Description
This webinar took place at 3pm GMT on Thursday 5th December 2024.
From pitching to following-up to ‘ghosting’, working in a competitive industry like travel media, for all its benefits and rewards, can also be frustrating. And anecodotally at least, conversation around these frustrations seems to be at an all-time high.
Join this ‘town hall’/open conversation between a panel of experienced freelancer editors and writers – who are/have been, on both sides of the fence – to discuss best-practice (on all sides), pick up quick tips on increasing your own chances of success, and join the discussion with your own questions. While this is a webinar, you can speak if you wish, or you can ask questions via the Q&A.
This is a free webinar – donations welcome but entirely optional! Webinars are usually £6 to cover tech, panellists, time etc. but have made this one a free one. If you have questions in advance, do email me at [email protected]
If you’ve missed previous webinars, you can watch past sessions on everything from successful pitching, developing your writing, and decolonising/modernising travel writing to topics such as smarter freelancing, working with PRs, and mental health and wellbeing (free webinar). All available here.
This webinar is the seventh in a series by Travel Writing Webinars/Meera Dattani, supported by Talking Travel Writing. It is also the fourth webinar to be sponsored by Adventure Travel Networking (ATN).
PANELLISTS
Jen Rose Smith is a writer and editor in Vermont with a focus on sustainability, human-powered adventure, and travel culture, and often discusses and shares her thoughts about travel writing best-practice and freelance insights on social media. Her recent stories include desert island ‘castaway’ vacations for AFAR, a Virtuoso feature about 500-year old Istanbul bathhouses, and one for the Saturday Evening Post about America’s last lighthouse keeper. A former adventure editor for Sierra magazine, Jen edits a Québec travel series for the Vermont newspaper Seven Days.
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Amanda Castleman is a writer, photographer editor, instructor and founder of the online academy Write Like a Honey Badger. Specialising in travel (nature and adventure), the environment, green living and health, she’s won several Lowell Thomas awards for adventure and cultural coverage, a grand silver Solas Award for Best Travel Writing, and has taught journalism since 2003. Amanda has contributed articles and photography to AFAR, AARP, Outside, Sierra, BBC Travel, Hemispheres, Robb Report, Scuba Diving, Bon Appétit, National Geographic, The Seattle Times and The New York Times, and she’s worked on 30-odd books, including titles for Frommer’s and Rough Guides.
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Charukesi Ramadurai is a freelance journalist and photographer writing on travel, art and culture, wildlife conservation and sustainability for a variety of global publications, including BBC Travel, National Geographic, Conde Nast Traveller, Adventure.com, Forbes, Nikkei Asia and South China Morning Post. She has been to 64 countries across six continents so far and aims to visit at least 100 in her lifetime. She is based in Malaysia.
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Meera Dattani is the founder of Travel Writing Webinars, executive editor at Adventure.com, and a freelance travel and culture journalist with bylines in National Geographic Traveller, Wanderlust, BBC Travel, Evening Standard, BBC Travel and others. Former Chair and Events Director of the British Guild of Travel Writers, she is also a mentor, awards judge, and a speaker and moderator on external panels about travel writing, sustainability, DEI and the travel industry.
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This is number seven in a series of webinars curated and hosted by travel journalist and editor Meera Dattani and this session is sponsored by Adventure Travel Networking (ATN), an award-winning organisation founded by Pru Goudie that promotes adventure and experiential travel with a positive impact. As well as an annual two-day hybrid Conference & Marketplace in London (2025 dates: 25 and 27 February), the twice-a-year spring/autumn ATN Media Meet-up connects the adventure travel community with key travel media during an informal networking event with a panel session. If you write about positive impact adventure/experiential travel, contact Pru via the webform.
This webinar is also supported by Talking Travel Writing who promote these events. TTW is a Substack newsletter that promises to demystify the travel media for freelancers forging a career in travel writing. Follow TTW on Twitter and Instagram.
