Last Chance to Enter Travel Writing Contest...

I've entered the Wanderlust & Lipstick travel writing contest.

Have you?

There's only one day left(closes 31st January) for entries in one of the eight categories...

Adventure
Family Fun
Food & Drink
Local Culture
Solo Travel
Spiritual
Wit & Wander
Women’s Travel

Submission guidelines here.

There's a great first prize - win a 15-day trip to the Sacred Land of the Incaswith Intrepid Journeys - as well as numerous smaller prizes all worth winner.

Plus there's a chance that your entry might be included in a book anthology of travel writing. Those chosen will be paid $50 and have a byline in a travel book.

So why not give it a go...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...Take Two.

1. How to Create a Blogging Plan and Actually Reach Your Goals This Year

2. 14 Golden Tips for Beating the Freelancer Blues

3. Life Lessons of the Dread Pirate Roberts

4. Finding the Perfect Office Chair

5. 50 Ways for Writers to Find Article Ideas

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. 5 Ways Blogging Can Make You a Better Writer

2. The Great Debate — How Much Should A Writer Charge?

3. Don’t Panic: What to do when you’re in over your head

4. Travel Stories: Knowing When to Pitch to an Editor and When to Blog

5. 10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It

Video: Don George Talks About Good Travel Writing...

A National Geographic Traveler interview with Don George, NGT's online Trip Lit editor...

Travel Writing Miscellanea...

Roff Potts was interviewed by the San Jose Mercury News. And for more on Roff, check out 2008: The year in Rolf over at Vagabonding.

Vogageek has an interview up with Kim Mance from TravelBlogExchange.com and Galavanting.

Almost Fearless writes about Becoming a Digital Nomad: Options for Working Remotely from Anywhere

Tips from the T List's latest 10 Questions is with Nancy D Brown from What a Trip and Uptake's Lodging Blog.

Tips from the T List also has a list of who they consider the Top 5 Independent Travel Blogs

Top 5 Weekly Blog Posts for Writers

Thanks to a tip by Andrew, you'll now be able to open up these links in a new window so you won't lose your place here while you are there...

1. How do you find sources for an article?

2. Going Freelance: Six things that need to be on your legal checklist

3. That’s Not What I Thought I Wrote!

4. Back to basics: Ten mistakes to avoid when writing a news story

5. The Power of Intentional Attention


plus...

Do You Write for Cheap? Read This.

Why Magazines Suck

The Socratic Method To Great Living (5 Simple Steps)

Wanderlust and Lipstick Joins with Intrepid Travel to Sponsor Travel Writing Contest...

Here's a chance to sharpen your writing skills and maybe even win a 15 Day Trip with Intrepid to Discover the Sacred Land of the Incas. Other prizes include 5 travel bags from Timbuk2 and 3 SteriPEN Travelers, plus a chance to be published in a travel writing anthology.

All you have to do is write a travel story and impress this line up of judges...


* Nancy Brown, Travel Writer, What a Trip
* Amanda Castleman, Adventure and Travel Writer
* Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Travel Writer
* Greg Hubbs, Editor, Transitions Abroad
* Tim Leffel, Editor, Perceptive Travel
* Pam Mandel, Freelance Writer

Deadline is 31 January 2009 so you'd better get writing.

iWend Travel Writing Contest ends on Friday

It's not too late to enter iWend's “Traveling By Alternative Transportation” Essay Contest.

“The author of the best story is going to get to build their own Timbuk2 bag – meaning you get to choose the colors and fabrics! – and we’re also throwing in some cool stuff from Planet Bike.


How to enter?

1. Write a story no longer than 1000 words.
2. Submit it to contest[at]wendmag[dot]com.
3. Deadline for submissions is January 23, 2008.

Full details here

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. Blog editor Camilla Chafer shares her top tips on making your site really fly

2. Earn money writing for websites? Can you? Really? (the comments are definitely worth a read)

3. Q&A with author of How to Write a Non-fiction Book in 60 Days

4. Become a Career Renegade: Interview with Career Expert Jonathan Fields (click here to read the first chapter of Jonathan's book)

5. 47 Ways Copyblogger Can Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

By the way, does anyone know how to posts links on blogger so that the link opens in a new window?

They're Talking Travel Blogging at the BlogHer 2009 and SWSX Conferences.

Not only are travel bloggers finally being recognized by the Weblog Awards, they are also, finally, finding a voice at some of the larger blog-focused conferences.

Here's the scope...

Sheila Scarborough from Family Travel Logue (and my co-blogger at Perceptive Travel blog) will be hosting “Core Conversation” about travelblogging alongside Pam Mandel from Nerd's Eye View at SWSX 09 this March in Austin.

And in July, at the BlogHer conference in Chicago, there will be a session devoted to travel blogging. Debbie from Delicious Baby and Kim Mance from Galavanting are also organizing a half-day meetup for travel bloggers.

Sure would like to go to these but that won't be happening. I just hope there will be some videos / podcasts / live twitter of these events for those of us who won't be able to make either of these conferences.

Travel Blogger Awards.

Travel bloggers are mostly ignored when it comes to award season. But not this year. This year, there are two travel blogger awards on offer.

For the very first time, the Weblog Awards have a 'best travel blog' category.



After a short nominating period, the finalists have been listed. They are...

MyKugelhopf
Folie a Deux
The Asian Traveler
Curious Expeditions
Notes from the Road
The Lost Girls
LL World Tour
Jaunted - The Pop Culture Travel Guide
Intelligent Traveler
The Cranky Flier

There's a few of my favorites there, as well as some I can see I'll be spending some time at getting to know in the future.

It's great to see fellow travel bloggers getting acknowledged and recognized, so get out and vote. I have but I'm not going to tell you who for.

But wait, there's more...

Caitlin from Roaming Tales gave me a heads up on the first every Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards.. She even voted for Write to Travel in the themed blog category (thanks Caitlin)




The Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards have 11 categories and the nominations are now open, so head on over and start nominating.

• Best Destination Blog


• Best Expat Blog


• Best Travelogue


• Best Consumer Travel Blog


• Best non-English language Blog


• Best Video Blog (including YouTube Channels)


• Best Micro-Blogging (twitter etc)


• Best Image Blog


• Best Themed Blog (trekking etc)


• Best Group Authored Blog


• Best Podcast

The nominations will remain open until sometime in Febuary, then voting will take place.

Galavanting Video Interview with Travel Writer Eva Holland...

Good news for those of you who enjoyed Write to Travel's 'Interview with a Travel Writer' series - Galavanting, the online Women's Travel Magazine and Community, is planning on running regular video interviews with travel writers.

Here's their first one with Eva Holland...

Weekly Top 6 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. Should you have to audition to get a writing gig?

2. Freelancing on the move: 3 essential tools for roaming freelancers

3. Two Freelancing Myths and The Need For Self-Discipline

4. The Six People You Meet In Freelance Internet Writing Hell

5. 5 Steps for Planning the Direction of Your Blog in 2009

6. 3 Easy Ways to Write with Style