Live Online Workshop with Dr Tom Sykes
"When Travel Goes Wrong and How to Write About It"
Live Online. Thursday, September 10, 12 PM New York, 5 PM London
Travel writing can seem relentlessly positive. But sometimes, it’s the worst experiences that teach us the most, and they deserve to be written about. Every story needs a conflict, after all.
How do you write about the risks and challenges of travel in a way that people actually want to read? How do we avoid putting readers off, causing offense to cultures and societies that are unfamiliar to us, or simply coming across like a moaner?
Dr Tom Sykes, author of The Years of Travelling Anxiously, widely published travel journalist and Associate Professor of Creative Writing, knows this topic intimately. He will be teaching an exclusive, one-off live workshop for the Intrepid Times community.
You will learn:
- How to frame your experience in a way that builds tension, drives momentum, and keeps readers (and editors) reading until the last word.
- Building a scene that is vivid, rich in sensory detail, and makes a reader feel like they were right there with you – even if it happened years ago, on the other side of the world.
- Traps and pitfalls new travel writers often make when describing negative scenes that render stories unpublishable – and how to avoid them.
- The professional ethics of representing other cultures and societies in travel writing. How to be accurate and candid without accidentially sliding into condescension or exoticisation.
Meet Your Hosts
Your Instructor: Dr Tom Sykes
Tom Sykes is a travel writer, journalist and Associate Professor of Creative Writing and Global Journalism at the University of Portsmouth. He is the author of six books, and his essays and journalism have appeared in publications including *The Daily Telegraph, Independent, New Statesman, The Scotsman, Monocle, Travel Africa, The London Magazine* and *New African*, as well as international anthologies. His books have been reviewed in the *Times Literary Supplement* and *London Magazine*; his expertise has been sought by *The New York Times*, BBC World Service and TRT World; and he has spoken at universities including Oxford, Sydney, the Philippines and Hawai‘i.
Your Host: Nathan James Thomas
Nathan James Thomas is the founder of Intrepid Times (2014) and author of “Travel Your Way” (2022) and “Untethered” (2023). An experienced publisher, editor, and published author, his work has been covered in The Times, The Australian, and the New Zealand Herald, and his travel writing has been published in the Lonely Planet, Roads & Kingdoms, Outpost Magazine, and, of course, Intrepid Times.
Get Hard-Won Knowledge You Can Use in a Small, Interactive Group
Unlike webinars where hundreds of participants join to listen to a writer who typically just speaks of their achievements, Intrepid Times’ occasional workshops are designed to give you results. Attendance is kept strictly limited, giving you plenty of opportunity to ask questions. Instead of feeling more confused, you’ll come away with motivation, clarity, and confidence that you can go out there and achieve bigger things with your writing than you could ever imagine before. We’ll provide you with crystal-clear notes and access to the exclusive recording so you can always refresh your memory. Register below and make the best investment of your (future) professional travel writing career.
Secure Your Space Now
Live Online. September 10, 12 PM New York, 5 PM London
Register Now for Live Workshop and Recording Access
- Join the 120-minute live, small-group session, ask your questions, participate, and interact
- Get lifetime access to the full recording (video and audio versions) and written notes to catch up at your own pace
- Bonus access to four “Travel Writing Quick Start” PDF guides to help you shape your next story with confidence – get instant access to these valuable resources upon registration
- Invitation to join our private WhatsApp networking group and join active discussions with travel writers of all experience levels
We’ll meet on Zoom and welcome writers from around the world. The event will be recorded and the recording shared strictly with registered attendees. Allow at least 120 minutes for the event including time for your questions and interactive writing exercises.
Spaces are strictly limited. We keep the group small to allow you to ask your questions and to provide a comfortable platform where we can tell real truths and share techniques that won’t be diluted through overuse. The event will be recorded and the recording and notes will be shared exclusively with attendees who register in advance.
You’re about to gain access to the wisdom of one of the most experienced travel writers working today We can teach you what we know, putting it into practice is up to you. Your success will depend on a range of factors, some you can control, some you cannot, and we make no guarantees of any kind whatsoever regarding the results you may experience after the seminar and when putting these techniques and strategies into practice. Like all worthwhile journeys, venturing out into the world as a travel writer is a risky undertaking, please keep this in mind before registering above.
