Meet the 2010 TripOut Gay Travel Awards Nominating Academy
The nominees for the 2010 TripOut Gay Travel Awards were chosen by an academy of esteemed and seasoned travel writers who cover LGBT travel for gay and mainstream publications alike. Between them, they’ve visited every continent and practically every country, state and gay hotspot on the planet.
Nominees were selected on the criterion of how popular they are among LGBT travelers as well as how welcoming each destination, airline, hotel collection or event is to the queer traveler. The TripOut Gay Travel Awards seek to honor those places we all love to visit (or hope to visit) and also locales who work hard to embrace gay consumers through media outreach, progressive legislation, public acknowledgement and inclusive employment policies. All of these factors were taken into consideration in selecting who you’ll be voting for.
And above, all the academy members chose nominees that will hopefully get your heart racing. Travel is a passionate experience, and we hope you feel passionate about our nominees.
Meet our academy – and visit their sites to discover their work!
Dan Allen is a travel writer for many LGBT publications and sites including TripOutGayTravel.com, Passport, The Advocate, Out, Metrosource, GayCities.com, and OutTraveler.com. He also contributes to mainstream publications like AOL Travel and the Miami Herald, and is the author of The Out Traveler Guide to New York City. His WorldWatch column on TripOutGayTravel.com focuses on LGBT rights situations in up-and-coming gay destinations around the world.
Jesse Archer is a writer, actor, and rabblerouser! He published a travel memoir, You Can Run, has a regular column in Out Magazine, and has appeared in several gay comedies including Slutty Summer, Boy Culture, and A Four-Letter Word. He also wrote the screenplay for the upcoming comedy Violet Tendencies starring The Facts of Life's Mindy Cohn.
Kathy Belge has been the eidtor of About.com's Guide to Lesbian Life since 2003, and she’s been a lesbian activist for more than 20 years. Kathy is a frequent travel writer, pens a lesbian advice column "Lipstick & Dipstick" for Curve Magazine, and is a co-author of the book, Lipstick & Dipstick's Essential Guide to Lesbian Relationships (Alyson Books).
Chandler Burr's novel You or Someone Like You was published in June 2009; set in the movie industry in Los Angeles, the novel touches on questions of Jewish versus universalist identity and how literature can lead to love. Burr is The New York Times scent critic, and his column is here: http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/scent-notes/.
Peggy Deweppe is the founder and publisher of La Dixième Muse, the first French lesbian magazine, in 2003 to answer the demand of its French lesbian readership. Since then, distributed in all French-speaking countries, this bimonthly magazine focuses each issue on a specific travel destination.
Clay Doyle is a travel writer, art collector, photographer, and one-time gallery owner and co-owner of The Doyle/Logan Company, a L.A.-based graphic design and communications firm. From 1997 to 2003 he lived in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. A frequent traveler, he contributes to online and print publications and maintains his own travel blog, Anywhere But Here.
Darren Frei has served as an editor of The Out Traveler and contributing editor at The Advocate newsmagazine from 2003 to 2007. As ShermansTravel.com’s editorial director, Frei orchestrated the launch of 300 comprehensive online destination guides and 13 blogs, and has been instrumental in positioning the website as a leading source of content and advice.
Merryn Johns has worked in LGBT journalism for 15 years. She became the longest-serving editor of LOTL magazine in her native Australia, and the founding editor-in-chief of New York City-based BOUND magazine. Her focus there is on international lifestyle editorial and travel, and she feels blessed to work and live in New York City, while hoping to get back to Sydney, her other favorite city, every now and then.
Uwern Jong is Travel Editor and Publisher of London-based luxury publication OUT THERE MAGAZINE, an international journal of gay culture, style and travel. Working mainly at the luxury end of the travel market, his mission is to seek out the next generation of gay travel, from far flung lands to unique, never-been-done before travel concepts that may be a little closer to home.
Raphael Kadushin is a regular contributor to National Geographic Traveler, Conde Nast Traveler, Epicurious.com, Concierge.com and Out. He is also senior acquisitions editor at the University of Wisconsin Press, where he has developed one of the leading gay lists of books in the country, and his own anthologies include Wonderlands: Good Gay Travel Writing and Big Trips: More Good Gay Travel Writing.
Michael Luongo is a freelance travel writer and photographer with experience in all 7 continents and over 80 countries, including some crazy ones gay people usually don't want to go to. He has written several travel books, including Haworth Press's Gay Travels in the Muslim World and Frommer's Buenos Aires.
Andrew Mersmann is the Editor-in-Chief of Passport Magazine, author of the global guide: Frommer's 500 Places Where You Can Make a Difference and voluntourism blogger at http://www.changebydoing.com. He has discussed LGBT travel on TV's "Travels With Val," assorted satellite and terrestrial radio shows, and on panels from the New York Times Travel Show to the IGLTA and Out Professionals.
Originally from Reno, Nevada but globe-trotting since he was but a babe, Justin Ocean has lived and worked in Europe, stood on the tip of Africa and lost himself in Asia. A Harvard grad and former editor of The Out Traveler and Next Magazine, when not freelancing for New York or Time Out New York, he edits Out's travel content and writes a weekly blog as ShermansTravel.com's gay travel expert.
Catherine Plato is the former associate editor of Curve magazine and the current assistant editor of $pread. She is a freelance journalist and a board member of the Northern California chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association.
John Polly is the editor of Logo’s travel site, TripOutGayTravel.com. Formerly editor-in-chief of NYC’s Next Magazine and Managing Editor of Genre, he’s also contributed to Travel & Leisure, the Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, Instinct, Attitude and a bunch of others! Currently NYC-based, John’s lived in New Haven, Stockbridge, Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
Paul Rubio's passion for travel has taken him to 72 countriesg, using his power of prose to secure donor funding for poverty alleviation and sustainable development projects. On hiatus from the world of foreign aid, Paul has turned to travel writing full-time, contributing to Fodor’s guidebooks, Jetsetter.com, Ocean Home, The Advocate, Out, OutTraveler.com, MARK magazine, and AmazingGayTravel.com while penning his opus, 300 Gay-Friendly Destinations to See Before you Die as well as The Out Traveler: South Florida.
Often called "the world's foremost gay travel expert," Ed Salvato was the editor in chief of both Out & About and The Out Traveler, the gold standards of gay travel media. He is editor of GPS.OutTraveler.com, one of the world's most influential gay travel blogs, contributes to numerous travel outlets, speaks at travel conferences, and is the call-in travel expert on two major radio programs.
Duane Wells, the former Managing Editor of GayWired.com and host of “Here’s The Thing” a daily gay travel radio program, contributes to many travel and lifestyle publications including Passport, Homefront and Frontiers as well as Advocate.com and GayTravelNews. He is presently working on his first novel, Heaven or Hell, Darling?, and a collection of short essays entitled, One Day I Woke Up and Everybody was Wearing Culottes!
Now that you've met the Academy, please go VOTE for your favorite nominees in the 2010 TripOut Gay Travel Awards!
