*The Portugal stories by the mentees are now published on Adventure.com. Head to the end of the article to read them.*
A couple of years ago, I took part in Intrepid Travel’s first Diversifying Travel Media (DTM) trip to Croatia alongside fellow mentors Lottie Gross, Shafik Meghji and Georgina Lawton. It was an enlightening week, resulting in four excellent features from the mentees—Chau Jean Li, Kira Richards, Sakhita Sharma and Queenie Shaikh—who impressed us with their questions, curiosity and ambition.
Last year’s DTM initiative, this time to northern Portugal’s lesser-visited Côa Valley, saw a new cohort of mentees Jessica Heather, JD Murphy, Toyo Odetunde and Liseli Thomas travel by train to Porto for a similar trip; exploring the region and talking to conservationists, chefs and curators to find great stories, alongside travel writing workshops each afternoon with the accompanying mentors.
It’s fair to say travel writing is a competitive, and sometimes closed, industry; some publications appear to take on few new writers, low pay in some quarters can make it unviable (for the record, anchor gigs, stable side hustles or other work are increasingly common), and getting a foot in the door can feel challenging. And these factors are often multiplied for writers from marginalized backgrounds; be that because they’re older, disabled, Black, neuro-divergent, LGBTQ+.
But there’s work out there and a career to be had—with support and legwork. And that legwork isn’t just for writers; it’s on publishers, publications and editors to open that door, improve pay, and understand that diversity equals variety equals sparkling stories…..