Upcoming travel programs
August 29, 2024 § 1 Comment
Cuba Writers Program (with Alden Jones): March 7 – 15, 2025
Join me and my old friend Alden Jones, distinguished fellow novelist and creative writing professor, for the 5th edition of the Cuba Writers Program: a fun, informal, dynamic, off-the-beaten track nine-day literary adventure in Havana and on the island’s southern coast.
Alden and I have been traveling to Cuba together and separately since the early 2000s; we’ve developed a formidable network of very special in-country contacts and if you’ve been thinking about a trip I can tell you without caveats that this is simply the best way to do it—especially if you’re a writer, though the program is also open to aspiring writers, significant others, friends, and family members. Generative writing workshops combined with amazing encounters and interactions with real Cubans make this an unparalleled and unforgettable opportunity to experience the unique richness and joy of Cuba. More info and an application form here.
Friends trip to Spain: Madrid and points north, April 23 – May 2, 2025
Join a small group of fellow travelers for a ten-day insider’s journey to a country I’ve known and loved since I first lived in Madrid as an undergraduate Spanish major. Later I spent a year directing college semester abroad programs in Spain and have returned countless times since, both on my own and as a guide and featured expert for National Geographic.
This informal, creative, light-hearted educational small-group trip will get you off the tourist circuit and out into the hidden corners of Madrid and points north. Our focus will be art, architecture, history, wine, cuisine (in particular the quintessentially Spanish art of tapas or pintxos), and generally taking the time to enjoy Spanish life! The itinerary has not yet been formalized but is likely to include Madrid, León, Bilbao, and the Basque Country. Throughout the trip we’ll have the chance to interact with carefully selected local guides and experts, and I’ll be hosting several cocktail hours with a special illustrated lecture series on Iberian history, the artist Francisco de Goya, and Ernest Hemingway’s long love affair with Spain. If this trip is of interest to you, send me a message and I’ll put you on the list of potential traveling friends.
Custom small-group trips to Cuba
As many of you know, the island of Cuba—its art, landscape, music, history, and especially its people—has been an enduring fascination for me since 1999. I try to visit at least once a year, and as a result of the knowledge and the contacts I’ve developed over the years I’ve been able to help quite a few friends and their families put together some amazing trips.
“I find that words are insufficient in conveying the depth of my gratitude for our extraordinary adventure in Cuba. Your deep relationships with Cubans allowed us to glimpse a Cuba hidden to most tourists.”
With the help of my excellent, highly experienced Havana ground crew I can set up spectacular, informal, very affordable, and legally compliant custom trips for small groups of family and friends (preferably a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12). To explore your own custom small-group travel program send me a note and we can set up a no-obligation informational call. Note that it’s good to have at least a 2-3 months advance notice to plan these trips.
And in the slightly longer term . . .
June ‘25: Book launch & tour! Bookmark the “Upcoming” page on my website or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or Threads, for updates on readings, signings, and a limited national speaking tour.
Fall 2025 . . . Peru! I’m so excited about doing an adventurous off-the-beaten track expedition to Peru with my good friend and former college classmate, the talented Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker Amy Bucher. If you’re up for an adventure, and are interested in archaeology and ancient cultures, this is going to be an amazing trip! There will be more about it in a future newsletter, but meanwhile if you want to put your name on an early interest list, send me a message here.
Audiobook release, new Cuba dates & other news
October 2, 2018 § 2 Comments
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
A quick update on books and travel, and wishing you all a happy fall!
For anyone who likes to listen as you drive, work, or relax, I’m pleased to inform you that A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing is now available as an audiobook on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.
Everything you might want to know about the collection can be found here; I include a quick summary and some review highlights pasted at the bottom of this post. (It’s been wonderful to see how well the book has been received out in the world, by the way. It seems to have found some “legs” of its own, and I’m most grateful to all of you who’ve purchased, read, reviewed, and/or recommended it.)
New Cuba dates! I’m thrilled to announce an exciting new cultural trip, offered in cooperation with the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, timed to coincide with the renowned Havana Art Biennial, April 15 – 23, 2019. This will be a well planned but flexible and culturally rich program, so if you’ve been looking for an excuse to go (or return) to Cuba, here it is!
For the writers and aspiring writers out there, consider coming on the fourth annual Cuba Writers Program, May 2- 10, 2019. We have a great time on this program; it’s a wonderful way to experience the vibrant culture of Cuba while honing or kick-starting your writing.
