Remember travel writer Jeremy Head?
Write to Travel interviewed him last month.
He's the author of Frommer's Seville Day by Day Guide and he's posted a video on YouTube highlighting what life was like on the road while writing the Seville guidebook...
If you want to find out what Jeremy is up to these days, head over to his travelblatherer blog.
Showing posts with label miscellaneous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miscellaneous. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
A Day in the Life of a...Travel Guidebook Writer.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Armchair Traveling: Three Cyber Places Worth Visiting...
While writing for my other blogs, I came across these three great resources that are definitely worth a visit.
First up, there's WHTour, a virtual tour of the World Heritage Sites, which I wrote about over at the Perceptive Travel blog.
Second, there's The Green Map System which I wrote about over at Traveling the Green Way.
And third, there's Healthmap, an interactive map tracking current diseases and epidemics, which I wrote about over at Healthbolt.
Have a read of my reviews and I'll see why I think that these are resources you should visit and bookmark...
Monday, July 21, 2008
Perceptive Travel's Photo Contest Winner - Lola Akinmade.
Here's the winning photo in the Perceptive Travel Remarkable Photo Contest.
Taken by Lola Akinmade, it's not hard to see why it won. It has all the necessary ingredients of what I consider a brilliant photography: structure, focus, clarity, story, character, and humor. It tells a story without a single word.
So I asked Lola, a regular visitor here at Write to Travel, how this particular photograph came about. Here's what she said...
"Within days of arriving into Cambodia, I'd already seen a fair share of motorcyclists carrying the most bizzare of things while travelling as a volunteer photojournalist with World Hope International in Phnom Penh. This one topped them all. Fortunately, I was sitting in the passenger front seat of our minivan which happended to be travelling behind the speeding motorcycle. I had only a few seconds to capture it before he rounded the corner with his glass window!"
All I can say is 'wow'!
But Lola doesn't only take great photographs, she also willingly shares her photographic knowledge. Writing over at The Traveler's Notebook, she has put together a series of articles that will help bring out the photographer hidden in all of us...
The A-B-C-D-E of Travel Photography
5 Essential Tips for the Budding Travel Photographer
Photographing Children During Your Travels
5 Tips for Taking Better Photos of Landmarks
How To Take Better Travel Portraits
PS Don't forget to stop over at Perceptive Travel and check out the other photo contest winners. It's definitely worth your time.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Pico Iyer on 'The Nine Commandments of Travel Writing'...
In my cyber travels, I came across this article in Conde Nast Traveler by Pico Iyer that I thought was worth sharing.
It's his list of 'The Nine Commandments of Travel Writing' or what makes a good travel book...
1. The ideal travel book is a quest.
2. The travel writer is much less traveler than writer.
3. The travel book must teach you something.
4. The travel book, like the traveler, often travels incognito.
5. The travel writer's place is on the threshold.
6. The travel writer need not go far at all.
7. The great travel writer takes in every aspect.
8. The true travel writer does not just listen to a place but talks back to it.
9. In the end, every great travel book is about a journey inside.
Read the full article to find out more about what he means...
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And for more more advice from Pico Iyer, check out my Travel Writer Pico Iyer talks post.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Welcome all 'Blog of Note' Visitors...
I checked out the sitemeter yesterday to see who's been visiting and got quite a surprise. Instead of the regular 50 or so daily visitors, over 4,000 people had stopped by the Write to Travel blog.
Once I got over the shock of so many visitors, I did a little snooping and discovered it was because Write to Travel had been nominated as a Blogger's Blog of Note.
So welcome to all of you that are visiting via Blog of Note. It's nice to have you here and I hope you stay awhile and visit often.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Travels with the 'Next Great Travel Writer' contest winner...
Remember National Geographic Traveler and Travcoa's Next Great Travel Writer contest last year.
Well, the winner Suzanne Roberts is currently on the road in Mongolia with National Geographic Traveler Editor in Chief Keith Bellows (and a tour group). Suzanne's assignment is to write an article about the experience that will be run on the National Geographic Traveler website. Keith is along to offer support and coaching.
