Antoinette May on “Travels Into Fiction” at July BATW Meeting (members only) — RSVP by July 13

Congratulations to Kay Grant, who has won two writing awards.

Laurie Weed has contributed to another ThingsAsian Press book, To Myanmar With Love: A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur.

Donna Peck’s article on Adventure Cruising will appear in the July issue of Nob Hill Gazette.

Penny Sansevieri and her presentation were worth many dollars at the June BATW meeting at Inn Marin. Penny, whose company Author Marketing Experts specializes in “turning authors into success stories,” gave information about internet publicity, website design, Twitter, other social-networking options, and more.

To all provisional members and any member looking for a burst of travel-writing and/or travel-photography enthusiasm, great tips and new friendships, the 18th annual Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference takes place Aug. 13-16 in Corte Madera, California.

You just never know how or when that BATW press card will come in handy.

Americans are expected to take 322 million domestic leisure trips this summer according to a forecast by the US Travel Association (USTA). They will take an average of two trips, stay about seven nights away from home and spend more than $900 on the longest trip. Do you know where the favorite hot spots of these summer travelers are?

Susan Alcorn writes: When Inn Marin decided to make the updates to their property last year, they put the emphasis on “Go Green.” It’s possible to make environmentally better choices when traveling, and it’s up to us to support business that make a difference. Inn Marin is a very good choice for visitors to the area - both because of its mission to be “Green” and because it’s a comfortable, clean, and pleasant place to stay.

Morton Beebe calls our attention to “Should You Worry About Data Rot,” a New York Times Online column by David Pogue about storing DVDs and film. It includes an interview with Dag Spicer, curator of the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley. (photo by David Pogue)

Writing about the recent trip she and John Montgomery took to a “Food and Italy” conference in Italy, Diane LeBow tries “to condense a 30-day Felliniesque adventure into a few hundred words.”

Ginny Prior’s article “Enjoying a World of Beauty at the University of Califorina, Berkeley, Gardens” ran in the East Bay’s Hills Newspapers and on contracostatimes.com.

Susan Alcorn emailed a mid-trip report during her dramatic backpacking trip to Patagonia in March.