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 news 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.

Elaine/Go Girl 2 News!

I am thrilled to announce my partnership with Panorama Journal in the production of their epic and historic Paris edition (8/1/25). Working with Panorama writer and Go Girl contributor, Faith Adiele as well as Panorama Director, Matt Webb, we created a special feature section that showcases two essays from the anthology that I edited, “Go Girl: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure” (1997), and two essays from its sequel, “Go Girl 2 (2024)”. We also included an updated reflection from me on my first trip to Paris where I caught a travel bug that altered the trajectory of my life and career in wonderous ways.

The work of Go Girl contributors has been joined with over 50 other writers in sharing their favorite Paris stories. The edition has been divided into 12 chapters, e.g., Decolonized Travel, Memoir, Books, Fiction, Poetry and Nature to make it easier to navigate this massive offering.

In view of how much I love Paris and how Paris has returned that love to me, I am thrilled to have been provided with this marvelous opportunity to pay tribute to the City of Lights!!!

Feature story in Essence

I am grateful and gleeful to report that the 2025 May/June print issue of Essence Magazine had an almost 2 page feature on me, my travel journeys and my travel journalism. It is such an honor to have my work celebrated in their annual travel awards issue!!! The article is also online!

I appreciated the effort that the writer, Veronica Wells-Puoane, put into interviewing me and creating the story. See pages 84-85 to bear witness to her remarkable work. Here is hoping the article will encourage more of my sistren to claim their global citizenship.

Baytimes newspaper - It was an honor to have my travel books, travel journalism and journeys lifted up in praise in a wonderful article written by the renowned author, Jewelle Gomez, for the SF Baytimes Newspaper. The piece is entitled the “Long and Winding Road.”

It was a distinct pleasure to be interviewed by John Wroblewski of Globaltravelerusa.com.. His great questions brought out the best in me! What an honor and delight to be able to share my love for travel in such a unique way. A written review of the interview! The actual interview.

Gurl - You have never heard it like this! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIgbo7Tg6FE/​

Calls for Submission, Jobs & Travel Media Opportunities

• Intrepid Times is thrilled to announce their 10th creative non-fiction and travel writing competition: A Book Led Me There – entry closes 8/31.
• The Black Ordinary welcomes pitches from writers of all backgrounds and experience levels to send ideas for writing topics relevant to the preservation of Black-American histories and culture. ​
• Award-winning publisher Travelers’ Tales is the sponsor of the Solas Awards, an annual competition to honor excellence in travel writing. Deadline for the Twentieth Annual Solas Awards is September 21, 2025.
• Writer’s Digest is a well-respected magazine about the art of writing. They accept both manuscript submissions and queries for articles that “inform, instruct, and inspire” readers.
• Hammer & Hope is a quarterly magazine about Black politics and culture. Their aim is to breathe life into the transformative ideas pointing us towards the world we deserve. They accept pitches from writers at submissions@hammerandhope.org. ​
• Business Insider is looking for freelance writers to work on lifestyle stories.​
• MadameNoire is an online lifestyle publication that gives Black women information on a wide variety of topics including health issues, relationship advice, travel tips and career trends. They are seeking submissions.
• ​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.

Travel Trade and Travel Writing Events

• Black Travel Expo July 2025 In Atlanta – Report Back: Celebrating Diversity, Empowering Black Travelers, And Shaping The Future Of Global Travel

• ​Black Travel Summit 2025, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - November 13th – 16^th Diaspórica: Legacy in Motion is a celebration of Black travel as both a personal and professional journey and a collective calling to continue shaping the Black travel narrative.
• ​Diaspora Salon - A yearly rendezvous celebrating diverse cultural and entrepreneurial initiatives of trailblazers of African ancestry.

Travel Writing and Travel News

• ‘Paris Here I Come!’ In 1953, Ollie Stewart, a correspondent for the Afro-American newspaper, wrote a guidebook to the French capital aimed at Black travelers. Nearly 75 years later, his grandniece followed in his footsteps and wrote about it for the NYT.
• US Black Travelers Now Represent A $145 Billion Market!
• Black women are showing up and out in the travel industry. These Black Women Are Making Travel History One Trip At A Time!
• How The Caribbean Green Book Is Changing The Way We Travel The Islands.

