1. Free One Page Project Planner Released for Freelance Writers
2. Kill Your To-Do List
3. Q&A: Why Are My Article Pitches Getting Rejected?
4. Job Security for Freelance Writers – Tips for a Steady Income
5. Guest Post: Jack of All Trades, Master of None? Seven Reasons to Specialize.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...
Still time for New Zealand Travel Writers and Photographers to enter the annual Cathay Pacific Travel Media Awards...
Organized by Travcom, a not-for-profit association of New Zealand travel writers, photographers, broadcasters and travel-related communicators promoting New Zealand, the annual Cathay Pacific Travel Media Awards offers great prizes for both published and unpublished work.
The Cathay Pacific Travel Writer of the Year Award and Cathay Pacific Travel Photographer of the Year Award will each receive two return tickets to Nepal travelling with Cathay Pacific plus $500 towards travel expenses, and a six-day 'Taste of Nepal' tour with Adventure World.
Plus there's an array of other awards to compete for...
Writing awards:
• Auckland Airport Award for the Best Magazine Travel Story
• Navigate Oceania Award for the Best Newspaper Travel Article
• Heritage Hotels Award for the Best Travel Article Written About New Zealand
• Interislander Award for the Best Article About a Journey
• Visit Britain and Tourism Ireland Award for the Best Travel Article Written About Britain and/or Ireland
• AA Directions Magazine Award for Best New Travel Writer
Photographic awards:
• Kiwi Experience Award for the Best Travel Image taken in New Zealand and Pacific Islands
• Leica Award for the Best Travel Image Taken Outside New Zealand
• Air Vanuatu & Mangoes Resort Award for the Best Series of Travel Images
• AA Directions Magazine Award for the Best Travel Image with People
• Epson Award for the Best Unpublished Travel Image
For more information see, check out the Cathay Pacific Travel Media Awards 2011 page at Travcom
Deadline is 4th February 2011 Sphere: Related Content
Friday, January 28, 2011
Travel Writing Course in Portugal...
Kate Simon, travel editor of British newspaper - the Independent on Sunday - is running a three day travel writing course in Portugal.
When: Friday 27 to Sunday 29 May 2011
According to the information on Kate Simon's website, the course will...
"...appeal to anyone interested in discovering if they’ve got what it takes to turn their travels into paid work – including aspiring journalists and writers, journalists working in other subject areas, and specialists in alternative fields of communication, such as at PR and tourism agencies. It will also benefit new travel writers who are interested in sharpening their selling and writing skills"Sphere: Related Content
Book Passages Heads to Paris in 2011...
Imagine spending nine days and nights in Paris on a behind-the-scenes adventure discovering the most exciting and romantic attractions Paris has to offer?
That's just what Book Passages in Paris has planned. Led by legendary correspondent Mort Rosenblum and writer (and filmmaker) Phil Cousineau, this art, food, and literary adventure will take you behind the closed doors of private galleries and salons, kitchens, and markets. Some of the highlights include...
...tea with George Whitman, founder of Shakespeare & Company.
...a behind-the-scenes look at the Louvre with a long-time curator.
...lunch aboard a private teak boat docked on the Seine, watching as life on the river goes by
...meet with journalists at their local café to discuss the day’s politics
...a private tour of the wood-burning ovens at the Pôilane boulangerie where loaves are shipped overnight around the world
When: June 26-July 5, 2011
Interested?
You can find out more at Book Passages
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Travel Writing Miscellanea...
Travel writer Tim Cahill discusses The Intrepid Spirit of Travel at Book Passages 2009...
Budget Travel has listed the Top 10 hottest new travel gadgets
TravelWriting2.0 has an interview with Stuart McDonald of TravelFish
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Apply now for the World Nomad's 2011 Travel Scholarship...
Anyone interested in becoming a published travel writer needs to check out this great scholarship opportunity offered by World Nomads.
The scholarship winner will take a 12 day Turkish Delight tour, biking, hiking and kayaking your way through Turkey with BikeHike Adventures, then a 2 day mentoring session with travel writer Terry Richardson before being sent off on a 7 day assignment to Istanbul to "research, review and update essential travel info for 'The Rough Guide to Istanbul', including accommodation, bars & restaurants, entertainment, shopping, tours, activities and transport, as well as searching out those local secrets that travellers want to read about."
