Pardon This Blog Interuption for News and Annoucements

You may have noticed a bit of a posting gap on Come for the Wine in the last month. I usually post weekly, but I’ve been very busy working on some exciting side projects I’d like to tell you about. Most of my wine blogging friends think I’m a travel writer with a wine blog, while my travel writing friends think I’m a wine blogger who writes about travel. Well both are correct. It’s like that old Certs commercial-- “it’s two, two mints in one.” My blog focus is wine tourism so it all works out.

I have news on both sides of the travel and wine mint.
First the Travel Writing News:

I’m pleased to announce my story about the first time I visited Sicily with my mother in search of our family roots, will be in the 2012 edition of Best Women’s Travel Writing, edited by Lavinia Spalding. This is the third year in a row I’ve made the cut for the annual Best Women’s Travel Writing collections and I’m extremely grateful to be included in such a great showcase for women’s travel writing.

I’ve also been very busy editing an anthology of travel humor called Leave the Lipstick, Take the Iguana that will be out around the end of August. The collection has 33 tales that will strike your funny bone and have you shooting wine out your nose like you did back in fifth grade lunch room. See if you can spot the wine bottle and corkscrew on the cover below!

I’ll be sending out announcements when the book is released, and a schedule of reading events--so follow @leavtheiguana on twitter for news and updates.

Travel Writing Workshop in Spain:

So if all this talk of travel writing has you thinking--“Hey, maybe I should add some travel to my blog!” -- you are in luck!  This October 7-14th, Lavina Spalding and I will be leading a food, wine, and travel writing workshop called Writing Away in Spain hosted and organized by Epicurean Ways. No matter what your writing goals are, I guarantee you’ll come away from the trip with new focus and plenty of ideas. Maybe even a few drafts of articles to pitch. And we cover that in the trip--how to pitch and work with editors to get your work published. The trip includes visits to local olive oil producers and of course winemakers. Spain! Food! Wine! Writing! What more do you need to know??

Click here for the full itineary and all the details. It’s a great read!

Combined Travel and Wine News:

Two world’s are going to collide...get ready. {Photo Credit: Lily Chou}

In the next few weeks I’ll be announcing a HUGE project that will snap your head back when you hear about it. It combines my two worlds -- writing and wine in the most extrondinary way. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Wine Tourism News:

I’m working to help promote the next Wine Tourism Conference {presented by our friends at Zephyr Adventures the hosts of our beloved Wine Bloggers Conference} that will take place in November in Santa Rosa. Last year’s Wine Tourism Conference in Napa was a great initial gathering and I met so many people that have been instrumental in many of my projects this year. If you work in the wine or tourism industries I encourage you to attend. And if you are a wine blogger, I highly recommend it for the contacts you can make and the perspective it lends on the tourism aspects of the wine industry. There will be special pricing and registration for wine bloggers who wish to attend. Follow @winetourismconf for an announcement about this soon.

And Now Back to Wine Blogging:
This Sunday I’m off to Penticton for an early preview of the Okanagan region of B.C. , Canada, where the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference will be held --so stay tuned for a full report.

In fact stay tuned for EVERYTHING. Theres lot’s of great stuff coming up in the next few weeks here on Come for the Wine including a visit to Messina Hof winery in Texas for harvest, (yikes, Texas in August) and of course 2012 Wine Blogger's Conference in Portland.  Hope to see you there.

Cheers--

Book Passage Travel, Food & Photography Conference Redux!

For the second year in a row I attended the annual Book Passage Travel Writing & Photography Conference in Corte Madera, California. This year the conference included a Food writing track and there were so many opportunities to sample wine and other spirits it almost felt like a mini wine blogger event. I thought the added focus on food and wine for travel writers was a perfect pairing, especially for a wine blogger like me. I think the gap may be closing between wine blogger and travel blogger conferences.

In addition to the Food writing track, I sampled the session on Writing for Newspapers and Magazines, and some of the Photography offerings as well. I sat in on a photography session with Bob Holmes and Andrea Johnson where I learned composing a photo is not that different from approaching a story. Bob and Andrea collaborated on the book A Passion for Pinot, and their session evening included special guest Jean-Charles Boisset from Boisset Family Estates who poured some Pinot from DeLoach in Sonoma.

The alumni ranks at Book Passage are full of success stories about finding agents, inking book deals, meeting a collaborator, or just getting the confidence to send out that first piece and get published. I got to relate my own personal success story at the opening gathering on Thursday night when I announced I will be the editing the next Travelers’ Tales humor anthology --Leave the Iguana, Take the Mascara: Funny Travel Stories And Strange Packing Tips.

The conference has a magical quality that creates an atmosphere of possibilities. But it's more than the combination of faculty, karaoke, alcohol and camaraderie that make it special. It’s the people that you meet. I’m always as impressed by the students as I am by the faculty.

The Book Passage experience is intense. It's exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. The four jam-packed days are inspiring and give you a buzz and euphoric feeling about your work that is priceless. Although I think some of the buzz and euphoria this year was due to the Absinthe. Oh, did I mention the Absinthe tasting? Oh yeah, that was amazing! Afterwards everyone got that glassy eye glow. Recognize any of these people below?

At the closing ceremony, awards were handed out to the winners of the photography and travel writing contests. I won a prize for my entry in the travel writing contest. The winning story was read aloud by Don George. Don's dramatic readings are always a highlight of the conference. I think he could read the back of a cereal box and make it a transformative moment.

If you are looking to boost to your travel writing career or just want to get inspired by a great group of people, you should consider attending Book Passage next year. And if you do go, here's a tip: Stay late every night. All the real connections happen after hours. Especially on karaoke night.