nightmare stories, the hell trips when everything that could go wrong did. So we want to hear about your worst journeys, your near-death experiences, when you were robbed, beaten up, extorted, heartbroken or brainwashed.
Oct
12
“Tween-age” Travel Writing Workshop
October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’ve traveledâand writtenâtwice 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’ funâwish I could go, too.
Oct
12
Marco Polo Didn’t Go There
October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment
From Rolf Potts, on his new book Marco Polo Didn’t Go There (in stores last month; I’m just getting caught up): The subtitle to the book is “Stories and Revelations From One Decade as a Postmodern Travel Writer,” and the story collection is just that — a look back at my boldest, funniest, and most revealing travel-writing adventures from the past 10 years. In a way, it’s both a sequel and a “prequel” to my first book, Vagabonding.
Oct
12
High School Travel Writing Contest
October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment
| October 31, 2008 |
Bay Area Travel Writers
Holds 4th Annual
San Francisco Bay Area High School
Travel Writing Contest
October 1 – 31, 2008
BATW.org
San Francisco, CA (September 15, 2008)- The Bay Area Travel Writers (BATW), a 20-year-old professional organization of travel writers and photographers, announces its 4th annual Travel Writing Contest for all Bay Area high school students. No entry fee is required.