CLUBS
THAT WILL HAVE ME
There is a ridiculous array of writer's organizations to join. For now, I belong to:
Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), 1500 Sunday Drive, Suite 102, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27607, Tel: 919 787-5181, Email: satw@satw.org, Website: www.satw.org. The drunken elephant of travel writing organization in North America. Kinda bloated but can be useful for proving a degree of legitimacy to pr reps and editors. They are also a gateway to press trips and occasionally interesting professional development sessions. Very American.
Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC), Box 50043, 660 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto, M4G 4G1, Tel: 416 421-8507, Email: tricia.jc@sympatico.ca, Website: www.travelmedia.ca. A Canadian version of SATW. Still young but, as a result, hungrier. Easier to get into than SATW (for now).
Federation International des Journalistes et Ecrivains du Tourisme (FIJET), www.fijet.net. Wonky European organization with a lot of Russian and North African members. Not as slick as SATW or even TMAC but much more international. Membership is cheap and the press card is impressive. The bureaucracy is, er, European but friendly and responsive. I have yet to be to a meeting so that's all I can say for now.
North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA), 531 Main Street #902, El Segundo, CA 90245, Tel: (310) 836-8712, Website: natja.org. Quite easy to join. Becoming more respected. They run a big annual travel writing competition (which I win regularly so, of course, I think it's an organization with discerning taste and high standards).
American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), www.asja.org. This is a very different kind of organization, catering to 'real' writers. There is no pr component and many members are published book authors. They have unusually good speakers/workshops at AGMs (so I am told). Excellent hard information on markets, though very U.S. based/oriented. Could be a good thing if you want to break into the U.S. market but it's expensive. More than just travel.
Writersmarketplace.com. Access to this members-only website is included in the membership to some professional writer's organizations. You can also join separately. There are relatively friendly debating sections, press trip posting, and a VERY useful up-to-date list of magazine/newspaper/e-zine editors.
I joined the ones above for no particular reason except I have no friends and thought I might be able to buy some. I am sure there are loads of other worthwhile organizations. But my new friends and I think they are not nearly as interesting.
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