Last month, while I was driving down the Mississippi River on a magazine assignment, I had a curious experience in Rosedale, Mississippi. As I was eating lunch in a place called Leo's Market, a waitress mentioned that Rosedale is the place where the legendary bluesman Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange...

Creative Writing Workshop at the Paris American Academy July 1 st through the 29 th , 2011 For the seventh year running, I'll be teaching an intensive, month-long creative writing workshop at the Paris American Academy . This hands-on English-language writing program includes courses in: Fiction Poetry Travel Writing Memoir Screenplays and dramatic writing Literary...

It's once again winter holiday season, which means it's time for me to tout my books as stocking stuffers for the travel lovers on your Christmas list. And, since I'm stateside this month, I'm able to mail out signed copies at a reduced price. Vagabonding and Marco Polo Didn't Go There are $15 each --...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. Rolf ended up staying three nights in...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. Rolf spent a few days off the...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. After a few hectic days in Cairo,...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. After time in Chefchaouen and Fes, Rolf...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. After experiencing Madrid through tapas -- in...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. Rolf spent 36 hours in Paris catching...

As announced last week , Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Rolf and cameraman Justin left New York City for London on Saturday and are now headed for Madrid. Every few days, we'll be updating...

As I announced earlier this year, I will once again be teaching a creative nonfiction workshop at the Paris American Academy during the month of July (this Paris workshop also entails fiction and journal-writing classes, taught by novelists John Biguenet and Lauren Grodstein). New to my teaching slate in 2010 is an intensive travel-writing workshop...

Since I seem to have fallen behind on updating my Events page, I wanted to announce that I'll be giving a travel presentation in the Dallas area this weekend as part of the Irving Chautauqua series at the Irving Public Library. The event starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 13 at the Central Library,...

Rolf poses with one his favorite travel-writing role-models, adventure scribe Tim Cahill, at Northern California's Book Passage Conference in August Toward the end of each year I usually post a round-up of my travel highlights from the previous 12 months. This year I've been diligent enough with additions to the " Rolf's News and Updates...

Back in September I traveled to rural Wales for the excellent DO Lectures series, which features talks and presentations by cutting-edge experts from a wide variety of disciplines -- from mountaineers to sustainable architects to graphic designers. I spoke on vagabonding and the ethic of long-term travel, and video from that lecture is now available...

Just a quick heads-up to let everyone know I have a 5-part travel series appearing online at World Hum this week. Entitled " Where No Travel Writer Has Gone Before ," it documents my experience on a Star Trek -themed sea-cruise to Bermuda. What's it like to travel the earth with people who'd rather be...

[Rolf and Kansas first lady Stacy Parkinson at the Kansas Book Awards in Topeka.] A year after its initial publication, my book Marco Polo Didn't Go There has started to receive some awards at the state, national, and international level. A few weeks ago I mentioned that it had received a Kansas Book Award; now,...

Part I: Rolf reads from Marco Polo Didn't Go There Over on my RolfPotts.com video page , I recently uploaded a two-part video of my July 2009 reading at Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore in Paris. I've informally read essays there in the past (alongside students from my annual writing workshop at the Paris American Academy...

Next month I'll be a speaker and panelist at the Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference , which takes place just north of San Francisco, in Corte Madera, California. The conference runs from August 13-16, and features such travel-writer luminaries as Tim Cahill , Isabel Allende, Don George , Pauline Frommer, Jim Benning, Jen...

Recent weeks have seen me travel out to Bermuda for World Hum , across Kansas for The Believer , and off to Russia for Afar ; articles about these experiences will debut in coming months. Here's what else has been going on for me in the travel-publishing world: My Italian publisher, Ponte alle Grazie ,...

Having just returned home after traveling to Russia on assignment for Afar Magazine , I realize it's been awhile since I've blogged about my newest essays and interviews. Here's what I've been up to, writing-wise, in recent weeks: One of my favorite essays of late was Che: The Ronald McDonald of Revolution , which I...