|
Hello, Hola, Bonjour and Ciao,
I hope this note finds you in good health and good spirits. In the spirit of sisterhood and collective upliftment, I am writing to share some travel media related information that recently came my way.
I publish this newsletter 2-3 times per year with the goal of informing the African American travel media community about upcoming events, news, calls for submission, residencies and updates on my travel work. Here’s hoping you find something interesting or useful within.
Calls for Submission, Jobs & Travel Media Opportunities
- The Emerging Voices Fellowship provides a virtual five-month immersive mentorship program for early-career writers from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing world. Deadline 1/31/26.
- Funding for Black Women Writers and Events by Alicia Joy
- OkayAfrica is a media company that connects a global audience to Africa. They are seeking experienced writers and editors who are interested in regular freelancing. Contact them at aaron@okayafrica.com. To learn more, refer to this Twitter thread and this page.
- Scalawag is accepting pitches on Southern Black History. They’re looking for long and short-form essays, media reviews, poetry, art, photography, and short fiction submissions. Send your pitches to pitches@scalawagmagazine.org. To read their post, click here. To visit their website, click here.
- Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place & Nature is accepting submissions through 14th February 2026 for the March 2026 issue:Entitled: Reflections. They acept absolutely all genres of writing. In this REFLECTIONS edition, we ask authors to look at the large or small experiences that define our public and private selves, our moments of learning. For more information.
- 1/12/26 post - Travel + Leisure is interested in stories about a place that is misunderstood or changing, stories about seeing the world in a new way, and especially stories by writers or photographers who bring a new voice to the conversation about a place or topic. To learn more, refer to their pitching guidelines.
- 1/12/26 post - Smithsonian Magazine is seeking stories on science, history, art, popular culture and innovation. To learn more, refer to this page.
- Matador Network is looking for travel stories about sports fandom/travel around sports and sporting events (including F1, golf, tennis, and the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026)” For details, refer to this page.
- Going.com regularly seek calls for pitches on a variety of travel-related topics. According to their write for us page, their rates range from $250 to $600.
- Jobs for Travel Pros, Digital Nomads and Creators of Content at Travel Massive.
- Find loads of Calls for Submission for Travel Writers in Freedom With Writing's weekly newsletter.
- Blavity (parent company of Travel Noire) has several job openings.
- Black Travel Alliance has travel related job listings!
- Adventure Travel Trade Association has an ongoing job listing board.
- CALLING ALL Woman Travel AUTHORS: Have you published a travel memoir or book? If so, email editor@journeywoman.com to be featured in their series on women's travel books.
Elaine/Go Girl 2 News!
- I am thrilled to announce that the story that I wrote about my Portugal bicycle/river cruise adventure was featured in the November edition of Cuisinenoir.com. It is an honor, privilege and delight to have my work featured by its James Beard award winning editor and founder, V. Sheree Williams. The article was also syndicated on Yahoo!, Newsbreak, Apple News, Smart News, Hayti, Google News and HubNews.
- Good news! I will be a featured speaker at the 2026 SF Bay Area Travel and Adventure Show which will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center. This was event #5 for the event producers’ national/8 city tour. On March 21, I will be teaching a class entitled “Travel Writing 101: Breaking into Travel Journalism.”
- Go Girl 2 featured in BWA (Black Women Authors) Magazine Good news, BWA (Black Women Authors) Magazine showcased a story about me in their July edition. I really love their description of the book. Giving thanks and praise in the spirit of sisterhood.
“Elaine Lee is a pioneer travel writer who has dedicated her work to celebrating the rich adventures spirit of black women around the glow. And go girl too Lee curates a powerful collection of stories that highlight the courage, curiosity, and resilience of black women explorers. From solo journeys across the continent to group adventures and far off lands, these narratives shine light on the transformative power of travel. Through vivid storytelling, Elaine Lee not only inspires readers to see the world, but also affirms that black women have always been and will continue to be fearless voyagers carving out space in every corner of the globe." BWA
Travel Writing and Travel News
- Hidden Hospitality: Untold Stories of Black Hotel, Motel, and Resort Owners from the Pioneer Days to the Civil Rights Era—a visual and narrative celebration of a vital but often overlooked chapter of African American history by Calvin Stovall. Brown Books Publishing Group 10/25 www.calvinstovall.com.
- These Trailblazing Black Women Are Paving the Way In Travel and Tourism
- Women Trailblazers in Travel from JourneyWomen.com
- The Blackstar of Africa – Getting to Know Ghana Through History, Culture, Food and Fun by V. Sheree Williams, editor of Cuisinenoir.com.
- Chobe Game Lodge is home to Africa’s first all-women guiding team, the now famed Chobe Angels.
- Kelis gives an update on her new expat life running a farm in Kenya: ‘It’s the African dream’
- How Black Expats Who Moved To Ghana Are Faring Today
- Negro Bill Canyon near Moab, Utah, a popular hiking area, was officially renamed Grandstaff Canyon by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor William Grandstaff, a Black rancher and former slave who lived there, removing the racially offensive term from the area’s name.
- For a More Creative Brain, Travel: How international experiences can open the mind to new ways of thinking. By Brent Crane
- I visited every country in the world without flying. Here are eight things I learned! by Thor Pedersen
- Representing, connecting & supporting every brave woman / nonbinary person who has ever packed a bag and headed out into the world to see what would happen next!
