How to be a Travel Writer
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Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (Australia)
www.dfat.gov.au
Details of overseas high commissions, embassies and consulates, as well as information on visa regulations, passport advice and the government’s travel advisory service (www.smartraveller.gov.au).
Facts, figures & statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
www.abs.gov.au
Australia’s official statistical organization publishes a range of information including national economic and social indicators, the consumer price index and papers from the 2006 census.
The British Library
www.bl.uk
Online access to one of the world’s greatest collections of historical documents and materials.
CIA The World Factbook
www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook
A trustworthy reference to the must-know facts and figures for every country in the world – the travel writer’s go-to source.
National Statistics Online
www.statistics.gov.uk
Easily searchable database of UK published reports, useful if you need specific numbers for a story.
The World Heritage List
whc.unesco.org
The official list of World Heritage sites, with information about why each of them makes the grade.
Health
Department of Health
www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/Healthcareabroad
Travel health advice for UK-based travelers.
Travel Health Pro
www.travelhealthpro.org.uk
Comprehensive travel health advice for every country in the world, plus factsheets, information about diseases and the latest news.
World Health Organization
www.who.int
Credible information about a variety of world health-related topics and overviews of the health status of member nations.
TripPrep.com
www.tripprep.com
A database of the immunization and vaccine requirements for destinations around the world.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/travel
Health information on specific destinations as well as comprehensive health advice for travelers on a range of topics from counterfeit drugs to high altitudes.
Smart Traveller
smartraveller.gov.au/guide/all-travellers/health
Travel health tips and recommendations from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
US resources
Travel publishers
Travel guidebooks
Avalon Travel
avalontravelbooks.com
Publishers of the Moon travel guides and Rick (and now Andy) Steves’ guidebooks.
Fodor’s Travel Publications
www.fodors.com
Publishers of the Fodor’s guidebook series (which is owned by Penguin Random House).
The Globe Pequot Press
www.globepequot.com
Publishers of a variety of theme and destination guides.
Let’s Go
www.letsgo.com
‘The leaders in student travel’, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvard Student Agencies, employs only Harvard students.
Lonely Planet
www.lonelyplanet.com
Head office is in Franklin, Tennessee; there are also offices in London and Melbourne.
Rough Guides
www.roughguides.com
Head office is in London, there is also an office in New York City.
Sasquatch Books
www.sasquatchbooks.com
Publishers of guides to the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, California and the Southwest.
Wilderness Press
www.wildernesspress.com
Publishers of outdoor activity-oriented guides to California, Alaska, Hawaii, the US Southwest and Pacific Northwest, New England, Canada and Baja.
Frommer’s
www.frommers.com
Publishers of a number of different Frommer’s-branded guidebooks.
Travel literature
HarperCollins
www.harpercollins.com
HarperCollins publishes travel-related titles, particularly literary non-fiction. Manuscripts must be submitted through an agent.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
Publishes Paul Theroux and Jeffrey Tayler. Manuscripts must be submitted through an agent.
Knopf Doubleday
knopfdoubleday.com
Under various imprints including Vintage and Anchor, Knopf publishes top travel authors like Bill Bryson, Geoff Dyer and Peter Mayle. Manuscripts must be submitted through an agent.
Penguin Random House
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
Publishes travel narrative books; also publisher of Fodor’s, Rough Guides and DK Eyewitness Travel Guides. See the FAQs under About Us for their submission guidelines.
Seal Press
www.sealpress.com
A specialist women’s press (and part of the Perseus Books group) publishing travel literature by women from across the globe.
Travelers’ Tales
www.travelerstales.com
Publishes anthologies and travel advice books, with more than 100 titles in print. Submissions are welcome for the annual anthology of best travel writing, and for book-length manuscripts.
Publishing industry resources
Editor & Publisher Databook
www.editorandpublisher.com/databook
Editor & Publisher release an annual report of contact information (among other data) for all US and Canadian newspapers. The print version is $389; access to the searchable online database is $995.
Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, & Literary Agents
www.jeffherman.com
A who’s who for the publishing industry. Provides contact information for hundreds of top editors and agents. Published annually.
Writers’ Market
www.writersmarket.com
A database of agents, publishers and publications; monthly and six-monthly subscriptions are available.
Magazines
AFAR
www.afar.com
AFAR is a literary, ‘experiential’ travel magazine with a focus on stories about making connections with people, experiencing their cultures, and understanding their perspectives.
American Road
www.americanroadmagazine.com
A quarterly magazine to help with planning an American road trip.
Budget Travel Magazine
http://www.budgettravel.com/magazine
For submission guidelines see www.budgettravel.com/contact-us.
Backpacker
www.backpacker.com
Nine issues a year covering destinations for backpacking, camping and hiking, plus reviews, outdoor skills information and advice.
Condé Nast Traveler
www.cntraveler.com
A monthly magazine seeking stories that appeal to upscale travellers.
Islands
www.islands.com
Focus on the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Tahiti and exotic destinations, there may be opportunities to pitch for their front-of-the-book section. Published eight times a year.
National Geographic Traveler
www.traveler.nationalgeographic.com
Find submission guidelines at: travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/travelermagazine/about-us/writer-guidelines
Outside
www.outsideonline.com/magazine
A monthly magazine dedicated to covering the people, sports, activities, politics, art, literature and gear of the outdoors. Guidelines for contributors are at: www.outsideonline.com/contact-us
Travel + Leisure
www.travelandleisure.com
Monthly magazine targeting high-end, active leisure and business travelers, open to submissions.