And thanks to the Intelligent Travel blog, we can follow their travels...
The Next Great Travel Writer: Arriving in Beijing
Next Great Travel Writer: Day Two in Beijing
Next Great Travel Writer: The Real Mongolia
The Next Great Travel Writer: Dating in Mongolia
with more to come...
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Travel Writing Miscellanea...
David Farley interviews Tony Perrottet over at World hum. Tony Perrottet, author of “Pagan Holiday” and “The Naked Olympics”, has a new book out, Napoleon’s Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped, that looks at sexually-tainted oddities of history, including how Napoleon's penis ended up in New Jersey.
Gadling has been Talking travel with Sacred Places of Goddess author Karen Tate.
Wanderlust reports Year’s best travel book named in Dolman Awards. The book, 92 Acharnon Street by John Lucas, won Britain’s only award for travel books earlier this week.
World Hum also has a Q&A with David Farley looking at the creation of the Restless Legs reading series in New York City, which will be devoted to travel writing.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Win a Free Lunch in New York City...
If you're going to be in New York City next week check out this chance to 'win a free lunch in NYC' over at my Healthbolt blog.
Sphere: Related ContentWednesday, June 25, 2008
Favorite 'City Movies' of Five Travel Writers...
Five travel writers - Pico Iyer, Heidi Julavits, Tony Wheeler, Ayun Halliday and Rolf Potts - were asked by FilminFocus what their five favorite city films were.
Here's what they came up with...
Pico Iyer listed 2046, The Buena Vista Social Club, Mystic River, City of God and Monsoon Wedding.
Heidi Julavits listed Rosemary's Baby, Saturday Night Fever, Spirited Away, Vertigo, and Band of Outsiders.
Tony Wheeler listed The Year of Living Dangerously, Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome, Blade Runner, The Lives of Others, and Arabian Nights.
Ayun Halliday listed Underground, Before Sunset, Daughter from Danang, Lost in Translation, and The Edge of Heaven.
Rolf Potts listed Lost in Translation, Beyond Sunrise, Do the Right Thing, Boogie Nights, and About Schmidt.
This got me thinking what my favorite city movies. Here's what I came up with...
Buena Vista Social Club (Havana, Cuba)
You've Got Mail (New York)
Midnight in the Garden of Good an Evil (Savannah)
Leaving Las Vegas (Las Vegas)
Chinatown (Los Angeles)
So what's your list of 'five favorite city movies'?
(discovered via World Hum)
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Travel Writing Miscellanea...
Fellow blogger and travel writer Leif Pettersen was interviewed StarTribune.com for an article about Twitter. Called Keep it Short and Tweet, the article quotes Leif on his initial reaction to Twitter...
"I didn't get it," said Pettersen, 38, of his first reaction to the ultra-short posts. "It was like hearing bits of conversation from a room full of schizophrenics."
But looks like he's got it now. You can follow Leif's twitter over at his Killing Batteries blog.
....
Jerry Guo over at Gadling.com has been Talking travel with the notorious Thomas Kohnstamm.
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The Sunday Herald has a review of Semi Invisible Man: The Life Of Norman Lewis, a neglected British travel writer who apparently "...spent his life foraging around some of the world's most dangerous places, from civil-war Spain to remote corners of Asia and drug-ravaged Latin America." Can't say I've ever heard of him, but he's now on my reading list.
....
SF Gate reviews "Presidential Travel. The Journey From George Washington to George W. Bush". Another book that sounds intriguing.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
What is Twitter?
What is twitter?
Why do we need it?
How does it work?
These are the questions I have about twitter. So if anyone out there can lead me to a resource or two that can explain what it is and how it works in 'very' simple terms, would greatly appreciate it. As usual, technology is puzzling me.
So far, have found this video 'Jack Dorsey Presents Twitter'.
Jack Dorsey Presents Twitter from biz stone on Vimeo.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Traveling the Green Way...
You might have noticed that the posts here at Write to Travel have been a little sporadic over the last week or two.
Well, there's a good reason for this. I've been busy on a brand new project for b5Media, establishing a new blog in their Travel & Culture Channel.