If you have 3-10 friends or family members looking to go to Cuba on your own, I can help you plan a custom, small-group trip that’s fully compliant with U.S. Treasury Department legal requirements. My Havana ground operation and I have organized quite a few of these in the last several years, and we’ve got it down to a fine art. Happy to plan creative custom programs in other parts of the world as well.
Finally, here’s my frequently updated list of upcoming talks, programs, and classes, including events offered in various locations through Grub Street, the Newport MFA in Creative Writing, National Geographic Expeditions, Vermont Humanities Council, various writing conferences, and elsewhere. I hope our paths may cross!
Wishing you all the best,
Tim
A high altitude lake is the point of departure for these stories of dark adventure, in which fishing guides, amateur sportsmen, teenage misfits, scientists, mountaineers, and expatriates embark on disquieting journeys of self-discovery in far-flung places. A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing made the 2018 Eric Hoffer Book Awards Grand Prize Short List and was a finalist in the short story category for both the 2018 American Fiction Awards and the 2017 International Book Awards.
“From the mountain lakes of the Colorado Rockies to cobbled streets of Spain, this fascinating collection of short stories never disappoints. A Field Guide to Murder and Fly Fishing is a collection you’ll be happy to get lost in.” — Ploughshares.
“Provocative and memorable, this collection strikes all the right chords.” — Main Street Rag
“I found myself consuming [these] thirteen tightly wound tales with addictive delight.” — Fiction Writers Review
“Weed’s short stories draw us away from the blue light of device screens. Under the blue skies and dark waters of A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing, readers can feel pain, empathy, and purpose bubbling out from the sharp-detailed mental images.” — Pleiades
“Tim Weed proves himself a skilled creator of a sense of place . . . each story deposits one definitively into a geography, of mind and map.” — The Boston Globe
“Weed’s stories . . . are colored by his long experience as a travel and adventure writer . . . His characters are fishermen, mountaineers, and teenagers all on a quest for self-discovery. From the title page to the last page, this is a book of gems.” — Big Sky Journal
“These stories bristle with energy and immediacy. The writing is spare and meticulous and packs a hefty emotional punch. I am not exaggerating when I say this collection kept me up at nights. I just couldn’t stop reading.” — Addison Independent
Order the paperback, ebook, or (new!) audiobook at your favorite independent bookstore or IndieBound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, or Audible. (A limited number of first-edition hardcovers still available here.)
Hemingway’s Ghost in Havana at The Millions
March 21, 2017 § Leave a comment
New essay up up at The Millions, in which I trace Hemingway’s 30 year love affair with Havana and try to get to the bottom of what his lingering influence says about both the writer and the city. Read the whole thing here. A brief excerpt:
In Havana, Ernest Hemingway’s restless ghost lingers more palpably than in any of the other places in the world that can legitimately claim him: Paris, Madrid, Sun Valley, Key West. Havana was his principal home for more than three decades, and its physical aspect has changed very little since he left it, for the last time, in the spring of 1960.
I’ve been traveling to the city with some regularity since 1999, when I directed one of the first officially sanctioned programs for U.S. students in Cuba since the triumph of Fidel Castro’s 1959 Revolution. As an aspiring novelist, I’ve long been interested in Hemingway’s work, but I had no idea how prominently Havana figured in the author’s life — nor how prominently the author figured in the city’s defining iconography — until I began spending time there.
National Geographic Student Expeditions in Cuba
July 1, 2016 § 2 Comments
Very excited to be participating in the first ever NatGeo student programs to Cuba. I’ll be starting out with the first group toward the end of their program in the province of Santa Clara, a few hours east of the capital, and then joining the second group for the beginning of their program in Havana. Traveling to Cuba, by now, feels something akin to going home for me. It’s been a few months, so I’m looking forward to checking in on the evolving situation!
I’m also excited to be traveling with student groups, because leading student groups is how I spent most of my early career in educational travel. I relish the sense of adventure that usually arises within such groups—and in my experience NatGeo students are an exceptionally positive, creative, and intellectually curious bunch. It will be hot this time of year, but that’s nothing to worry about, as we’ll be on an island surrounded by crystalline blue water!
New: Customized Independent Trips to Cuba
March 22, 2016 § Leave a comment
CURRENTLY BOOKING TRIPS FOR WINTER ’21 AND BEYOND – Hey everybody, recent changes in US law now make it possible for individuals to travel to Cuba without signing on with a tour group. This is an exciting development because it can now be done more affordably than ever, at your own pace, and according to your own interests. You DO need to make arrangements in advance, however—and in order to avoid falling into the well-grooved touristic route it’s a very good idea to seek expert advice. And, well, that’s where I come in!
