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Travel Writing Boot Camp

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DURATION/TIME
8 weeks
Mondays
February 13- April 17
(no class Feb 20th or March 20th)
7-10 p.m.

LEVEL
This class is taught at an intermediate/advanced level. Students must have one year of journalism experience or similar coursework.

LOCATION
Soho

PRICE
$499 ($475 for )
more info

Course Details

Travel writing is a way to engage with the world and to build a bridge that brings faraway places home. It wakens the senses and stands everything we take for granted on its head. Taught by travel writer and mediabistro teacher Gayle Forman, this class is an advanced look at the romance and realities of this exciting and lucrative market.

Over the course of eight weeks, students will consider the various forms of the field, from travel-related news items to personal essays, with the goal of selling these pieces to local, regional, and national publications. Each week, students will be assigned a travel-related article up to 1,000 words, along with a pitch letter, and will be expected to investigate unfamiliar neighborhoods, seek out experts in the field, and demonstrate the highest levels of research and reporting. Take note: This is a rigorous course that requires a commitment of at least eight hours a week of outside work. Those who wish to remain in their comfort zone should not consider this class.

In this class, you can expect to learn:

  • How to use where you live to break into the travel market
  • How to grow your career as a travel journalist, no matter what field of journalism you're in now
  • Which sections of travel magazines are easiest to break into and most freelancer-friendly
  • How to write perfect pitch letters
  • What to do when you get to your destination
  • How to negotiate with your assigning editor for travel compensation (eventually!)
By the end of class, students can expect to have:
A complete portfolio of eight publishable articles and pitch letters to match that will impress any travel magazine editor. Although subject to change, assignments will include a travel-related news item or trend story; a service round-up on hotels or local attractions; a destination piece on a cultural landmark; a day trip within the region; a historical research piece on a neighborhood, local tradition, or attraction; an article on the tourism business; and a personal travel essay.

Students who have taken this class have been published in:
Travel + Leisure; The New York Times's Escapes section; The New York Times Magazine; Blue: The Adventure Magazine; Vogue; The Los Angeles Times; The Los Angeles Times's Travel section; The New York Times's Travel section; The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, Dwell, Gourmet, Men's Journal, Modern Bride, National Geographic Traveler, The New York Times's City section, Salon.com, Saveur, Time Out New York, Travel Savvy, and more.

Admission Requirements
Please submit a letter of interest, including a brief work history, and a writing sample. The writing sample must not exceed 2,000 words and does not have to be travel-related.

Instructor Bio

Gayle Forman's Courses

No courses available at this time.

Gayle Forman
Gayle Forman is the author of You Can't Get There From Here: A Year on the Fringes of a Shrinking World, a travel book about globalization and subcultures, which was published in April 2005 and was a Booksense Pick. She is also the author of Sisters in Sanity, a young-adult novel due out in 2007 from HarperCollins. She has written for a number of magazines, including The New York Times Magazine, Details, Budget Travel, Travel & Leisure, Elle, and Seventeen.

Testimonials


Gayle's delivery is excellent. In addition to making everyone in the class feel comfortable, she provided both constructive criticism and praise. When I attended the online class, I felt as comfortable as if I were having coffee and conversation with a group of friends. -- Bobbi Harrison

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