Janet Rae-Dupree is a freelance writer and editor based in Half Moon Bay, a vacation destination coastal community just south of San Francisco and northwest of Silicon Valley. A fourth-generation California native, Janet grew up on the beaches of Los Angeles and has explored nearly every corner of the Golden State over the years.
After graduating from the University of Michigan, she was a staff reporter at several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times (where she shared in a Pulitzer Prize) and the San Jose Mercury News, where she discovered a passion for science and technology. Ultimately, she covered sci/tech for BusinessWeek and U.S. News & World Report, enjoyed a one-year Knight Fellowship at Stanford University, created the monthly “Unboxed” column for the New York Times, wrote “The Anatomy & Physiology Workbook for Dummies,” and launched an eclectic freelance career that now includes both travel writing and photography.
Her lifelong devotion to travel has taken her to four continents, 38 countries, and all but three of the United States (she’ll see you soon, Vermont, Maine, and West Virginia). Currently, she’s in the initial stages of writing a new Reedy Press book: “100 Things to Do in San Mateo County Before You Die.”
1. What got you into travel writing?
Unique experiences have been a hallmark of my life as a journalist. My voracious curiosity has only become stronger, so I’ve sought out novel experiences and unfamiliar cultures through travel. Writing about what I’ve learned and seen has become a natural extension of that, as has my growing portfolio of travel photographs.
2. What’s the most challenging part of being a travel journalist for you?
Pitching and getting assignments. I’ve never enjoyed marketing my work, but I’m striving to get past that.
3. What is one thing [equipment or personal item] you can’t go without on the road?
I’m a rebel, so I’m giving you two: Old school — My little blank notebook; it’s never far from me. New school — My iPhone, preferably the latest model available, both because there are a dozen apps that I use daily and because the digital camera has gotten so good that I can (and have) taken better images with the iPhone than with my regular camera.
4. What’s your most unusual and/or memorable travel experience?
There are so many! But right now my mind calls up flocks of endangered yellow-eyed penguins in New Zealand, which come ashore every year to molt and cannot return to the sea for weeks. During that time, they’re vulnerable to attack by weasels and feral cats, so many are rounded up into pens near Dunedin for their protection. Once they’ve grown new plumage, they’re released back into the wild. Seeing (and, of course, photographing) their wacky “hairstyles” while they’re in mid-molt was a highlight of my travels in New Zealand.
5. How did you learn about NATJA and why did you join?
Throughout my journalism career, I have joined professional organizations that support my work and attended their conferences, including the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the National Association of Science Writers (NASW), and Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). I’m not sure how I first heard about NATJA, but I knew that joining would introduce me to professionals who could help me learn more about the field.
6. What is the best piece of advice you could give to a rookie travel journalist?
Explore your own backyard with the same intensity and curiosity you would devote to becoming acquainted with a foreign land. There are travel stories everywhere!