• ​The Slave Wrecks Project is an international network of institutions and individuals that investigate the global history and enduring legacies of enslavement across the African diaspora.
• ​Belonging and the Healing Power of Place: an interview with “Go Girl” contributor Lisette Austin on the “Flourish in the Foreign” podcast hosted by Christine Job.
• ​Source To Sea ~ Devin Brown is the first black woman to paddle the 2350-mile length of the Mississippi River from Lake Itasca, Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.
• A Digital Green Book for the Culture is a roadmap for navigating the digital world with purpose, clarity, and confidence.
• ​BWA Magazine (Black Women Authors) celebrates the profound impact of women authors, whose voices resonate across generations, continents, and cultures.
• 6 Black-Owned Wellness Retreats To Try according to BlackDoctor.org.
• Blackpackerlife and jamiewdowns on IG - Outdoor adventure trips and information.

“Tangible things are easy to give, but to know and love a bit of the world so well that you can give it to someone else … is a rare talent.” Barbara Lawrence

Travel TV, Podcasts, Film and Internet

• “Solo Traveling With Tracee Ellis Ross,” is a TV series that is now available for free on The Roku Channel.

• ​BLACK GIRL IN PARIS - A Love Letter to Becoming ✨Brought to life by filmmakers Natalie Baszile and Hyacinth Parker. This deeply resonant coming-of-age film centers on Blackness, queerness, and creative longing with the nuance and care they deserve.
• ​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.

Misc.

• 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 Global, Eat Local - This site helps you find local food while traveling.
• Discover things to do in your favorite city with “Things In.” ​
• These 12 apps and websites make award redemptions easier to find.
• Skyscanner’s “whole month” search tool will help you find the cheapest day to fly to and from your destination in a selected month.
• Tell ”Savvy Search” what kind of vacation is on your mind or simply ask for inspiration, and you’ll get a curated list of travel recommendations.
• ​10 Travel Tips From Experts Who’ve Been Everywhere
• Kayak’s “Best Time to Travel” page helps travelers determine the ideal time to book and travel based on their origin, destination, and trip length.
• U.S. Airlines Are Reportedly Charging Solo Travelers More for Plane Tickets—Here’s What You Need to Know
• ​Kindred is a community of members sharing their real homes. There’s no membership fee. Just pay a cleaning & service fee per trip.
• Europe recorded 747 million international tourist arrivals in 2024, according to the UN Data from Eurostat which showed that last year was the biggest tourism summer on record for the EU, with August alone recording 494 million tourism nights, up 16% from the same month a decade prior.

“Travel is a quiet rebellion. It says, ‘I won’t be spoonfed fear and fed lies about people I’ve never met. I’ll see for myself. And when I do—I find mothers, fathers, dreamers, and survivors. Not enemies. Just humans. Loving their kids. Trying to live in peace. It’s the kind of truth that dismantles hate.” Michelle Baumgard

Travel Writing: Biz/Classes/Info

• Through a Love of Note-Taking, José Naranja Documents His Travels One Tiny Detail at a Time.
• How much does guidebook writing actually pay?
• How To Start A Travel Blog (Properly!) – A Beginner’s Guide
• The Future of Trav​el Writing. What will we be writing in the next decade? Two seasoned pros make their predictions.
• ​500 Print Magazines That Want To Publish Your Travel Writing.
• TALKING TRAVEL WRITING - As a free reader, you’ll get a monthly email with some of the latest insights and tips from the travel writing world.
• 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.

“I Shall Live Bad If I Do Not Write and I Shall Write Bad If I Do Not Live.” Françoise Sagan

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.

Ugogurl Productions

​www.ugogurl.com​

Elaineruthlee@gmail.com

2340 Powell street #160, Emeryville, CA 94608
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