John Montgomery and I just spent one month exploring the nooks and crannies of Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon in order to learn more about this important region and its peoples. More is coming up when we do some presentations/slide shows about our experiences for BATW on August 21 and the Foreign Travel...

[Many thanks to Suzie Rodriguez for writing all of this piece except Edward Hasbrouck’s section, which I wrote. Resources and links provided by the speakers are at the bottom of the post. – April Orcutt, BATW Website Editor] – - – - – - – - – - BATW's Ethics...

Lee Foster The Rebecca Bruns Award is awarded bi-annually by Bay Area Travel Writers to one of its members whose dedication, both personally and professionally, has had a significant influence on fellow travel writers and their profession. Naturally, outstanding success is part of the equation, but...

The following information is from the BATW Yahoo Group and is an exchange of tales of copyright infringement and tips for trying to solve those problems.  If you’re not yet a BATW Yahoo Group member, contact David Sanger to join. — April Orcutt BATW Website Editor – - – -...

cover of Tom Wilmer's Wine Seekers' Guide to Livermore Valley Congratulations go to Tom Wilmer, whose new book, The Wine Seekers Guide to Livermore Valley, will debut at the Taste of Terroir in Livermore Valley on July 22nd and be available to the public in August. – - – - - Georgia...

Here’s news from your BATW Website Editor, April Orcutt: My latest article for Travel + Leisure Online, “America’s Best Beach Boardwalks,” was “repurposed” for NBC’s (or MSNBC’s) The Today Show and ran on television on June 23rd. I wrote the story for Travel...

Sandy Sims‘s “Livermore Valley California Wineries” article was recently posted on iNeTours.com, Lee Nelson’s travel website, with supporting photographs and maps by Lee. Sandy’s article includes 41 short pieces about individual wineries and uses research done by Tom Wilmer...

Dick Jordan reports that HarperCollins Publishers has asked him to write a review of a new book, 101 Places Not To See Before You Die, for his Tales Told From The Road travel blog.  The publisher describes the book by writer Catherine Price as “a spirited, ingenious, tongue-in-cheek guide to some...

Village Voice bookstore on the Left Bank in Paris (photos © John Montgomery) Diane LeBow reads at the Village Voice bookstore in Paris (photo © John Montgomery) Diane LeBow’s reading at Village Voice Bookstore on the Left Bank in Paris on June 1 went very well.  Diane read from her story,...

My app San Francisco Travel and Photo Guide was declared a Staff Favorite by Apple in their iTunes App Store late Thursday, May 20. By Saturday sales exploded. I had 58 downloads on Saturday and ranked as #45 among all paid travel apps. I write up this saga for your amusement and have put it on my...