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Rolf takes a break from kayaking while on magazine assignment in Greece.

Friends and vagabonders,

2005 proved to be a busy year for me, with travels and sojourns in New Orleans, England, northern Kansas, France (where I was the summer writer-in-residence at the Paris American Academy), Greece, California, and Mexico. A Korean translation of Vagabonding debuted in Asian bookstores early in the year, and I had an all-new story, "Something Approaching Enlightenment" in Lonely Planet's By the Seat of My Pants travel humor anthology.

My weblog, Vagablogging, got some great accolades this year, including a "Six of the Best" list by The Guardian (U.K.), and an Editor's Choice nod from Frommers.com, which noted that "Potts is arguably the best, and most consistent, individual travel writer/blogger on the web." TIME Magazine also included Vagablogging.net in its travel-blog roundup, adding that Vagabonding "is a crucial reference for any budget wanderer."

Also this year, I landed three travel articles on the "Notable Writing" section of The Best American Travel Writing 2005 -- including "Jolly Good Excuse for a Party", which appeared in Conde Nast Traveler; "A Desert by Any Other Name", from the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine; and "Signs of Confusion" from World Hum. This marks the sixth consecutive year I've made the Best American short-list, and the first time since Paul Theroux's 2001 edition that three of my essays were nominated in the same year.

The Travel Writers portion of my website has featured interviews with Robert Young Pelton, J. Maarten Troost, Joshua Berman, Shanti Sosienski, Peter Moore, Taras Gresco, C.M. Mayo, and Mark Jenkins in recent months. Keep an eye out for upcoming 2006 interviews with Amanda Jones, David Downie, Karl Taro Greenfeld, John Flinn, and Tom Haines.

Finally, for those interested in studying creative writing in beautiful environs of Paris next summer, I will once again be teaching a Fiction and Creative Nonfiction course at the Paris American Academy in July of 2006. Other courses offered include Screenwriting, Short Form, Journal Writing, and Performance. This promises to be an exciting, hands-on workshop environment — and those interested in enrolling can check out my Paris Workshop page here.

For the latest news on my travels, as well as travel information and advice, surf over to my blog, Vagablogging.net.

Cheers — and happy vagabonding,

Rolf
Vagabonding.net
Vagablogging.net