A few months ago, Intrepid Times opened its first round of Professional Submissions, inviting experienced travel writers to contribute narrative travel writing they genuinely believed in. Rather than chasing trends or keywords, we wanted to create space for celebrated writers to follow their curiosity and tell the stories they most wanted to tell.
One of the first pieces we published through the series was Katie Dancey-Downs’ I Chased Legends Across Two Baltic Cities. In this episode, we go behind the scenes of that story, tracing how it developed from an initial idea and pitch into the finished article. We also talk about Katie’s fantastically varied writing career, her recent work as deputy editor of Index on Censorship, and her experience writing for outlets including the BBC, National Geographic Traveller and Smithsonian, covering everything from the gloriously chaotic world of Eurovision to more serious issues such as refugee communities and the ongoing crisis of book banning.
Listen here or find the Travel Writing Podcast on Spotify or iTunes.
Learn more about Katie at her website: https://www.katiedancey.co.uk/
Cover photo credit: Katie Dancey-Downs from https://intrepidtimes.com/2026/09/i-chased-legends-across-two-baltic-cities/
