Archives
The travel world was abuzz a few weeks ago with news that Conde Nast Traveler will now permit writers to accept media rates. This is serious news for the revered publication, which, along with big names like National Geographic Traveler and Travel + Leisure, has been famed (and alternately praised and criticized depending on which side of the fence you sit) for refusing to accept stories that included any kind of compensation… Read More
The first time someone told me they were living vicariously through me, I felt a little thrill inside. It meant I was doing something admirable and, dare I say it, worthy of jealousy. And then I heard it a few more times. And a few more. And each time, it rang a little differently in my ear until it wasn’t so thrilling any more. And then at some point, it switched to… Read More
People who know me know that I’m a tad emotional (read: cries at mountains and Christmas carols). It’s a trait I inherited from my mother, along with blonde-ish hair, chronic hiccups and a severe case of the giggles. So it’s little surprise that saying goodbye to TBEX Europe left me, well, a little blubbery.
I don’t know why I can’t get her out of my head. I didn’t know Anita Mac personally; she was just the voice behind a URL, someone who shared some connections with me, who loved travel and writing like I do. I don’t know why, when I opened my Facebook newsfeed and saw a note that she had taken her own life, when I read her final blog post about feeling alone,… Read More
If you want to spark a heated debate in a room full of writers, just mention the Huffington Post. Arianna’s publishing empire incites a range of alternating fury and support that occasionally makes me fear for my life. There are those who proudly declare they write for such a widely read publication, even if it is for no pay, and others who proudly declare they will never give their work away to… Read More
Being a travel writer/editor/blogger presents an interesting conundrum. For most people, a trip is a vacation, a chance to get away, to escape work, to forget about the responsibilities awaiting you at home. For travel professionals, it’s work. Not in a bad way, mind you—I will never, ever take for granted how fortunate I am to work in this industry—but it is work, nonetheless.
Two weeks ago, I was startled to receive an email from an associate producer at CBC Radio. She had read an article I wrote for TravelandEscape.ca, about getting lost in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, and wanted me to appear on CBC’s morning program in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to talk about it. Radio has never been a medium that I would have considered for myself. I’m a fast talker and occasional mumbler, especially… Read More
I wasn’t going to go to TBEX. On the surface, the reason was financial—flights from Toronto to Denver aren’t cheap. But there was another reason a few layers below that, somewhere between fear, self-consciousness and existential writer angst. TBEX, if you don’t know, is the Travel Blog Exchange—an annual event “where new media travel writers come to network & learn.” It’s been going on for four years now, but this was my… Read More
Anywhere & Here 