If you’ve already been here, you know there is so much to write home about.

In these two-day workshops we’ll work on one-two-three simple goals:

1. Crafting and streamlining a creative, publishable travel story.

2. Listing the many outlets and publications, both hard copy and online, where you can send your work for serious consideration.

3. Getting your work sent out now.

• The workshops will be given in the beautiful Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, near easy public transportation, hotels, restaurants, and great shopping. (It’s a $30 taxi ride from Ezeiza Int’l Airport.)

• These workshops will be fun, no-pressure, and full of inspiration. Each one is limited to no more than eight participants.

• Each workshop lasts two full (eight-hour) days, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A typical Argentine lunch (for omnivores and herbivores) is included in the price, along with free beverages throughout the day.

• The workshops are given by me, Camille Cusumano, journalist, book author, and editor with 30 years in publishing. See my Home Page.

February is summer’s end in Argentina and the living is easy and exciting. March is like September in the eastern United States – still warm and pleasant.

Price per workshop:

$195 (for two eight-hour days of instruction)

Choose from any of three sessions:

February 11–12, 2010

March 9–10, 2010

March 17–18, 2010

Extra, at no further charge: Each participant is entitled to a private follow-up consultation on your progress, in person, by phone, or email.

Reserve by December 30, 2009, below, with a $50 deposit, refundable up to a week before workshop starts. Balance due a week before workshop starts. Email me with any questions and tell me a little about yourself: ocaramia@earthlink.net or ocaramia@mac.com.

Workshops by Dates

February 11-12 $195.00 March 9-10 $195.00 March 17-18 $195.00

Mendoza, Argentina, July 25 to August 1, 2009

Camille Cusumano has been invited to teach a travel writing workshop in Mendoza, Argentina’s sunny wine country at the base of the Andes. Space is limited so if you’re interested see below for details and sign up soon.

There’s no more inspiring way to practice travel writing than to immerse yourself in a foreign culture. You find yourself crafting image-rich journal entries or lyrical postcards and emails. But how do you fashion prose with style and substance — that give your words broader appeal, longer shelf life, and publishing opportunities?

Learn how in a workshop, “Substance and Style in Travel Writing” from July 25 to August 1, 2009 while immersing yourself in the vibrant Argentine culture in Mendoza, the lovely wine country, located at the base of the Andes Mountains.

Think world-class wines, grass- fed beef, small-farm produce, and tango. Camille Cusumano, author of Tango, an Argentine Love Story, will lead the workshop, which is sponsored by the Mendoza Intercultural Association (MIA), a non-profit association whose purpose is to promote intercultural exchange between Argentina, the U.S. and other world cultures.

Your lodging and the workshop is at Posada de Rosas, a boutique inn in Mendoza, perfectly situated for exploring the lively town that is sure to inspire many story ideas. Your lodging hosts are American writer Ellen Hoffman and her artist partner, Riccardo Accurso.

In the first group session, participants will set a personal goal to accomplish during the workshop. In subsequent sessions, Camille will guide participants through topics including: the art of reporting and researching, how to pitch your article or book to an editor, how to find your own voice as a writer, self-editing, and more. More on the instructor.

Class sessions will alternate with a series of activities including visits to local wineries, a full-day excursion into the Andes mountains, and an opportunity to meet with local Mendoza writers. Camille will also be available for individual consultations.

WORKSHOP DATES: July 25- August 1, 2009
PROGRAM COST: $1,495.00 U.S., double occupancy; $350.00 U.S. single supplement. (Fee covers lodging, tuition and excursions, most lunches and some dinners, but not airfare).
REGISTRATION Deadline: June 1, 2009. Space is limited, so reserve early.
TO REGISTER AND FOR MORE INFORMATION ON COST, LODGING, MENDOZA: contact Ellen Hoffman at
ellen@mdz-intercultural.org or 304.876.2243 in the U.S.

INFORMATION ON THE WRITING WORKSHOP: Contact Camille at ocaramia@earthlink.net.

Space in the workshop is limited, so reserve now by contacting Ellen at Posada de Rosas:

ellen@mdz-intercultural.org .

“Rolls of veal or horse and tomatoes,” the translation read.

There it was.

In that moment, when I expected to feel delight, a seed of doubt arose. I was not certain whether I could actually eat an equine. I had never owned a horse; my personal experience of them was not unlike my experience of cows, visible chiefly in rural fields, and from a distance. I eat steak occasionally, but I began to worry that horses might somehow be different. Could I actually consume a Seabiscuit steak? A Black Beauty roast? Filet o’ Flicka?”

This event is free. Location:

Book Passage Bookstore
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA 94925
(415) 927-0960
(800) 999-7909

Kraig Lieb and Michael Shapiro celebrate the publication of Guatemala: A Journey Through the Land of the Maya. Lieb, a photographer for Lonely Planet, will show slides illuminating the land, traditions and celebrations of the Maya in Guatemala. Shapiro, who wrote the text for this pictorial book, will address questions about traveling to Guatemala and the best places to see there. Saturday, Nov. 8, 7pm at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, Calif. 415-927-0960 or 800-999-7909 (toll free). Free.

