Seven days with Larry Habegger (executive editor of Travelers’ Tales) on a classic Turkish gulet in the Aegean Sea

September 20-27, 2008

On this seven-day intensive workshop sailing on a traditional Turkish yacht you’ll learn the ins and outs of crafting a superb story and how to bring your work to print, whether it’s a short essay or a book-length memoir. Larry Habegger, co-editor of Travelers’ Tales books, helps you develop powerful stories with simple tools and plot the course to successful publication.

In this workshop you will learn how to:

• unearth kernels of inspiration
• find the right way in
• create the ideal structure to give a story maximum substance and meaning
• access memory to add depth and texture
• use techniques of fiction to add drama and suspense
• craft the perfect ending
• edit to make the story a page-turner
• develop the kind of book proposal publishers are eager to see
• create the perfect marketing plan so your book will sell
• write like a poet but think like a publicist

Instructor, Larry Habegger

In almost thirty years in the travel writing business, both as a freelance travel writer and an editor of books and hundreds of stories in the Travelers’ Tales series, Larry Habegger has developed a fine eye for what makes a story work. He shares his knowledge at numerous writers’ conferences, writing workshops, and individual coaching sessions, both online and off.

He has been covering the world since his international travels began in the 1970s. As a freelance writer or almost three decades and syndicated columnist since 1985, Larry’s work has appeared in numerous major newspapers and magazines, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Travel & Leisure, and Outside. In 1993 Habegger founded the award-winning Travelers’ Tales publishing company with James and Tim O’Reilly, and as co-editor has helped edit all of the company’s books. Larry is an inspiring writing teacher and coach, and has been on the faculty of the Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference annually since 1994. He lives with his family on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco.

Program

Daily writing exercises will help you find the focus of your story, and discussions will provide guidance for shaping and polishing. Participants will gain confidence about what makes a story work and how to make it shine in the marketplace.

The group workshop will be structured around our tour of the Turkish coast and will include:

• maximum of 12 participants
• emphasis on personal travel narrative and memoir, but open to other forms
• hour-long group workshops each morning
• daily one-on-one consultations with Larry
• writing assignments to prime your pump
• afternoons devoted to writing and exploring the Turkish coast
• evening group reading and discussion of participants’ work
• write about your Turkish experience, craft journal notes into compelling stories, develop material you’re already working on
• come ready to write, share, learn, and have fun

And Much More…

We’ll begin in the internationally renowned resort of Bodrum and work our way down the Aegean coast and into the Mediterranean. You’ll see turtles nesting, sail past and hike among ancient ruins, visit Turkish villages, natural hot springs and a mud bath, explore inner waterways and learn to write and get published. All while reveling in a classic Blue Voyage of legend. Turkey is a beautiful country, and Turks ooze with hospitality. Don’t miss this chance of a lifetime!

WHAT PREVIOUS WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS HAVE TO SAY:

In the eye of the Aegean, with billowing sails as a backdrop, my writing found its new course – winged and unbridled. Robin Sparks’ writing seminar was heady and filled with heart. Aboard our gulet, our senses were heightened by the smells and tastes of great food and wine and through listening to the touching words penned by fellow travelers – a once-in-a-lifetime journey heightened by the vision of a seasoned teacher, Larry Habegger, who brought out the best in each of us. -Connie Collins, Journalist

When I first caught sight of our gulet, docked in a small bay protected by hills with the turquoise Mediterranean Sea gleaming in the background, it took my breath away. One minute I was sitting with a wonderful group of people, laughing, talking about our lives, about writing, and the next, diving off a classic Turkish gulet into the warm turquoise water below, and the next hiking past 9,000-year-old ruins. Larry, our writing writing teacher, was positively inspirational. And I learned so much from the other students. Sign me up! —Michelle Babcock

Price: $2500 USD

Includes:

• two hours instruction per day and private consultations with travel writer and co-editor of Travelers’ Tales Books, Larry Habegger
• three delicious meals per day and all drinks
• all land and water excursions
• use of all onboard water toys and equipment, including fishing rods
• full use of a luxurious classic Turkish yacht shared with a maximum of 12 students, your teacher and 3 Turkish crew members
• shared accommodation in a large air-conditioned double cabin with a private bath
• three Turkish crew members to make sure that the only work you do is write and play
• airport transfers
• and last but not least, laughter, exploration and camaraderie galore

The price does not include round trip airfare to Bodrum, Turkey from whence we will depart on our boat on Saturday, September 20, 2008. We have scheduled the workshop during the travel “shoulder season” so that students may benefit from lower airfares. If you would like assistance booking an airline ticket, please email workshop organizer, Robin Sparks at [email protected].

This is a small intimate class of no more than 12, so don’t delay. Reserve your spot by sending your first installment of $625 via PayPal.com to [email protected]. Full payment is due by June 1, 2008. Please purchase travel insurance as we are unable to issue refunds unless we can fill your spot.

This workshop is brought to you by OneWorld Ltd, a Turkish company whose mission is to act as a conduit between the West and Middle East. Founder Robin Sparks says, “When we touch the soul of a place with our senses, when we live among its people, we cannot help but realize that although we are fantastically different, we are at our cores, very much the same.” OneWorld offers not only workshops, but travel accommodations in real homes in real neighborhoods in Istanbul, Turkey and around the world. For more information about this workshop or others contact Robin Sparks at [email protected]. OneWorld reserves the right to cancel the workshop if less than 8 students enroll by June 1, 2008. In this case, all paricipants will be issued full refunds.

See the full documents at these links in PDF and Word formats (the Word doc is the easiest to read and highest resolution photos; the PDF Formatting and photos may be slightly altered).

• Word doc: Learn How to Craft A Travel Article, Write a Memoir and Publish Your Book (Word)
• PDF: Learn How to Craft A Travel Article, Write a Memoir and Publish Your Book (PDF)