Quebec Writers' Federation Workshops

Spring Session 2009

Develop your writing with the mentorship of an acclaimed professional writer and feedback from your peers.

Workshops take place at the QWF office, Suite 3, Atwater Library unless otherwise indicated.

MARKETING AND THE ART OF THE PITCH or PROFESSIONAL SECRETS OF A TRAVEL JOURNALIST

Saturday, May 9, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Lake Brome Community Centre, 270 Victoria St, Lac-Brome QC
Workshop leader: Cleo Paskal

The inside scoop on the nuts and bolts of being a successful travel writer, one of the world's most desirable jobs. Many of the marketing lessons are also applicable to other genres of feature writing (including health and beauty, entertainment, profiles, etc.).

Topics covered include: assessing markets; writing query letters; the difference between newspaper, magazine, radio and tv; clichés to avoid; basic story structure; what topics are "hot"; the role of photos; selling in the U.S. and U.K.; how to work with fact checkers; the ethics of freebies; how to handle more rejection than you've experienced since high school; and how to get your parents to store your boxes in their basement while you travel the world.

In-class discussion will centre on actual case studies. We will follow the tortuous path of one story from nebulous idea to six-page spread. Hand-outs include information on professional organizations, insider tips, writers guidelines and what never, ever to do when dealing with editors.

Workshop participants should bring along a sample of the magazine or newspaper that they dream about appearing in.

Cleo Paskal has written for The Economist, Sunday Times, Wired, Columbia Journalism Review, The Independent and many, many others. She hosted two travel shows for BBC radio, was a CBC radio travel columnist, wrote an Emmy award-winning TV series (Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within) and has won seventeen major travel writing awards, including the Grand Prize (best entry overall) from the North American Travel Journalists Association (twice). She has lectured at universities in Canada, the UK, India and New Zealand and ran a radio-training program in the Maldives. She is currently a Toronto Star travel columnist, and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London). For more: cleopaskal.com.

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