Writing the Travel Essay: From Inspiration to Publication | Lavinia Spalding

This class is now over. Interested in upcoming classes and writing workshops?

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Writing the Travel Essay: From Inspiration to Publication (April 13, San Francisco)

The San Francisco Writers' Grotto - San Francisco, CA
April 13 to May 18, 2016

Some of our greatest moments and breakthroughs—or at least our best bar stories—come from our travels. Do you have a travel tale you’re ready to unleash? Here’s your chance. In this six-session workshop, you’ll write and revise a personal travel essay, from vague idea to final draft, and then take steps to get it published. Along the way, you’ll learn the essentials of narrative travel writing, including structure, setting, dialogue, characterization, and story arc. You’ll develop and strengthen your writing voice, awaken your senses, and come to recognize your juiciest, most compelling material. In addition to writing and revising your own story, you’ll have the opportunity to study published pieces and discuss what made these essays shine. You’ll learn not only what an editor looks for in a story submission, but also the invaluable skill of viewing your own writing with an editor’s eye in order to make difficult but essential revisions. We’ll discuss the business of travel writing and go over tips for submitting writing and working with editors, and you’ll come away with a list of print and online publication outlets, plus plenty of ideas and inspiration for future projects.

If you’ve ever aspired to being a published travel writer, consider this your passport. Essays written in prior sessions of this course have been chosen for anthologies such as Travelers' Tales The Best Travel Writing, The Best Women’s Travel Writing, and Wake up and Smell the Shit, Lonely Planet’s An Innocent Abroad, and Harvard Bookstore's Around the World.

Dates: Wednesdays, April 13, 20, 27; May 4, 11, 18

The San Francisco Writers' Grotto, 490 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA

Upcoming

Book Reading at Starrlight Books
June 12 2009
Starrlight Books
Flagstaff, AZ

Book Reading at Terroir Wine Pub
June 13 2009
Terroir Wine Pub
Scottsdale, AZ

Book Reading at Changing Hands Bookstore
June 14 2009
Changing Hands Bookstore
Tempe, AZ

Book Reading at Lavendar Moon Store
June 15 2009
Lavendar Moon Store
Goodyear, AZ

Book Reading at Antigone Books
June 19 2009
Antigone Books
Tucson, AZ

Book Reading at The Anasazi State Park Museum
June 22 2009
Boulder, UT

Book Reading at King’s English
June 23 2009
King’s English Bookstore
Salt Lake City, UT

Writing Away Book Launch
June 29 2009
Orbit Room
San Francisco, CA

Travel Lit & Lecture Series
July 13 2009
Books Inc
San Francisco, CA

Book Reading at Green Arcade
Monday October 12 2009
Green Arcade Bookstore
San Francisco, CA

The Art of Journaling
March 6 - 7 2010
Canyon Community Center
Zion, UT

BWTW 2011 Book Launch Party
May 23 2011
Place Pigalle
San Francisco, CA

Reading at Books Inc Marina
Wednesday May 25 2011
Books Inc
San Francisco, CA

Travel Lit & Lecture Series
Thursday May 26 2011
Books Inc
San Francisco, CA

BWTW Reading at Books Inc Berkeley
Friday June 3 2011
Books Inc
Berkeley, CA

BWTW Reading in San Rafael
Saturday June 4 2011
San Rafael, CA

BWTW Reading in Pasadena
July 8 2011
Vromans
Pasadena, CA

BWTW Reading in LA
July 9 2011
Travelers Bookcase
Los Angeles, CA

Book Reading at Newtonville Books
Friday November 11 2011
Newtonville Books
Newton, MA

TEDx Conference
April 27 2012
Park City, UT

BWTW 8 Book Launch Party
August 19 2012
Brick & Mortar Music Hall
San Francisco, CA

Weekday Wanderlust
September 24 2012
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA

Weekday Wanderlust
October 17 2012
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA

Book Reading at Diesel in Malibu
Sunday November 4 2012
Diesel, A Bookstore in Malibu
Malibu, CA

Weekday Wanderlust
November 12 2012
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA

Art of the Noun: People, Places, Things & Ideas
January 2 - 9 2013
San Miguel de Allende
Mexico

Weekday Wanderlust
January 28 2013
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA

Writing & Publishing the Travel Essay
February 7 to March 21 2013
The Grotto
San Francisco, CA

Story Farm
February 9 2013
Intersection For The Arts
San Francisco, CA

Weekday Wanderlust
February 25 2013
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA

BWTW Reading at Book Passage
Tuesday February 26 2013
Book Passage
Corte Madera, CA

Weekday Wanderlust
Monday March 25 2013
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA

Restless Legs
Monday April 15 2013
Lolita Bar
New York, NY

Travel and Transformation w/ Lavinia Spalding and Rolf Potts
April 26 - 28 2013
Riverlight Wellness Center
Stonington, CT

Weekday Wanderlust
May 28 2013
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA

Art of the Verb: Action, Occurrence, State of Being
June 4 - 11 2013
Boulder, UT

Writing The Literary Travel Essay
June 24 to July 29 2013
The Grotto
San Francisco, CA

Litcrawl with AFAR magazine
October 19 2013
Adobe Books
san francisco, california

Reading at Book Passage for Best Women’s Travel Writing Volume 9
October 20 2013
Book Passage
Corte Madera, CA

Weekday Wanderlust’s One Year Anniversary!
October 23 2013
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA

Travel Writing, UC Berkeley Guest Lecture
November 5 2013
San Francisco, California

