Speaking

I give speeches and lead workshops on writing, history, and travel.

I've taught high school students how to apply a travel writer's eye to their own surroundings, spoken to community groups about the pleasures of getting lost, attempted to explain American culture to Belarusians, and was a featured speaker on a cruise ship, opening for luminaries like Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and civil rights leader Julian Bond. Yes, really. I challenged Justice O’Connor to a game of shuffleboard (she declined).

I tailor every talk and workshop to the specific audience, offering a lively, engaging mix of travel stories, history, and actual insights. A few examples are listed below. Yes, they can all be done via Zoom/Skype/etc. Please email me (doug@douglasmack.net) for more details.

Oh, and if you’re leading a high school or college course and using my book (or other writing) as one of the texts, I’d be happy to chat with the class (for free!).

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The Not-Quite States of America (Or, What's the Deal With the U.S. Territories?)
The lecture version of my latest book, this talk explores the colonies of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, celebrating their cultures and giving a detailed look at their history and their complicated relationship with the USA.

Enough With the Road Less Traveled
It's become a cliché of travel writing and of Inspirational Travel Speeches: You must get off the beaten path. I present a different view: Just because a million people have been somewhere or done something before you doesn't mean you can't approach it in a new way, and appreciate it on your own terms—it may take some extra effort, but therein lies the joy.

Confessions of a Travel Writer
It seems like a glamorous life: see the world, meet interesting people, then sit on a beach and dash off dispatches  while drinking daiquiris. The reality is ... different. This talk goes behind the scenes of the travel-writing life, offering anecdotes from the road and details of the publishing process.

The Joys of Getting Lost
The internet is a godsend for travel planning and keeping in touch. But there's also a downside to this constant digital connection: We miss out on the sense of being truly out of our elements and forced to adapt on the fly, and the joys of serendipitous encounters. I look at the history of how technology has changed travel, and consider the joy of turning it off sometimes.

Workshop: Finding Hemingway's Chicken: Improving Your Writing Through the Telling Details
Writer George Saunders, when asked about great writing, tells of a Hemingway story set in a Cuban marketplace, the details impressionistic but for one: a man blowing on a rooster to prepare it for a cockfight. It's this striking image that gives life to the scene, while the reader's mind fills in the rest of the tableau. This highly participatory workshop guides participants on their own quest to find the telling details that give a story energy and depth, starting with an interactive slide show of local scenes and landmarks familiar to the audience and a discussion of what small elements stand out.