Travel Classics invites applications for the Edward-Readicker-Henderson Memorial Scholarship, honoring a gifted writer who embodied the spirit of this conference, which has been connecting authors and editors since 1994.

In the words of his dear friend, Amanda Castleman: “Edward Readicker-Henderson first found his voice hammering out poems on a bookstore’s cash register — all to impress a girl. After years in the guidebook trenches, he attended Travel Classics, which launched him into national magazines. He then blossomed as one of the most original, poetic and philosophical voices in the genre.”

Readicker-Henderson overcame decades of chronic illness to tell stories of Polynesian voyaging, his search for silence and Alaska, his homeland. He visited more than 50 countries after doctors ordered him to stop traveling, and inspired others to persevere too, through works like “Cheating Death” in National Geographic Traveler and his TEDxMaui talk, “Kill Your Bucket List.” He died in 2016 from Crohn’s disease and congestive heart failure.

Known for extensively researching and revising, he made “every word not only count, but play jazz.” This scholarship now hopes to foster his sense of artistry, courage and — above all — wonder among emerging authors.

Learn more about Edward Readicker-Henderson on routeofseeing.com.