Meet & Greet Writing Colleagues, Panelists, Presenters, Round Table Hosts, and Exhibitors
Meet Writing Colleagues at T&W Spring ’11, Willows Lodge
Liz Hamill works from her home base in San Jose, CA. An expert on travel in California she has written five California guidebooks for the Moon Handbook series. At the present time Liz’s main focus is writing about people who travel with hidden disabilities and often with chronic pain as well. She has started writing a travel book series on inclusive travel that will focus on responsible and inclusive travel resources and destinations on the West Coast, Hawaii, and abroad. “I rarely find photographs that show individuals with disabilities in a positive light,” she explains. “So I now do most of my own photography for articles and my guidebook series.”
Jack Harrington works primarily from his home in North Kitsap County but he also travels throughout the Puget Sound region including Seattle, Bellevue, and Edmonds. An active member of the Kitsap Peninsula Convention and Visitor Bureau as well as, in the past, Seattle-King County CVB, he’s spent some 40 years in the travel industry. His writing interests include horticultural topics and destinations, particularly those fitting the agri-tourism niche in the region and across the country. “My horticultural interests also stem from my wife’s Labyrinth Hill lavender growing business,” he explains. Jack notes being “a reasonably capable photographer,” having experience as a reporter-editor and photographer in southern California for newspapers and trade publications.
Deborah Stone is based in the Seattle area and, as a staff writer for a community newspaper, Northwest News, she focuses on arts & entertainment, travel, health & recreation and human interest features. She also reviews area restaurants in her column, Dining with Deb. She has written for the Kitsap Sun, Northwest Travel magazine, Northwest Prime Time, Queen Anne News and Travelworld International magazine. “I enjoy traveling with my family and finding off-the-beaten-path gems in the region and abroad,” she says.
Meet Round Table Discussion Hosts
Amanda Castleman is based in the Seattle area and teaches Travel Writing online with www.writers.com. She specializes in travel, adventure, the environment and women’s issues and she has published in a number of online and print markets including The International Herald Tribune, Italy Daily, Wired, Salon, The Athens News, and the UK’s Guardian and Mail on Sunday. Amanda will host the Travel Writing 101 Round Table. One of her unforgettable experiences? She once lived on a traditional narrowboat, moored on the Oxford Canal in England. Check out Amanda’s blog, www.roadremedies.blogspot.com for eclectic and fun travel entries from both home base and abroad.
Marilyn McFarlane is based in the Portland area and she will co-host the Travel Blogging Round Table with Terri Fogarty also based in Portland. Marilyn blogs at www.lightheartedtravel.wordpress.com and Terri’s site is www.EuropeUpClose.com. Terri enjoys a passion for France in particular but also loves all of Europe and enjoys sharing destinations and great vacation ideas for traveling easily abroad. Marilyn has published a number of travel guides including Quick Escapes in the Pacific Northwest and Best Places to Stay in the Northwest.
Meet Regional Travel & Tourism Exhibitors
Una Boyle, Executive Director of the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau does a bit of writing in her spare time. She writes for and edits Coast Food and Arts magazine which covers the peninsula and several north coastal towns on the Oregon side of the river. Una and her Exhibit table assistant, Christopher Lloyd of Columbia River Eco Tours, will bring lots of ideas for writers from the Long Beach area, get ready to connect! Check the VB’s website at www.funbeach.com.
Robin Jacobson, Public Relations Manager with San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau, has a job to die for. She gets to ride ferries and tout the wonders of Orcas, Lopez, Shaw, and San Juan islands, the four most populated of the more than 175 islands in the watery region around Rosario Strait, Haro Strait and a bit northwest of the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Such a lucky person, right? Robin will jump aboard a ferry with materials for writers along with dozens of article and story ideas about the islands.
