by Michael Shapiro | Aug 14, 2012 | Blog, Books, Literature
Last year I reviewed Sarah Vowell’s book “Unfamiliar Fishes” for the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s an uneven book, but recently I’ve learned of a book by Julia Flynn Siler that appears much more promising: Lost Kingdom. I look forward to...
by Michael Shapiro | Aug 11, 2012 | Blog
A friend passed this on to me years ago, still as appropriate as ever: Dear Editor, Thank you for your recent rejection slip. As it does not quite fit my present requirements, I am returning it. This in no way reflects upon its merits. Don’t be discouraged. I...
by Michael Shapiro | Aug 10, 2012 | Blog
I’m on a panel at Book Passage today on self-publishing. The two main ways to go about this are: produce a print book or publishing an e-book. Both have their advantages. For an art or photography book, there’s no substitute for print. But e-books have the...
by Michael Shapiro | Jun 6, 2012 | Blog, Stories, Travel
When an editor asks if you’d be “willing” to go to Kenya on a safari led by Micato, an outfitter known as among the best — if not the best — in Africa, it doesn’t take long to blurt out “Yes!” And that’s how I...
by Michael Shapiro | May 1, 2006 | Blog, Featured, Interviews, Stories, Travel
Michael Shapiro first met Jan Morris in 1992 at a travel writing seminar near San Francisco. “When I first met Jan she seemed like a visitor from another time,” Shapiro says. He interviewed Morris in Llanystumdwy for his book A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers...
by Michael Shapiro | May 28, 2012 | Blog, Featured, Stories
I always thought if I ever floated down the Amazon it’d be in a dugout canoe on a shoestring adventure. But when the editor of a magazine for country club members asked me to join a luxe cruise, of course I went and had a fabulous time. The local guides were the...
by Michael Shapiro | Dec 7, 2019 | Literature, Stories, Travel
To spark the holiday season, Guatemalans roast an effigy of the devil. I wrote about the spectacle for American Way, the inflight magazine of American Airlines. Here’s how the story starts: The flames rise 30 feet into the air, casting a lurid glow on...
by Michael Shapiro | May 6, 2012 | Blog, Interviews, Stories, Travel
After seeing what FLW did with the Guggenheim, I expected his desert home to be outrageous and astonishing. Of course it wasn’t – the low-slung building fit perfectly with their desert surroundings. Following is my story on the witty and enormously...
by Michael Shapiro | May 1, 2012 | Blog, Music, Stories
Usually when an actor takes the stage to play music it’s mediocre at best. But Hugh Laurie can really play piano and has assembled a top-shelf band from New Orleans. I profiled Laurie in advance of last Tuesday’s show in Napa, which was superb....
by Michael Shapiro | Apr 25, 2012 | Books, Interviews, Literature, Stories
When my book A Sense of Place came out a few years ago I got compliments about being a good interviewer. But here’s the secret: I interviewed people — the world’s leading travel writers — who had something to say. I had a similarly delightful...
