WORKSHOPS + SEMINARS
WORKSHOPS + SEMINARS
Excavating The Travel Essay
May 1, 12:00-5:00 p.m. ET // $345
Format: One lecture followed by 3-week self-paced online course and virtual writing community.
Write a literary travel essay in just three weeks! This course is for anyone who wants to write travel essays that are as vivid as they are insightful. We'll mine old travel journals, photos, correspondences, and conduct original research to write a rich and layered essay. Perhaps it's a story of transformation abroad, of a place that moved you or a stranger who changed your life, a journey that still haunts you, or simply of a distant meal you'll never forget. Or maybe it's a story of migration and identity in a foreign landscape. We’ll push the boundaries of the genre while remaining committed to the heart of the story.
We begin by reading a broad range of travel essays to understand how different techniques impact the reader. When would an anecdote be more effective than a statistic? How should a writer portray a culture they know little about? We'll break away from the clichés, tropes, and stereotypes that plague travel writing in order to tell an authentic and dynamic story.
Next, we'll dive deep into structure and craft. Whether you're writing a chapter in a memoir, a magazine feature, a letter, or deep captions for a photo essay, we'll cover the pillars of a solid travel story—curiosity, sense of place, a moment in time, local characters, rich context, narrative arc, sensory details—as well as techniques to illustrate it skillfully.
The course is formatted with a one-day Zoom session to deep-dive into the craft of the travel essay, followed by three weeks of virtual class that includes:
-
Daily writing prompts that correspond with the course material
-
Video lessons to guide you through writing a full essay
-
Live craft chats to help hone your skills and support your journey
-
Online community forum for group support and feedback
-
Virtual public reading to showcase your work
Each participant will write an original travel essay of up to 3,000 words and receive personalized feedback on their story, including a personalized list of recommendations for places to submit.
*One full scholarship is available for a promising writer with a background historically misrepresented or underrepresented in the travel writing genre.
VIRTUAL
Excavating The Travel Essay
May 1, 12:00-5:00 p.m. ET // $345
Format: One lecture followed by 3-week self-paced online course and virtual writing community.
Write a literary travel essay in just three weeks! This course is for anyone who wants to write travel essays that are as vivid as they are insightful. We'll mine old travel journals, photos, correspondences, and conduct original research to write a rich and layered essay. Perhaps it's a story of transformation abroad, of a place that moved you or a stranger who changed your life, a journey that still haunts you, or simply of a distant meal you'll never forget. Or maybe it's a story of migration and identity in a foreign landscape. We’ll push the boundaries of the genre while remaining committed to the heart of the story.
We begin by reading a broad range of travel essays to understand how different techniques impact the reader. When would an anecdote be more effective than a statistic? How should a writer portray a culture they know little about? We'll break away from the clichés, tropes, and stereotypes that plague travel writing in order to tell an authentic and dynamic story.
Next, we'll dive deep into structure and craft. Whether you're writing a chapter in a memoir, a magazine feature, a letter, or deep captions for a photo essay, we'll cover the pillars of a solid travel story—curiosity, sense of place, a moment in time, local characters, rich context, narrative arc, sensory details—as well as techniques to illustrate it skillfully.
The course is formatted with a one-day Zoom session to deep-dive into the craft of the travel essay, followed by three weeks of virtual class that includes:
-
Daily writing prompts that correspond with the course material
-
Video lessons to guide you through writing a full essay
-
Live craft chats to help hone your skills and support your journey
-
Online community forum for group support and feedback
-
Virtual public reading to showcase your work
Each participant will write an original travel essay of up to 3,000 words and receive personalized feedback on their story, including a personalized list of recommendations for places to submit.
*One full scholarship is available for a promising writer with a background historically misrepresented or underrepresented in the travel writing genre.
VIRTUAL
Magazines
{PROFILES . PACKAGES . FEATURES . HAIKU}
San Francisco
"The City As Gym"
Feature
San Francisco
"The Tao of Fidget Wigglesworth"
Profile
Travel + Leisure
"Hello, Mendocino"
Radar
San Francisco
"Race to the Bottom of the Sea"
Feature
Via
"5 Things We Love About Carmel"
Weekender

COCKTAILS

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

WINE

TRAVEL

SPAS

TRAVEL

CULTURE

CULTURE
AFAR
"Khmer Crawl"
Before Sunrise
Travel + Leisure
"Japan in San Francisco"
Feature
San Francisco Chronicle
"Oman: Lore of the Landscape"
Cover Story
Sunset
"Local Motion"
Feature
Sunset
"Desert Cool"
Feature
Travel + Leisure
"Napa, Off The Vine"
Feature
Martha Stewart
"How to Make the Most of Napa"
Feature
San Francisco Chronicle
"Trendy District in Santa Rosa"
Feature
American Way
"This House is A-Maze-Ing"
Feature
Hemispheres
"Out of Office"
Feature
Via
"California's Santa Ynez Valley"
Sweet Stops
Postcards
"The World's Best Spas"
Cover Story

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

CITY LIFE
AFAR
"Portugal's New Age of Discovery"
Cover Story
San Francisco Chronicle
"Marseille's Myriad of Markets"
Feature
San Francisco Chronicle
"Secluded Kanazawa"
Feature
San Francisco
"Best of the North Bay"
Feature
San Francisco
"2,217 Miles of Amazing"
Cover Story
Travel +Leisure
"50 Dream Trips"
Cover Story
O, The Oprah Magazine
"Living Your Very Best Life"
Profiles
Sunset
"Summer Camp for Grown-Ups"
Feature
San Francisco
"Epicenters"
Feature
San Francisco
"Tech Confidential"
Feature
AFAR
"Bangkok's Art Awakening"
Wander
Marie Claire
"Egg Freezing Parties Are Totally a Thing"
Package
Every Day with Rachael Ray
"America's Best Snow Cones"
Word of Mouth
San Francisco
"Baja for Road Warriors"
Weekender
San Francisco
"Go North, Go South"
Cover Story
San Francisco
"Is This Santa Barbara's Dog Patch?"
Weekender

ESSAY

RECREATION
San Francisco
"Color Clash"
Style Assistant
San Francisco
"Best of the Bay Area"
Cover Story
San Francisco
"The Indian Summer Travel Guide"
Feature
San Francisco
"Ron Conway Roulette"
Visual Profile
San Francisco
"The Wine Market"
Feature
San Francisco
"Best of the Bay Area, Recreation"
Feature
San Francisco
"Summer Goes Rogue"
Feature
San Francisco
"Project Utopia"
Cover Story
San Francisco
"The Unstoppable Zio Ziegler"
Profile
San Francisco
"Tiny Towns"
Feature
O, The Oprah Magazine
"20 Questions Every Woman..."
Cover Story
Sunset
"Inside Bay Area, December"
Package
SELF
"The Country's Best Gyms"
Package
Delta Sky
"Palm Springs"
Trending
Sunset
"Inside Bay Area, October"
Package
San Francisco
"Best of the North Bay"
Cover Story
Travel + Leisure
"Tokyo's New Groove"
Radar
Sunset
"Inside Bay Area, April"
Package
Sunset
"Inside Bay Area, June"
Package