Planning Memorable Literary Tours
Make a list of your favorite authors and books, and have other family members do the same.
Keep on the lookout for good guidebooks. Look at the selection available at your local library, your favorite bookstore, and online. Purchase several that focus on your area of interest. If you want to focus on authors in a particular region, consider books such as A Guide to Literary Sites of the South. Books like Sleeping with Literary Lions will provide you with great ideas for places to stay along your literary route.
Get out your business calendar and look at the areas where your business travel will be taking you this year. Use your guidebooks to determine if there are literary sites nearby. If you have a couple of hours of free time, why not plan a literary tour? You may also be able to schedule your itinerary so that you arrive a day early or stay a day late so that you can enjoy a whole day scouting the historic home of an author or following in his or her footsteps.
Likewise, coordinate your family travel with a literary tour or two. Will you be traveling to another state to visit relatives during the summer? Will you have a week or two in December to spend with family? Trace your route. Look for literary landmarks where you can stop along the way. In whatever direction you are headed, you will probably find historic markers, parks, and burial sites of interest. And don't forget to research a few of the hotels and restaurants around. Many of them have interesting literary connections.
Before You Leave Home
Several weeks before your trip, focus on the author whose home or museum you will be touring. Read biographies about the author, and review some of the author's writing.
Most importantly, call the home, museum, or other literary site that you want to visit, before you set out on your trip. Ask if they will be open during the time you want to take your vacation. Also ask about admission fees and if it is necessary to schedule a tour.
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