More on Steph
I’m a newspaper journalist by trade, an author by design and a traveling writer by calling: answer the call!
In 2005 I walked the Camino with my son Ben, 800kms from St Jean Pied du Port in the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. And then in May 2019 I walked it again, this time to the coast at Finisterre with my grandson, Dylan. And in between, I did that crazy walk with Ben, from Rome with my compass set for Istanbul (spoiler alert: the thunderstruck snowbound mountains put an end to my pilgrimage in Albania).
Somewhere in there I published two books and went on a coast to coast book tour of the United States: here’s an interview with Richard Fidler for Conversations and an interview Joan Gelfund from the Huffington Post.
Jumping ahead to 2014 – I drove west to the Australian outback on a hunch – that people on the western side of the Great Dividing Range would like a hand telling their stories.
After years of telling people’s stories for them, I figured folk in isolated areas might appreciate an opportunity to tell their own stories, their way.
And they did. I was stunned to discover how many people long in their heart of hearts to write – a book, a blog, a family memoir or community history – just about everyone! And if not a book then a collection of memories. And if not a collection of memories then an important letter home. And just about everyone needs a hand to get started.
I called the project The Write Road and our courses and workshops now also available online – in large part to give participants in isolated areas access and ongoing connection, and in no small measure so I don’t have to drive 10,000 kms every time I go to work, however wonderful the commute!
The Write Road is dedicated to brave new and unpublished writers. Because yes, it takes courage to step up and claim our longing to write.
In 2018 we were a finalist in the NSW Regional Achievement Awards, thanks to the thousands of brave new and unpublished – and in some cases now published – writers of rural Australia.
People say I teach writing. I don’t. If I ‘teach’ anything, it is courage. On The Write Road I have learned we all know how to write. What we need is a hand getting started.
Some people say I was brave walking through the Balkans and into the Middle East.
“Oh no,” is my standard reply, ‘writing a book was much braver!”
It’s funny – and it’s true.
And now The Write Road has sprouted Walk & Write writing holidays, which is my way of sharing my love of walking and writing with others.
Join us if you like, you and me and a wonderful group of dedicated writing buddies wandering the world’s great trails with a notebook and pen in our packs.
Walk & Write has partnered with UTracks (World Expeditions) to bring you these journeys. This means that your warm pilgrim bed is assured each night, and so is your trusty pilgrim transport.
It means the logistics are taken care of, leaving you and your writing buddies free to roam beautiful trails and wander through iconic towns and villages, taking in history, architecture, culture and cafes, devouring good food in great company. . .
. . . and writing along the way.
Walking and writing must be about the most productive pursuit available to a human being. We satisfy our physical body with gentle continuous movement, we engage our mind with productive pleasure, and we set our soul free to soar on the wings of our own choosing, day after glorious day.
Come, join us.
I teach nothing I have not learned myself: that it’s okay to be out on a limb, that a deep breath is the key to courage, that looking the world in the eye instills confidence. That raising our voice is critical to the change we seek. That visibility might be scary but it’s incredibly liberating. That knowing our story makes us strong.
Why walking and writing?
