World Hum

Back to The Beach: A Lost Interview with Alex Garland

2019-07-23T23:49:55+00:00

Twenty years ago, Frank Bures chatted with a young Alex Garland about his travel novel, The Beach. Bures recently unearthed the interview--a time capsule from the dawn of global backpacking.

A Sort of Homecoming

2018-07-21T16:25:34+00:00

Ivana Waz left Serbia for America when she was 14. She returned to her homeland with her son to answer the question: Was she more Serbian or American?

A Honeymoon of One’s Own

2017-06-14T04:11:17+00:00

Abbie Kozolchyk traveled the globe to research a National Geographic book on romantic travel. That's when she discovered her inner stalker.

2016 Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference

2016-08-09T17:46:41+00:00

This year’s Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference—or as many justly call it, summer camp for travel writers—kicks off Thursday in Corte Madera, California. If you’ve ever wanted to study travel writing with a host of accomplished writers and editors, this is the time and place. The four-day conference features classes and panel discussions about the art, craft and business of travel writing and photography—and, just as importantly, hours of conversation over wine and dinner.

I’ll be teaching a series of morning classes with Los Angeles Times staff writer Chris Reynolds.

Also on the faculty are World Hum contributors Lavinia Spalding, Pam Mandel, Candace Rardon, Michael Shapiro, Andrea Johnson, Larry Habegger, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, Spud Hilton and Abbie Kozolchyk. Other luminaries include Don George, Tim Cahill, Elizabeth Harryman, Jeff Greenwald, Janis Cooke Newman and Robert Holmes.

Hope to see you there.

How Korean Karaoke Changed My Life

2016-08-09T17:05:21+00:00

After being turned away from the school choir, Lavinia Spalding lost her love of public singing. Then she moved to South Korea.

Talking Travel Writing at AWP 2016

2016-03-19T16:30:29+00:00

I’ll be moderating a panel on travel writing—Does Travel Writing Have a Place in the Age of Instagram and Google Earth?—at the AWP conference in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 2.

I’ll be joined by World Hum contributors Tom Swick and Pam Mandel, as well as travel writer and novelist Janis Cooke Newman.

If you’ll be at the conference, stop in and say hi!

Riding the Slot

2016-03-19T16:09:52+00:00

As she struggled to make sense of her father's final days, Lenore Greiner sailed across a treacherous patch of San Francisco Bay

Road Trip to the Spiritual Assembly

2016-01-26T16:18:29+00:00

When her Aunt Noonie needed company on an annual pilgrimage, Nancy Davis Kho tagged along. Just how "woo-woo" would things get?

The Intricate Weave

2015-12-09T16:20:31+00:00

Don George was in Cremona, Italy, and grieving the loss of his father, when he heard the violin soar

War Story

2015-09-23T15:48:01+00:00

Could a trip to the old battlefields of Europe with his veteran father work a little magic on their relationship? Jim Benning hoped so.

Walking Off Writer’s Burnout

2015-09-17T17:33:59+00:00

Jeff Biggers hadn't written anything original in months. The joy was gone. Then he and a friend went for a stroll in Bologna.

The Accidental Hitchhiker

2015-08-14T14:26:57+00:00

In Samoa, Celeste Brash gave a ride to a man she didn't know. Their encounter will stay with her forever.