If you’ve been meaning to get to Cuba, but don’t like the idea of being on a tour group and/or don’t want to spend a fortune doing it, click here to read all about letting me help you up a customized independent trip.
New Cuba travel article out
March 15, 2015 § 3 Comments
A new article about the changes on the ground in Cuba, based on observations made during my recent National Geographic Expeditions trip to the island, is up at TravelPulse. Take a look.
A Return to the New Cuba
February 14, 2015 § Leave a comment
The Capitolio swathed in scaffolding. Interested to see the progress . . .
After an eight month absence, I’m heading back to Havana. Much has happened in the intervening time, and it will be fascinating to see how these events are reflected in the reality on the ground. Whatever the case, Cuba is always an engaging and exciting place to be, so I’m looking forward to the trip.
I’ll be accompanying a National Geographic group, where my duties include, among other things, delivering a three-part lecture series: on Spanish colonial Cuba and the historic roots of the U.S.-Cuba relationship; on 20th century Cuba and the triumph of Fidel Castro’s Revolution; and on Hemingway’s three decades in Cuba. The group will spend time in Havana, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, and various interesting points in between, meeting with scores of wonderful Cubans, including many new friends and some old friends and contacts!
With a friendly and engaging Nat Geo group last year
If you’re reading this and find yourself yearning to travel to Cuba to see what all the fuss is about, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I’ve got several affordable private trips in the works for the fall of 2015 and the late winter/spring of 2016, and the chances are there is still an opening!
Short fiction out in three new anthologies
October 1, 2014 § Leave a comment
Excited and honored to be included in all three of these newly released anthologies! If you like to support emerging writers and are interested in new directions in quality short fiction, you can order any of these by clicking on the links. Enjoy!
“The Money Pill.” An American tour guide living in Cuba discovers hidden powers and comes to understand the costs of putting them to use. Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet. Press 53.
“Six Feet Under the Prairie.” A college kid takes a summer job on an electrical construction crew as Denver’s sprawl encroaches. Manifest West. Western Press Books /University of Colorado Press.
“Tower Eight.” A pair of teenage misfits experiment with LSD and put themselves into dangerous situations in rural New Hampshire, establishing a tight friendship as they hurtle toward a tragic end. Grand Prize Winner, The Mountain. Outrider Press. (Order directly from Outrider Press by emailing outriderpress@sbcglobal.net)
Cuba, Cuba, Spain and Ireland
April 4, 2013 § 1 Comment
Very excited for several upcoming trips! First up is another National Geographic program to Cuba, April 18 – 24, in which I’ll be introducing a group of mostly first-time visitors to one of my favorite places on the planet and giving lectures on Cuban colonial history, 20th century Cuban history, and Hemingway’s years in Cuba.
Next up, from May 12 – 24, I’ll be returning to the Pearl of the Antilles with a small group of honors students from Keene State College. I’ve been co-teaching a class there with political scientist Prof Chuck Weed on the history of US – Cuba relations this semester, and it will be great fun to show everyone around and let them experience for themselves the vibrant and enigmatic realities of contemporary Cuba. And we’re planning some great hiking and snorkeling!
From June 2 – 10, sponsored by the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, the talented contemporary artist Eric Aho and I will be accompanying a small group of travelers to Madrid, Úbeda, Córdoba, Granada, and points between for a fascinating art-based journey in Spain. We’ll be learning a lot about the Spanish context, taking in some of the world’s greatest art from a creator’s perspective, and everyone will have the opportunity to produce some of their own art as well. Very excited to get back to Spain after a long absence! There’s still some (limited) space on this trip, so you if have these dates free and want to explore Spain in a fun and absolutely unique way, drop me a line.
From June 29 – July 12, I’ll be working with three other writers and a group of 24-30 young writers (14-18 yrs old) in Dublin, Ireland. Couldn’t be more thrilled by the prospect of another field-based writing workshop – it’s been awhile. There’s still room on this program too, so if you happen to fall into the above age range, follow the instructions on the link to apply. Don’t wait, because this one is filling up fast.
If you’re interested in Cuba and looking for a fun, informal (i.e., non-touristy), and relatively affordable way to get there, check out this fascinating art-based people-to-people program I’ll be leading in early November 2013.
Tim Weed 