IN MEMORIUM

The Travel Classics community is saddened by the recent death of Linda Tagliaferro, a fine writer and longtime friend. Linda, who joined us at the early Troutbeck conferences, always brought great joy to those around her. Never was there anyone so full of life. She took up opera for the fun of it and could dance the socks off of anyone. Early Troutbeckers will remember the time Elizabeth Harryman, Travel Editor at Westways, suggested doing the hula after dinner. "But there's no music," one writer said. To which Linda replied, "hold on, I have a tape in my car." I never will forget Linda, with her long black hair and bright eyes, dressed in turquoise, dancing the hula with writers and editors well into the night. ~ Maren Rudolph

Ed was like Saint-Exupery's "Little Prince." Where some saw only a hat, he perceived a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. How privileged we were to have been invited into Ed's world, if only for a while. The lyricism, the whimsy, the depth -- he was all of this and more. I will never forget meeting him for the first time at Troutbeck -- a tall guy he was with waist-long ponytail and sad, puppy dog eyes. "I don't have any clips," he said. But turns out he could tell a good tale. At that Hudson Valley conference, in the basement of a spooky old inn, he mesmerized Susan Moynihan, Keith Bellows and I with Cody, Wyoming ghost stories. Here is a guy with a voice, we thought. And readers have loved that voice ever since. ~ Maren Rudolph

Keith Bellows, Editor in Chief Emeritus of National Geographic Traveler, died August 29 in Baltimore after complications from a long illness. He was a giant among journalists and a dear friend to Travel Classics. Our thoughts and prayers are with Keith's family, and with his colleagues at the magazine he served so well. 

A frequent speaker at Travel Classics Conferences (four times as keynoter) Keith inspired and encouraged writers of all stripes. A gifted journalist himself, he had a knack for spotting talent. Just how many notable writers he discovered in his 14+ years at Travel Classics, it is hard to say. All of us were touched in some way by his warmth, brilliance, and sheer force of personality. He will be missed but not forgotten, not as long as there is a story to tell and a good writer to tell it. ~ Maren Rudolph