All About Japanese

Travel Writer, Rajasthan, by Carl Parkes

A few travel leads have poppped up in recent days, along with a pair of travel writer seminars.

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
LONELY PLANET’S 2006 LITERARY ANTHOLOGY: “TALES FROM NOWHERE”

We’ve all been to Nowhere. It might have been in the middle of Borneo or Bolivia, or in the back of a bus in Beijing or Boston. It might have been a Zen retreat, a no-man’s-land border outpost, or a six-palm Pacific island in an endless sea. You may have found Nowhere on a sultry summer night in Paris when you’d spent your last franc and had no place to sleep, or on a midnight jeep safari in the African bush after you’d blown your last spare tire, with your campsite a distant pinprick of light, or in the comforting cocoon of an all-night train compartment, in the arms of an intimate stranger. Nowhere is a setting, a situation and a state of mind. It’s not on any map, but you know it when you’re there.

Following in the grand tradition of The Kindness of Strangers and By the Seat of My Pants, Lonely Planet’s 2006 anthology, Tales from Nowhere, will present a rich, multi-faceted portrait of the many Nowheres we visit in our lives. The collection will comprise 30 true travelers’ tales, full of passion, surprise, wonder, curiosity and revelation. Through stories widely varied in setting and situation, Tales will celebrate and illuminate the fundamental truth that travel sometimes takes us places we never planned to go – and that those unexpected journeys can enrich and enlighten us in ways we never otherwise would have discovered.

Have you been to Nowhere? What did it look like and feel like? How did you get there? What did you do there? What did Nowhere teach you?

Lonely Planet is looking for original, unpublished tales of from 1,000 to 3,000 words. These can be about a Nowhere you wanted to be in, a Nowhere you accidentally found yourself in, or a Nowhere you desperately didn't want to be. We are looking for a wide range of stories -- funny, adventurous, romantic, philosophical; the subject, setting and tone are completely open.

Please email submissions to Tales from Nowhere editor Don George at don.george@lonelyplanet.com, or mail them to Don George, Global Travel Editor, Lonely Planet Publications, 150 Linden St., Oakland CA 94607 USA.

PAYMENT: $100 FOR UP TO 3000 WORDS

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
EUROPE FROM A BACKPACK

We are now accepting submissions for Italy From a Backpack and Spain From a Backpack.

We're looking for first-person must-tell stories … the one story you continue to share with friends. Send us your best backpacking stories from Italy and Spain. Italy From a Backpack and Spain From a Backpack will be available in bookstores everywhere November 2006!

Length: Stories average 800-2,000 words. While we will accept stories up to 3,000 words, shorter stories have a better chance of being accepted. Please review the first book, Europe From a Backpack, to determine the appropriate style and length for your narrative. If you read the first book in the series, then you'll know what we're looking for.

How to Submit: Send your story by MS Word attachment with the following information (make sure to include all information in the Word Document):
- name
- story title
- story location
- address
- phone
- primary e-mail
- secondary e-mail
- College or University you graduated from
- Include a fun and brief bio after the story

Rights: We're interested in non-exclusive rights. The author retains the copyright and may reprint the story elsewhere.

Compensation: If your story is accepted for publication, you will receive $100 for each story of any length and two complimentary copies of the book. By submitting your story, you agree to sell the non-exclusive rights to your story at the above price.

Deadlines:
- Round 1: January 31, 2006
- Round 2: March 28, 2006
We anticipate on sending you a publication decision by June 2006. Due to the volume of submissions, the earlier you submit a story the better. Share your story today!

Note that in the near future, we will be accepting stories from France, U.K., Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Greece, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Please check back for updates. More info here.

Submit stories to: submit@europebackpack.com

PAYMENT: $100 FOR UP TO 2000 WORDS

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
WHAT COLOR IS YOUR JOCKSTRAP?

By: Jen Leo on September 24, 2005 | # | Comments (3) | Market Leads (tag)
Have I mentioned were doing a fourth humor book? There's so much to do, I've gotten lost in the list. But yes, we are doing a fourth to wrap up the Empire of Undies. There was so much good material from Thong, that we've started with that, and are adding a bunch more. What Color is your Jockstrap? will release in Spring 06. And the big news....boys get to submit. That's right, the men don't have to have honey-pot envy anymore?we're letting them in?so to speak...

But we're on the rush job since we're making it a Spring book. All stories are due now. As in, the next two weeks. Hurry up, can't promise there will be more after this one.

Just do the usual. Send it to both me and Travelers' Tales. And make sure to let us know you heard about it hear on Written Road.

PAYMENT: $100 FOR UP TO 3000 WORDS

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MAKING A LIVING AS A FREELANCE WRITER
COST: $95

"Making a Living as a Freelance Writer" will be the subject of this intensive class with Michael Shapiro. A contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post and National Geographic Traveler, Shapiro will discuss strategies and techniques for earning a living from one's writing. Topics include finding your niche, developing professional relationships with editors, targeting potential markets (publications), the art of the interview, and self-syndication.

$95.

For more info or to sign up, contact Book Passage at 800-999-7909.

Saturday February 4, 2006
10am-4pm
Book Passage, Corte Madera

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INTENSIVE TRAVEL WRITING CLASS
COST: $395

Donald George's 18-hour intensive travel writing workshop is patterned after a graduate school creative writing program. The emphasis is on the craft of travel writing, with students reading and critiquing writing assignments each week in class. The assignments progress from a few paragraphs to full-length articles, with the goal of publishable-quality pieces. Students learn to research stories, write query letters, work with editors, and market their articles. His students have been published in many newspapers and magazines. The class is limited to 16.

Donald George is the former Travel Editor of the S.F. Chronicle-Examiner and current Global Travel Editor for Lonely Planet. He is the editor of A House Somewhere, By the Seat of my Pants, and The Kindness of Strangers. He chairs the annual Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference.

As in years past, workshop participants will focus closely on one article, with the goal of crafting a publishable piece. This workshop is always energizing and exhilarating, and numerous published articles -- as well as wonderfully thriving writers' groups -- have come out of it.

$395
6:00-9:00 pm
Six Tuesdays, Jan. 10-Feb. 28 (no class 1/31, 2/14)
Book Passage in Corte Madera

To sign up, call Book Passage at 415-927-0960.