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Travel Writing Boot Camp
Course Details
Travel forces us to engage with the world beyond our familiar roles and into undiscovered physical and emotional terrain. The job of the travel writer is to bring our readers along on our journeys by painting vivid scenes with our words. Taught by veteran travel writer and mediabistro instructor Wendy Knight and seasoned freelancer Ethan Gilsdorf, this class is an advanced look at the romance and realities of this exciting and often challenging market. 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. In this class, you can expect to learn: | ||
Instructor Bio  Ethan Gilsdorf lived in Paris for 5 years, where he wrote on travel, hotels and restaurants for Fodor's, Time Out, and the Washington Post. Now based in Boston, he is a regular contributor to The Boston Globe, and writes for publications worldwide including National Geographic Traveler, Psychology Today, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Globe and Mail, The Walrus, The Grapevine, Australian Financial Review, and various in-flight magazines. He is also a travel video host for Boston.com and ExploreNewengland.com. Testimonials Wendy Knight's seminar is full of genuinely useful information. I liked that Wendy included the basics; query letters, how to find market contacts, and the first step, for those of us who are just beginning. Her handouts clearly illustrated her points. Wendy is generous with her knowledge and experience and has a great sense of humor. -- Diane Brooke, former student"Wendy is a fearless leader who shoots straight from the hip. Her workshop supplied me with the tools needed to pitch my client and get crackin' on my own freelance writing business. Within 30 days, I constructed a press release, developed a complete list of media contacts, and pitched to Daily Candy, who wrote about my client 2 weeks later. Wendy was clear: "In today's culture, if you don't have a website, you don't exist", so I created a design blog at www.decor8.blogspot.com and work is starting to roll in from my web presence alone. I'll definitely take more classes with Wendy." -- Holly Becker, freelancer "Wendy Knight's travel seminar is a great introduction to the art of refining story angles, pitching an article, and seeing the process through. Wendy is a seasoned pro who has written for some high-profile publications and uses personal anecdotes to illustrate the lessons she learned along the way. After the seminar, I sold my article (to the Boston Globe)! It was great having someone like Wendy, who's just about seen and done it all in this business, to offer perspective." -- Josh Roberts, managing editor and columnist, Smarter Living, Inc. "Wendy Knight did a fantastic job. She came loaded with lots of materials that were informative and useful. She methodically walked us through all aspects of the process, drawing on our interests and projects for examples. She patiently answered each question with the attention and thought it deserved. Overall, the experience was excellent. I will definitely be looking for more mediabistro courses that fit my needs." -- Robert Felton, writer, photographer, and How to Write a Flawless Nonfiction Book Proposal alum "I just finished the class and it was great; really informative and interesting! This was my first class with Mediabistro, and I plan on attending more in the future." -- Liz McEachern , Breaking into Travel Writing alum Wendy Knight and Ethan Gilsdorf's CoursesNo courses available at this time.
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