M.B.D. Vacations - Travel Agency in Texas, specializing in vacation travel

World Hum

1. Video: Interview with Author Elizabeth Gilbert

   A thoughtful 20-minute interview with the “Eat, Pray, Love” author covering MFA programs and her novel-in-progress, which she refers to at one point as “another travel book.”

   
2. Travel Story Hall of Fame: ‘The Lonely Planet Guide to My Apartment’

   Today we introduce the Travel Story Hall of Fame, an occasional series in which we honor the best in travel writing new and old.

   Title: The Lonely Planet Guide to My Apartment

   Author: Jonathan Stern

   Publication: The New Yorker

   Date: April 24, 2006

   Nomination Speech: I first read Jonathan Stern’s Shouts and Murmurs piece in “The Best American Travel Writing 2007,” but its tone, its language and sub-heads were all weirdly familiar, as though I’d read the story before. That eerie sense of recognition is a sure sign of a well-executed satire.

   Meet the strange land of My Apartment, whose “vast expanse of unfurnished space can be daunting at first, and its population of one difficult to communicate with.” Under “Places to Eat,” Stern notes that “tourists often flock to the salvaged wooden telephone-cable spool in front of the TV as a convenient dining spot. More adventurous eaters might try standing over the sink, as the locals do. If you’re willing to venture off the beaten track, there’s balancing your plate on the arm of the couch or using the toilet lid as a makeshift table.”

   Years later, “The Lonely Planet Guide to My Apartment” remains one of the funniest pieces of travel writing I’ve ever read.

   Excerpt:

   ORIENTATION

   My Apartment’s vast expanse of unfurnished space can be daunting at first, and its population of one difficult to communicate with. After going through customs, you’ll see a large area with a couch to the left. Much of My Apartment’s “television viewing” occurs here, as does the very occasional making out with a girl (see “Festivals”). To the north is the food district, with its colorful cereal boxes and antojitos, or “little whims.”

   Read the rest here.

   
3. Dispatch from the Yukon Quest Trail

   I’m on the road this week, doing some writing and social media work for the Yukon Quest.

   For those unfamiliar with it, the Quest is a 1,000-mile sled dog race that runs from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon (my hometown). I’m following along, and on the trail with me is a traveling crowd of volunteers, veterinarians, race officials, “handlers” (assistants to the mushers), and friends and family. We drive from checkpoint to checkpoint, meeting up with the dog teams whenever they intersect with the sparse road system. I’m writing this from Central Corner, an outpost on the Steese Highway just south of the one-time Gold Rush town of Circle City.

   Never seen a long-distance dog sled race? Here’s a video that gives you a real sense of the scene at the start line back in Fairbanks:

   
4. 2012 Travel Writing Conferences

   Spring and summer are fast approaching, and that means warmer days, Major League Baseball and, yes, travel writing conferences. Gadling recently noted several upcoming conferences. Among them:

   Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX)
   The annual travel blogger gathering created by Kim Mance lays claim to being “the world’s premiere and largest conference of travel bloggers, writers, and new media creators.” Discussions and workshops explore the art and business of travel blogging, including ethical considerations and social media best practices. For many, it’s a reunion, of sorts: Bloggers who’ve been tweeting at one another for the last year can finally catch up in person. This year’s conference takes place June 15-17 in Keystone, Colorado. (Luasanne, Switzerland will also host a TBEX gathering in October.)

   The Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference
   Co-founded by veteran travel editor Don George, the four-day Book Passage conference just north of San Francisco has focused on great writing and photography for 20 years. It features panel discussions, specialized learning tracks, readings, dinners and convivial nightly gatherings. Faculty members in recent years have included Tim Cahill, Spud Hilton, David Farley and yours truly. This year, Susan Orlean will be on hand. It takes place Aug. 9-12 in Corte Madera, California.

   Also worth noting:

   Travel Classics Writers Conferences
   These conferences are open only to professional writers and feature editors from a number of glossy magazines. Writers must submit an application to attend and show they’ve been published in at least three magazines in the last year-and-a-half. The next conference takes place June 7-12 in Cardiff, Wales.

   Wondering which conference is right for you? Vagabondish has a useful guide.

   Finally, if you want to hone your writing skills but don’t want to travel to a conference, consider taking a travel writing class at a local bookstore or university.

   Spots are open now in David Farley’s two upcoming classes in New York City—one beginning Feb. 10 at Idlewild Books, and the other beginning Feb. 9 at NYU.

   
5. NATJA Announces 2011 Winners

   The complete roster of North American Travel Journalists Association award winners was announced this week. National Geographic Traveler took the grand prize for top travel publication, while Andrew McCarthy and Jill Schensul were named the travel journalists of the year.

   Several World Hum contributors were also among the winners. Larry Bleiberg took Gold in the Historical or Hobby Travel category, while Daisann McLane received a Gold award for Cultural, Educational or Self-Improvement Travel. Lola Akinmade Akerstrom received two Gold awards—one for Personality and Profiles and one for Culinary Travel—and Wayne Curtis also received a Silver award for Culinary Travel.

   Congratulations to all the winners.