Kraig Lieb and Michael Shapiro celebrate the publication of Guatemala: A Journey Through the Land of the Maya. Lieb, a photographer for Lonely Planet, will show slides illuminating the land, traditions and celebrations of the Maya in Guatemala. Shapiro, who wrote the text for this pictorial book, will address questions about traveling to Guatemala and the best places to see there. Friday, Nov. 7, 7pm at Copperfield’s Books, 138 N. Main St., Sebastopol, Calif., 707-823-2618. Free.

Sunday, October 12, 2008, 1 p.m to 4 p.m.

at the MUSEO ITALOAMERICANO,

Fort Mason Center, Building C, San Francisco
(415) 673-2200
sfmuseo@sbcglobal.net

A Tango Party

Writer Camille Cusumano will read from her latest book, Tango, an Argentine Love Story

In honor of the fact that Museo ItaloAmericano has offered to host the launch of her travel memoir, the author will talk briefly about how Italians put the go in Tango. Most seasoned travelers know that Buenos Aires is more Italian than anything else. But did you know that the most esteemed tango composers—DiSarli, D’Agostino, D’Arienzo, Biagi, Piazzola, Pugliese, to name but a few—whose music is played even today, were Italian?

Watch tango demos by well-known local tango dancers from the troupe, Libertango. Dance or just watch and listen to tango music from the Golden Era and contemporary composers. There’ll be refreshments and many literati, all in a beautiful venue on the San Francisco Bay, the Museo ItaloAmericano. View its latest exhibition for free while there (donations welcome).

Parking is easy and cheap in the Fort Mason lot.

The author wishes to express her deepest gratitude to the MUSEO ITALOAMERICANO, not only for its superb artistic and cultural contributions to the community, but for its continued support of her literary efforts. In 2000, the Museo hosted a huge book party for her first novel, The Last Cannoli, serving—what else?—several hundred cannoli and wine to the many satisfied patrons in attendance.

Click here for directions and to learn more about the Museo ItaloAmericano.

Praise for Tango

(Click on the names of these esteemed authors to learn more about them at their Web sites.)

“Tango is a remarkable addition to contemporary dharma literature. It reads like a thriller, a romance, and above all it shows the redemptive potential of a sincere spiritual practice.”
— Sylvia Boorstein, PhD, author of Happiness Is an Inside Job

“Camille Cusumano has lived out many a mid-life woman’s fantasy: packing her bags, slit skirts, and tango shoes and spending a year in Argentina. The result is a memoir that is like the dance itself: smooth, absorbing, and erotically charged.”
— Laura Fraser , author of An Italian Affair

“The transformative power of the tango embrace beautifully captured. Bravo!”
— Marina Palmer, author of Kiss & Tango

Sunday, December 16 at 7 p.m.
Book Passage
Corte Madera

Saturday, January 5 at 5 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
Arden Fair shopping mall
Sacramento

Monday, January 14 at 5:30 p.m.
Book Passage at the Ferry Plaza
San Francisco, CA

Wednesday, January 16 at 7 p.m.
Get Lost Travel Books
San Francisco

“These writers have wonderful stories to tell. I am proud they chose my homeland for their unique gathering and even prouder that the resulting book demonstrates the power of place in inspiring imaginations and nurturing creative souls.”
– Maureen Wheeler, Lonely Planet Publications

Venturing in Ireland is filled with true stories that transport the reader to the southwest region of the Emerald Isle where a dynamic young society thrives, pubs are filled with lively folk music, and modern and traditional culture coexist in a land where ancient stone tombs predate the Pyramids. Explore aspects of life in Ireland from luxuriant gardens to local stout breweries, from castles and ancient ruins to whale watching in the Celtic Sea. Join these writers as they plunge into Irish culture.

Monday, December 10 at 5:30
Book Passage at the Ferry Building
San Francisco

Parking in the lot directly north of the Ferry Building validates with purchase.

It’s time to take charge of how you appear on the Web — to prospective clients, editors, publishers, employers and readers. In this forum, top designers and successful writers will show you the secrets to a productive Web site. You’ll learn whether to hire a designer or do it yourself, how to sell books and articles through your site, what you can get for how much money, what makes a site pop up high on a search, and much more. Don’t miss this informative seminar from the northern California chapter of the leading association of professional independent writers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA).

WHEN: November 7, 2007, 7 p.m.
WHERE: The Mechanics Institute ( map)
RESERVATIONS and information: Laird Harrison laird_harrison@hotmail.com 510-530-6699
COST: $5 ASJA members, $15 nonmembers

The Panelists

• Tim Ware of Hyperarts has designed sights for writers including Patricia Holt and Terry Ryan, musicians Mike Marshal and Tuck & Patti and practitioners of many other professions
• Bradley Charbonneau himself a travel writer, designs Web sites for other writers and writers groups, including San Francisco Lit Quake and folks in many other walks of life.
• Patrick Miller seven-title author, magazine journalist, and indie publisher whose online publishing guide ranks at the top of Google and Yahoo searches for the term “how to get published”
• Gini Scott, a published author has built 25 Web sites using some to promote her books and others to connect writers to publishers and agents.

Michael Shapiro will moderate a panel discussing “The Essence of Travel Writing” at the Sonoma County Book Fair in the Sonoma County Library, at 3rd and E streets in downtown Santa Rosa. The panel includes: legendary adventure writer Tim Cahill, Around the Bloc author Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Travelers’ Tales editor Larry Habegger, and Es Cuba author Lea Aschkenas. For more info, see the schedule at the book festival site.