Newspapers
&n
bsp; Atlanta Journal-Constitution
www.ajc.com
The Sunday section publishes articles on regional, national and international destinations.
The Baltimore Sun
www.baltimoresun.com
Features a Sunday travel section; the best way to break in is by pitching regional articles.
The Boston Globe
www.bostonglobe.com
Sunday travel section.
Chicago Tribune
www.chicagotribune.com
Sunday travel section; interested in the Midwest and shorter stories.
The Christian Science Monitor
www.csmonitor.com
National paper publishing a variety of travel articles and essays.
The Dallas Morning News
www.dallasnews.com
Sunday travel section.
The Denver Post
www.denverpost.com
Sunday travel section.
Los Angeles Times
www.latimes.com
National paper with a Sunday travel section.
Miami Herald
www.miamiherald.com
Sunday travel section.
The New York Times
www.nytimes.com
A national newspaper with one of the largest travel sections in the USA covering a variety of international and domestic destinations.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
www.philly.com/inquirer
The Sunday section publishes articles on regional, national and international destinations.
The San Francisco Chronicle
www.sfchronicle.com
Sunday travel section; break in by pitching California stories.
The Seattle Times
www.seattletimes.com
NW Traveler on Sunday features articles on regional, national and international destinations.
The Washington Post
www.washingtonpost.com
National paper with a Sunday travel section featuring articles on a wide variety of international and domestic destinations.
Writers’ groups & associations
You’ll find an extensive list of major writers’ organizations at www.writersandeditors.com.
American Society of Journalists and Authors
www.asja.org
The USA’s leading organization of independent non-fiction writers. Their monthly member newsletter provides valuable information on writing markets; members can also access writer forums, a mentoring program, networking opportunities and a press card.
International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association
www.ifwtwa.org
IFWTWA is a gathering point and resource base for professionals in the food, wine and travel industries. The association organizes conferences, regional meetings, and press trips.
National Writers Union
www.nwu.org
The NWU is a trade union for freelance writers working in print, electronic and multimedia formats who work for American publishers or employers.
North American Travel Journalists Association
www.natja.org
A professional organization of writers, photographers and editors aiming to provide educational and networking opportunities.
Poets & Writers
www.pw.org
The USA’s largest non-profit organization for poets, fiction writers, and creative non-fiction writers provides information, support and guidance. They also organize writing programs and conferences.
Society of American Travel Writers
www.satw.org
The leading organization for travel writers and other travel media professionals promotes responsible journalism, provides professional support and encourages the conservation of travel resources.
Classics of US travel literature
Don George’s list of top 20 works of travel literature by US authors:
Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon
The Colossus of Maroussi by Henry Miller
Coming Into the Country by John McPhee
Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux
The Inland Sea by Donald Richie
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Jaguars Ripped My Flesh by Tim Cahill
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen
The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
Two Towns in Provence by MFK Fisher
Video Night in Kathmandu by Pico Iyer
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Westward Ha! by SJ Perelman
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M Pirsig
Writing courses
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
www.awpwriter.org
Dedicated to the promotion of writers and creative writing programs at universities in the US and Canada, with writing programs, conferences and contests.
ShawGuides’ Guide to Writers Conferences and Workshops
www.writing.shawguides.com
Free access to continually updated information on almost 1500 writing conferences, writers’ workshops, creative career writing programs and literary retreats.
UK resources
Travel publishers
Travel guidebooks
AA Travel Publishing
shop.theaa.com/store/leisure
Travel guides to the UK and beyond plus walking guides, restaurant and hotel guides and a range of travel narrative books.
Berlitz
www.berlitzpublishing.com
Over 130 pocket guidebooks to the world put together by the team that also produces Insight Guides.
Bradt Travel Guides
www.bradtguides.com
Bradt focuses on emerging travel destinations with its range of travel guides; it also publishes other titles in travel literature, ‘slow travel’ guides to British regions and wildlife guides.
Crimson Publishing
www.crimsonpublishing.co.uk
Publishes various series including Pathfinder Guides and Gap Year Guides.
Dorling Kindersley
www.dk.com
Heavily illustrated Eyewitness country, city and regional guidebooks, Top Ten guides to world cities and a family travel series. Part of Penguin Random House.
Footprint Handbooks
www.footprinttravelguides.com
Travel guides for independent and adventurous travelers.
Insight Guides
www.insightguides.com
Over 400 highly pictorial guides to the world, plus pocket guides and thematic guides.
Lonely Planet
www.lonelyplanet.com
Head office is in Franklin, Tennessee; there is also an office in London.
Rough Guides
www.roughguides.com
Guidebooks to over 120 destinations, plus music and other reference guides.
Time Out Guides
www.timeout.com
A range of themed London guides (eating and drinking, for cyclists, weekend breaks, etc), plus guides to over 40 (mostly European) cities.
Trailblazer Publications
www.trailblazer-guides.com
A range of route guides for the adventurous traveler including walking guides and rail guides.
Travel literature
Bloomsbury Publishing
www.bloomsbury.com
Bloomsbury does not have a large travel literature list but it does publish books in the ‘travel and adventure’ genre. Submissions must come via an agent.
Eye Books
www.eye-books.com
Small publishing house specializing in travel books about personal journeys and growth – ordinary people doing extraordinary things.