Three new talks from the Vermont Humanities Council Speakers Bureau
September 21, 2026 § Leave a comment
Very excited to be offering three new one-hour illustrated talks for the Vermont Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. I’ve had a lot of fun putting these together, using my own experiences as a writer, a travel guide, and as a featured lecturer for National Geographic Expeditions to inform the research. If you’re associated with any Vermont nonprofit, you can request any of these talks on an ongoing basis beginning in January, 2027, with at least six weeks’ advance notice. Links below. Booking form is here. I guarantee all of these talks are fun, well-illustrated, and thought-provoking. Take me up on it!
Hemingway Reconsidered: Novelist, Expatriate, Antifascist, Spy
Some of Ernest Hemingway’s novels and short stories are considered among the greatest ever written. He’s also remembered as an international man of letters, a famous expatriate and macho outdoorsman spending all the right seasons in all the right places: Paris, Pamplona, Key West, Havana, Sun Valley, on safari in Africa. But Hemingway’s life was more complicated than the glamorous image that lives in the popular imagination.
Close Neighbors, Worlds Apart: Cuba & the USA in Historical Perspective
Tracing Cuba’s long struggle for sovereignty, from the Spanish-American war of 1898 to the 1959 Cuban Revolution and up to the present day, this illustrated talk offers a larger historical perspective on the conflictual relationship between these two geographically close but politically distant western hemisphere neighbors, with an eye toward developing a better understanding of the current situation and what the future might hold.
A Profoundly Momentous Journey: Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle
On December 27, 1831, after Charles Darwin and Captain Robert Fitzroy shared a final lunch of mutton chops and champagne ashore, the Beagle got underway. Darwin’s firsthand account of the journey, The Voyage of the Beagle, is one of history’s greatest true adventure stories. The voyage was supposed to last two years, but it ended up stretching out to five.
Publishers Weekly reviews THE GATEPOST
March 17, 2026 § Leave a comment
Publishers Weekly is widely regarded as the most influential trade magazine for the book industry, read by publishers, librarians, booksellers, newspaper and magazine editors, and even (ahem!) film industry types. PW reviews have a great deal of influence on which books get noticed, bought, and promoted in the media. Needless to say, I’m on cloud nine to have this new Publisher’s Weekly review of my forthcoming novel The Gatepost, arriving to bookstores near you (or your mailbox if you preorder) on May 26, 2026! Here’s an excerpt:
“Twenty years before the start of this spellbinder from Weed (The Afterlife Project), Professor Gregory Weatherhead, an expert in Mesoamerican shamanism, disappeared from his home in Vermont. Now, his daughter, Esme, is struggling to write a book about him. Convinced the disappearance is connected to a cave Weatherhead discovered on his property, she hires geologist Lucas St. Pierre to find the site. An old field journal also reveals that just before he vanished, Weatherhead had been experimenting with psilocybin mushrooms . . . Weed does a nice job interposing the present mystery with Weatherhead’s research in both Vermont and Oaxaca, and balances esoteric mysticism with touching contemporary detail. This well-researched tale is sure to entertain.”
You can read the full review here. Preordering from your local bookstore or via one of the links here is helpful and very much appreciated!
Spain and Portugal with National Geographic
September 15, 2013 Comments Off on Spain and Portugal with National Geographic
Very much looking forward to heading back to the Iberian Peninsula! This time it’s in my continuing capacity as a featured expert for National Geographic Expeditions: On September 30 I’ll be flying to Lisbon for a journey through Portugal and Andalucía, finishing up in Madrid on October 11. I’ll be giving talks on history, art, Goya, and Hemingway, and generally trying to be as helpful as I can both with trip logistics and in terms of helping travelers make personal connections with the fabulous life and culture of one of my favorite parts of the world. Coincidentally, I’ve just posted a craft analysis on For Whom the Bell Tolls, which may be of interest if you’re a writer or a close reader of Hemingway’s fiction.
Back in the U.S. on October 12.
Cuba talk at Brattleboro Museum and Art Center
July 18, 2013 § Leave a comment
Very pleased to be giving a talk at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center on contemporary Cuba. I’ll address some of the important historical aspects leading up to the present moment, with a special focus on Cuban art and the fraught Cuba – US relationship. If you’re in the area, it would be great to see you there!
Click here for the details.
Tim Weed 