The blog's called Traveling the Green Way and it's a great way to combine my love of travel and writing while focusing on an important world issue.
Sure hope you stop by and have a look.
And for any of you who write about travel, I’ll be hosting a Green Travel Carnival every other week.
So think green with your travel posts and join the first Green Travel Carnival that will be held on the 11th of June.
Here’s how you can Join the Green Travel Carnival.
See you there…
And for any of you who are interested, I'll be looking at posting a regular 'Green Tips from Travelers' series over at Traveling the Green Way.
If you are, how about sending me an email (subject heading: Green Tips from Travelers) with answers to the following questions...and don't forget to add a little bio about yourself, especially any links to your writing and blogs.
- how do you travel green ?
- do you have a favorite 'green place' ?
- what do you recommend for travelers who want to go green ?
Look forward to hearing from you...
Monday, June 02, 2008
Photographer Pep Bonet talks...
Video featuring award-winning photographer Pep Bonet who talks about his photographic experiences in Darfur, Sierra Leone, and Somalia.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Visuwords: A Combined Graphic Dictionary and Thesaurus...
This is really neat. Visuwords takes any word you type in and creates a 'neural net' diagram of the word's meanings and associations.
(found via Neatorama)
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Telling Travel Stories...
Slideshow on 'Marketing Travel through Storytelling' by Stephen Joyce, publisher of Tips from the T-list.
Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Become a National Geographic Glimpse Correspondent...
Last year National Geographic and Travoca offered college students opportunity to "win the chance to travel on assignment for National Geographic Traveler."
This year, according to Intelligent Travel ...
“National Geographic Glimpse is launching a correspondents program that will enable a few talented writers, videographers, and photographers to contribute to the Glimpse magazine and website while they live or study abroad.” But besides being talented, you have to be between the ages 18 and 30. Applicants must also:
- Have some experience with media outside their specialty and are willing to learn
- Will be living or studying abroad for at least 10 weeks between August 15 - December 31, 2008
- Are willing to commit to a professional editorial process
This is a great opportunity for young Americans abroad but come on National Geographic - where’s the contest or program for the few talented writers, videographers, and photographers over the age of 30 ???
Us ‘oldies’ would also love such an amazing opportunity…
Monday, May 19, 2008
Travel Writing miscellanea...
Blisfull Travel has an interview with travel writer Joshua Samuel Brown.
TravelHacker has put together a list of the 100 Best Travel Journal Blogs. Take look - you’ll see some old favourites and discover some new ones worth checking out.
GeekyTraveller reviews the StarTech Wi-Fi Detective. Internet cafes are great but sometimes you just want to use your own laptop. This Wi-Fi Detective sounds like it can help.
Maybe you should start looking at your own hometown as a destination piece for your local or national newspapers - according to an article in Newsweek, high gas prices will result in more people will be staying at or near home this summer.
Traveler’s Notebook offers 5 Essential Tips for the Budding Travel Photographer.
And finally...
Over at Pecerptive Travel Blog, I asked Are postcards past their use-by date? which resulted in Nerd’s Eye View planning a Postcard Revival. All postcard fans welcome.
Friday, May 16, 2008
2008 Travel Photographer of Year Competition...
The 2008 Travel Photographer of the Year competition opens for entries on May 17th, giving amateur and professional photographers worldwide the chance to win superb prizes and gain international exposure for their photography.
Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Travel Writing Miscellanea...
Rolf Potts highlights the benefits of attending writing workshop with a roundup of success stories from previous attendees…
Geeky Traveller has all the info on Wi-Fi shoes and the Traveler’s Notebook has a list of the Top 10 Useful Travel Gadgets & Accessories.
travelblatherer has a couple of posts on a recent Bookseller seminar focusing on travel publishing.
Nerd’s Eye View offers some great tips on How to Keep Your Travelblog Alive When You’re Not Traveling.
The Urban Muse posted about a New Way to Research Magazines. Seems Barnes and Noble offers online print and digital subscriptions. Here’s a list of all the travel magazines they have.
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