Travel TV, Podcasts, Film and Internet
- DIVERSEEGO is the first travel streaming TV network to inspire Blacks & Latinos to travel the U.S.,with travel shows produced by Blacks & Latinos. They are now recruiting Black & Brown travel hosts + content creators.
- Black Beyond Borders is about capturing the beauty and dynamism of Blackness through Ebony Walden’s eyes, around the world, on the ground, with the tools she has in her hands.
- An amazing African American artistic freediver with footage from around the world.
- Travel Writing Podcast from Intrepid Times. Go behind the scenes with today’s top travel writers and discover how their books were crafted. Enjoy interviews with writers who travel and travelers who write and learn about the challenges and opportunities facing travel writers today.
Travel tips
- BeWelcome is the world’s largest free hospitality community. Stay with locals, host travelers in your home, meet people, make new friends all over the world and share authentic travel experiences.
- Trustroots is a hospitality community for travelers that was organized for sharing, hosting and getting people together. They want a world that encourages trust and adventure.
- I Got an Airline to TRIPLE My Lost-Luggage Reimbursement, and You Can Too
- Internations is the largest community for expats and global minds worldwide. It is a platform where open-minded individuals from different cultures can network, socialize, and find trustworthy information and services, wherever they are.
- Airport Guest Passes Are the Little-Known Way to Meet Family Inside the Airport
- Safe And Not Sorry is a platform that curates and compares travel medical insurance for long-term travelers, digital nomads, and expats.
- SpareFare, Transfer Travel, and Roomer are online marketplaces for reselling non-refundable travel bookings, allowing people with canceled plans to recoup costs and others to find discounted flights, hotel rooms, and vacation packages by buying these secondhand trips.
- Wise - The fast way to send money abroad without the high expense of Western Union.
- ExpertFlyer.com® was designed to meet the needs of the frequent flyer, the airline mileage program "elite tier" passengers, professional travel managers, and the occasional air traveler looking for the best values.
- In Europe, 29 countries replaced passport stamps with a new Entry/Exist System (EES). The policy, which has been delayed for years, went into effect starting Oct. 12 and is being introduced gradually with the full implementation expected to be complete by April 10, 2026.
- The Cheapest Places to Live in the World: 2026
- How to Enter the US With Your Digital Privacy Intact - Here are a few steps you can take to minimize the risk of Customs and Border Protection accessing your data.
Travel Trade and Travel Writing Events
• WITS is the largest gathering of women travel creators in the world and the premier event for travel's top marketing talent. in travel. They are heading to Chattanooga, Tennessee for their 13th in-person event. 29-31 MAY 2026
• Adventure Travel World Summit connects global leaders, forges meaningful partnerships, and will allow you to discover why the extraordinary province of Québec is setting the standard for sustainable, community-driven adventure tourism. 14-17 September 2026
- Go Girl contributor, Faith Adiele will be teaching a Saturday morning travel writing workshop with travel veteran Larry Habegger, as well as the weeklong, Breath & Water: Memoir and Personal Essay: Writers at all levels welcome. Early bird registration for the O’ahu Writers Retreat (April 20-26, 2026) ends January 31.
Travel Writing: Biz/Classes/Info
-
Travel Writing Workshop in Provence May 17-23, 2026
- TravMedia's Journalist Alerts are here to help you gather information faster and easier, so you can impress your editor, delight your readers, and get back to doing what you love – hitting the road and telling great stories! Think of them as magic requests sent directly to PR inboxes. Post a Journalist Alert here.
- How To Start A Travel Blog (Properly!) – A Beginner’s Guide
- The Future of Travel Writing. What will we be writing in the next decade? Two seasoned pros make their predictions.
- The Travel Writing Success Monthly Newsletter and Resource Guide produced by award-winning travel writer Tim Leffel are amazing! The third edition of Travel Writing 2.0 is available now.
About Go Girl 2
Go Girl 2 is a rich collection of fifty-four powerful travel tales, poems, and photos that will inspire, educate, and entertain black women globetrotters, as well as provide vicarious thrills for the avid armchair traveler. Dive into stories by a new generation of travel writers, including luminaries Lola Akinmade Åkerström, Lebawit Lily Girma, Martinque Lewis, Rue Mapp, and Noo Saro-Wiwa, on spicy adventures in the frozen Arctic to sun-drenched blue Caribbean, to the discovery of cultural treasures in Africa, Australia, the Americas, and Asia. To round out the anthology, stories by Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Jill Nelson, Linda Villarosa, Faith Adiele, and Evelyn White, along with other crowd favorites, have been republished from the original Go Girl. At the end you will find a bonus resource and planning guides.
To order Go Girl 2, you can simply go to Amazon for print copy or kindle. If you want a signed copy directly from the publisher, just send a check for $25 plus $5 for P&H to UGOGURL PRODUCTIONS • 2340 Powell Street, Suite 160, Emeryville, CA 94608. For more than one or special requests simply email me at elaineruthlee@gmail or call 510 603 5672. You can also venmo Elaine at: @eleegogirl or send a payment to Paypal at: @UgogurlProductions.
Elaine Lee is the editor of “Go Girl: The Black Woman's Book of Travel and Adventure". She is also a San Francisco/Bay Area based lawyer, globetrotter, and travel journalist. She has visited 70 countries and completed two solo trips around the world. Her travel writings have been showcased in numerous national magazines, anthologies, and websites. She has shared her love of travel on many local and national radio, TV shows and travel conferences. Her website ugogurl.com is a leading portal for information on black travel, black travel writing and travel media information.
|
|
|