Opportunities like this don't come around very often so if this sound like you, check out the application requirements at the 2011 Travel Scholarship page at WorldNomad.com.
Important dates:
March 28 Competition closes (2.00pm, Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
April 28 Winner announced
June 7 Winner Arrive Istanbul
June 8-19 Turkish Delight Tour with BikeHike Adventures
June 20-21 Meet your mentor Terry Richardson, shadow for 2 days
June 22-25 Solo assignment
June 26-27 Meet with Terry to review work etc.
June 28 Depart
Aug 15 Rough Guides content deadline
What are you waiting for?
Head over to WorldNomad.com now...
Monday, January 24, 2011
Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Free e-book: National Geographic's Travel Writer's Guide to Sustainable Tourism...
The Untold Travel Story (A Travel Writer's Guide to Sustainable Tourism and Destination Stewardship) is a 20 page booklet provides plenty of useful information and tips for travel writers wanting to put a green slant on their travel articles.
A National Geographic document written by Bradley Weiss in 2004, it was created, according to Jonatahn B Tourtellot, Director of Sustainable Tourism, National Geographic Society to "to help the ongoing dialog among travel journalists worldwide on how we can best raise awareness about protecting the quality of places everywhere".
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Squirrel Appreciation Day...
January 21st is Squirrel Appreciation Day in the U.S.
Anyone who's nuts about the spunky and adorable little creatures should check out these photos over at Huttington Post and National Geographic Traveler.
Found around the world (except NZ), squirrels are one of the most photographed little creatures. Everyone, it seems, has taken at least one squirrel photograph in their travels.
Here's mine from the outskirts of Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Want to Write for Gadling?
Popular travel site Gadling is holding a "Become a Travel Writer" contest with the prize being a paid blogging gig.
Entry into this contest involves writing a short (under 400 words) travel piece that will be judged on it's relevance, style, tone and formatting.
For further information on what they are looking for in the next Gadling blogger and how to enter, read Announcing Gadling's 2011 writer contest!
Deadline is Monday January 31st 12 PM EST
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Travel Writing Miscellanea...
Anyone going to TBEX'11 (and that includes me) should have a read of this helpful BootsnAll post about all Things You Need to Know About TBEX 2011 in Vancouver.
Travel writer David Page's take on the future of freelance journalism.
The ethics and etiquette of travel writing was the topic of a lively presentation last June attended by Bay Area Travel Writers (BATW). Speakers included were Edward Hasbrouck, David Page, Catherine Boire and Tom Wilmer, with Erin Van Rheenen moderating. You can listen to the audio recording of the discussion here.
Learn more about travel writers of the past with this Suite101 article The Bold and The Beautiful—Early Women Travel Writers
Anthony from TheTravelTart.com offers some tips on How to Get Invited on Press Trips
Travel Writing 2.0 has a conversation with David Stanley and an interview with Karen Loftus. (you can also check out an interview with David Stanley that Write to Travel did as part of it's Interview with a Travel Writer Series)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Elizabeth Lesser's TEDtalk on taking 'the other' to lunch?
Given the events in Tucson and the immedicate reaction of many, especially media, as to who to blame, this TED talk by Elizabeth Lesser is very timely and should be taken to heart and acted on by everyone. It's such a simple concept that could make a world of difference, both on an individual and on a community basis.
Have a watch and give it some thought...
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
January's Travel Writing Contest at Grantourismo...
Over the past year, Grantourismo has been running a series of monthly travel writing contests.
With this, the 11th GranTourismo contest, they are looking for short (250 word) entries with a single photograph that focuses on the theme of slowing down and settling in for a while.
First Prize is a $750 HomeAway rental voucher, a ViaTour voucher worth $150 and a Trourist Moleskin notebook.
There is also prizes for 2nd and 3rd place.
Complete contest information and entry details can be found at Grantourismo.
Contest deadline: 31 January 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...
