About Michael Shapiro
Michael Shapiro
Shapiro’s 2004 book, A Sense of Place:Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, lives, and Inspiration includes interviews with Bill Bryson, Frances Mayes, Paul Theroux, and Pico lyer. His essay,, “The Longest Day,” was selected for The Best Travel Writing 2005.
Shapiro has bicycled through Cuba for the Washington Post, celebrated Holy Week in Guatemala for the Dallas Morning News, and floated down the Mekong River on a Laotian cargo barge for an online travel magazine. His stories and photographs also appear in the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times and New York Times.
Before turning to travel literature, Shapiro researched online travel and wrote two books about using the Net for travel, including Internet Travel Planner.In 1994, he helped develop the first Web directory, Global Network Navigator, created by O’ Reilly Media.
In 2006, Shapiro won the Bedford Pace award for his National Geographic Traveler cover story on author Jan Morris’s corner of Wales. The Society of American Travel Writers recognized Shapiro with a 1998 Lowell Thomas award. Shapiro has appeared on national television networks including CNN and PBS.
Shapiro lives in Northern California and works part-time as an editor at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. He spends his free time cycling, river rafting, sea kayaking and volunteering for a group that takes disables people on outdoor adventures. You can visit his web site: www.michaelshapiro.net
