Course Details

"We travel, initially, to lose ourselves," the travel writer Pico Iyer writes. "And we travel, next, to find ourselves." Writing about travel takes us even deeper. It's a way to engage with the world and to build a bridge that brings faraway places home. Great travel writing wakens the senses and stands everything we take for granted on its head. This class is an advanced look at the romance and realities of travel writing. Over the course of eight three-hour sessions, the seminar will consider the various forms of the field, from heavily reported service pieces to first-person essays from the road. Be warned, though. This is not a course for people looking to score free trips or work their way onto the travel junket circuit. It 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:

• 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 your assigning editor to compensate you for travel (eventually!)

By the end of class, students can expect to have:
A complete portfolio of publishable articles (including 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) that will impress any travel magazine editor.

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, and more.

Instructor Bio

James Sturz's Courses

James Sturz spent three years on staff at Vanity Fair. In addition to his novel Sasso, he has written for more than 70 newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, International Herald Tribune, The New Republic, The New York Observer, The Boston Globe, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Adventure, Caribbean Travel & Life, Men's Health, Entertainment Weekly, Us Weekly, Glamour, Marie Claire, Redbook, and Saveur. James has also served as a guest editor for the adventure magazine Blue and as a contributing editor for Manhattan File and Lexus magazines. His journalism has also been anthologized in the sociology textbook Human Sexuality. James has appeared on Inside Edition, Real Personal, The Book Show, and Good Day New York. Pieces he wrote are included in the anthologies Italy: The Best Travel Writing from The New York Times and Best Food Writing 2007.

Testimonials

Thanks to James, I now know the proper way to propose stories. He provided great comments on my articles and gave me the impetus to submit my ideas for publication. -- Kathleen Kent, freelance publicist

"After taking James' class I felt that I could take my writing to the next level. Since completing the class I have landed travel pieces in The New York Times, Out Traveler, Flaunt, Clear, and Genre and logoonline.com. -- Cator Sparks

"James is a great instructor. He's a smart, well-spoken guy who knows what he's talking about and can answer your questions. This was by far the best class of its kind that I've taken. " -- St. John Frizell, copy director, Bon Appetit

"I grabbed a last-minute flight from Portland, Maine, so I could attend. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. James clinched the aspects of the business that I thought I knew, and opened my eyes to all that I did not know." -- Pat Friedman

"James is fantastic. If you want to become a travel writer, consider this course your first journey." -- Ethan Todras-Whitehill

"Since James' class, I've been assigned travel stories for Plenty, Nymag.com and Experience Curacao. James' class didn't just make me a better travel writer. It made me a better writer, period." -- Jennifer van der Kwast