1. Mike Sager Opens Up About Ethics, Trust, and Writing a Good Story
2. How to Handle Sick Days as a Freelance Writer
3. Grim Legal Realities Freelancers Need to Accept - Sometimes the law just isn't fair...
4. 7 Ways to Get Your Blog Posts Shared On Facebook
5. Editing and Proofreading Tips – 5 Ways to Proofread Your Writing
Plus...
Problogger's 40 Bloggers to Watch in 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Two Free E-Books for Writers....
Freelance writer Thursday Bram is working on a series of free e-books for writers.
The first two in the series are now available to read online (or save to your iPad for future reading).
The first one, New Ideas on Old Topics (16 pages)offers plenty of advice on how to keep up with ideas, even when you feel burnt out on a topic.
One tip that I've picked up and am running with is using technology to help track and manage ideas. In particular, Thursday discusses using Evernote, a web-based application that lets you create notebooks in which to add your ideas - thoughs, audio, video, webshoots, etc. What's really great about Evernote is that you can access it on various devices, including iPhone and iPad, and as long was you have an internet connection, everything is easily synchronized.
The second e-book, Time Management for Writers (15 pages) addresses various time management strategies aimed to ensuring that you become a more productive, and therefore, more financial secure writer.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
New Trazzler Travel Writing Contest...
Trazzler's latest travel writing contest is all about juxtapositions, which, according to the Trazzler newsletter, is
"just a fancy way of getting folks to write about places with interesting contrasts and thought-provoking diversity."
To enter this writing contest, you need to create a short (65 -120 word) post about...
any place where you discovered a surprising cultural or natural contrast--we're leaving it wide open to your interpretation.
Entries will be accepted until February 15, 2011
Prizes:
One Editors' Choice Grand Prize - 10 free hotel nights + $2,000 freelance contract to write 25 trips about Chicago neighborhoods.
Two Editors' Choice Runners Up - Prize: 5 free hotel nights + $1000 freelance contract to write 15 trips about Chicago neighborhoods
For more information, read the FAQ's, Trazzler's writing guide, and official rules. Sphere: Related Content
Friday, January 14, 2011
Travel Writing Miscellanea...
Interesting post from Nancy Brown from What a Trip on How to Work with Travel Bloggers
The Longest Way Home discusses Why Travel Photography is becoming endangered: Ethics of Travel Photography
This post at Nerd's Eye View has generated a lot of discussion about Who Owns the Internet Noise?. The post came about due to the fact that the fact that the folks behind the #TNI (Traveler's Night In, a weekly twitter chat, have compiled their favorite tweets from the chats into a book which they are selling on their site. But who, Pam Mandel, asks actually owns the tweets? Check out the post, the comments, and add your thoughts...
Have a look at this fabulous flow chart that asks and answers the question 'Should I work for free?'. It's a must read for any freelancer writer...
And over at Matador Network, Julie Schwietert breaksdown the steps on How to Become a Travel Writer (Seriously)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Travel Bloggers Unite Conference to be Held in England in March 2011...
Everyone knows about TBEX, the North American based Travel Blog Exchange that provides community, networking, and conferences for travel bloggers around the world.
But have you heard of TBU,the English based Travel Bloggers Unite?
It's a new (2010) travel blogger community that also provides networking and conference opportunites.
The Travel Bloggers Unite annual conference will take place in Manchester, England on the 26th and 27th of March 2011.
You can find out more about TBU and it's conference at the Travel Bloggers Unite site.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Why You Should Keep Your Goals to Yourself...
It's always the same. Come the new year, not only is everyone is making goals but they are also, thanks to the internet, telling the world what they are.
But making goals and then sharing them with everyone might not be the best move according to Derek Siver. In this interesting TED Talk, Derek explains why you should 'Keep Your Goals to Yourself'...
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Travel Writer Guidelines: Matador Network...
David Miller, senior editor of Matador Network, posted last month about The Writing and Photography We’re [Matador Network]Looking for in 2011.
Nonlinear narratives, ground level photo essays and interviews, and pieces that introduce linguistic and cultural concepts to English are high on their list.
For more detailed and specific information on submitting articles to Matador Network, check out the Matador Network Contributors page. Here you will find details on publishing rights and payment, as well as information on how to avoid covering topics already published on Matador Network.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