Best Women’s Travel Writing Volume 9: Book Launch Party!
December 9 - 10 2013
Brick and Mortar Music Hall
San Francisco, California

Writing The Literary Travel Essay: From Inspiration to Publication
January 29 to March 5 2014
The Writers' Grotto
San Francisco , California

Beyond What You Did Last Summer: Teaching Travel Writing
Thursday February 27 2014
AWP Conference
Seattle, WA

There She Goes Again: Women Writing Travel
Friday February 28 2014
AWP Conference
Seattle, WA

Book Launch Party at The Mount
June 22 2014
The Mount
Lenox, MA

The Great Books Summer Program at Stanford
Wednesday July 9 2014
Stanford
Palo Alto, California

Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference
August 14 - 17 2014
Book Passage
Corte Madera, California

The ROAR Retreat in Costa Rica
September 25 - 28 2014
Playa Conchal
Costa Rica

LitCrawl with Travelers’ Tales
October 18 2014
San Francisco

Machu Picchu Writing Workshop
November 10 - 15 2014
Peru

Anthology Night at Weekday Wanderlust
November 17 2014
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, California

The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 10 at Diesel Books in Brentwood
November 18 2014
Diesel Books
Brentwood, California

The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 10 Reading at Diesel Books in Oakland!
November 20 2014
Diesel Books
Oakland, CA

The Best Women’s Travel Writing Comes to Half Moon Bay
December 5 2014
Harbor Books
Half Moon Bay, California

Launch for Lonely Planet’s An Innocent Abroad at Book Passage
December 13 2014
Book Passage
Corte Madera, California

Writing the Travel Essay: From Inspiration to Publication
January 8 to February 12 2015
The San Francisco Writers' Grotto
San Francisco, California

Women’s Travel Fest 2015
March 1 2015
San Francisco, California

Adventure Travel Stories With an All-Star Line-up
April 8 2015
Creekside Room at the Mill Valley Library
Mill Valley, California

The Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference
August 13 - 16 2015
Book Passage
Corte Madera, California

“An Evening with Travel Writer Lavinia Spalding”
Tuesday October 6 2015
Oshman Family Jewish Community Center
Palo Alto, California

Interviewing the great Don George
October 23 2015
The Presidio Officer's Club
San Francisco, California

The Annual Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference
August 11 - 14 2016
Book Passage
Corte Madera , CA

Cultivating Compassion through Intentional Journaling
January 18 2017
St. Claud Social Club
New Orleans , Louisiana

How to Get an Editor’s Attention
February 5 2017
The Women's Travel Fest
New Orleans, Louisiana

The Best Women’s Travel Writing Book Launch Party
Monday May 15 2017
Brick and Mortar Music Hall
San Francisco , CA

The Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference
August 8 - 12 2017
Book Passage
Corte Madera

Storytelling in Writing: Workday, Inc
November 7 - 9 2017
The Marriott
San Ramon, California

Turning the Wheel
February 26 to March 8 2018
the Khatmandu Valley
Nepal

On the Detour
July 29 2018
Five Senses Festival
Washington, Connecticut

The Annual Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference
August 9 - 12 2018
Book Passage
Corte Madera , California

In Conversation with Apricot Irving
October 16 2018
Garden District Bookshop
New Orleans , Louisiana

Litcrawl with AFAR
October 20 2018
The Mission (exact location TBA)
San Francisco, California

Reading & Signing: This Immeasurable Place: Food and Farming from the Edge of Wilderness
December 10 2018
Book Passage Bookstore & Cafe
Corte Madera , California

This Immeasurable Place, Food and Farming from the Edge of Wilderness
December 11 2018
McRoskey Mattress Factory Third Floor Loft Space
San Francisco, California

Book Celebration
December 14 2018
Living Green Design
San Francisco , California

Deep Travel Morocco
March 31 to April 8 2019
Fez and Moulay Idriss
Morocco

Deep Travel Anthology launch
August 7 2019
Book Passage Bookstore & Cafe
Corte Madera , California

The Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference
August 8 - 11 2019
Book Passage Bookstore & Cafe
Corte Madera , California

Paris American Academy Summer Creative Writing Workshop
July 1 - 31 2020
Paris
France

The Annual Book Passage Travel Writers Conference
August 20 - 23 2020
Book Passage
Corte Madera, California

Virtual Book Launch for The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 12
December 8 2020
Book Passage (via Zoom)
Corte Madera, CA

There You Go: Write the Travel Essay
January 5 to February 9 2021
The Writers Grotto (online)
Anywhere!

Virtual Bookstore Reading at Magers & Quinn
February 18 2021
Magers & Quinn
Minneapolis, MI

The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 12, at Elliott Bay Books
March 1 2021
Elliot Bay Books
Seattle, Washington

A Journey Into Personal Travel Writing
April 26 to May 13 2021
Santa Fe Workshops

In Conversation with Janna L. Goodwin (online)
May 19 2021
Book Passage
Corte Madera

Podbean Live Storytelling Salon
July 21 2021
Podbean

Letter to a Stranger Reading
Wednesday May 4 2022
Book Passage (online)

A Fresh Start: Reawaken the Mind Through Writing and Meditation
November 6 - 16 2022
Himalayan Writing Workshops
Kathmandu
Nepal

The Art of Tranquilo
March 15 - 22 2024
Yelapa, Mexico

Divining Creativity
May 13 - 17 2024
Cummari
Siracusa
Italy