Talia’s First By-line

Back when we were in the Arctic, Talia proposed writing an article about our voyage in lieu of one of her boatschool essays. No-brainer; teachers are always looking for authentic writing experiences for their students.

I imagined sending her piece to a small west coast sailing rag for a small spot, likely with no compensation. But then, when I read the article Talia had written, I thought, This piece is wonderful! After a couple revisions–a process she resisted but I assured her was part of the writer’s job–it was ready for prime time.

Now, Dogbark had already been widely covered by our amazing crew, Becca Guillote, in her Cruising World series, 48 North column, forthcoming feature in Passage Maker, and on Halcyon’s Blog. So I sifted through my sailing contacts and reached out to Peter Nielsen at one of our favorite’s, SAIL Magazine. Peter not only loved the article but agreed to pay Talia (which she used to replace the smartphone she’d dropped overboard among dolphins)–and he featured John Guillote’s professional photography with the piece. Gorgeous!

Talia’s article came out in SAIL’s March 2019 issue, just in time for her 13th birthday (ahem, March 15). It was also SAIL’s featured article in its e-newsletter; Graeme was thrilled when it showed up in his inbox today–and now it’s available online. Here it is:

You can buy your own copy at your local marine store or bookseller, or even get a kindle subscription to SAIL.

Congratulations, Talia! Not many can say they got their first byline at age twelve. Quite an accomplishment. And thanks, SAIL Magazine, for encouraging young writers and sailors–and for the perfect birthday gift for our girl!

3 Replies to “Talia’s First By-line”

  1. Congratulations! So exciting!

  2. Great story well written!

  3. Barbara Brown says: Reply

    Congratulations Talia! You certainly are your Mother’s daughter, believe me, that is a compliment. You have a gift, don’t ignore or neglect it. The most wonderful thing about your gift, its completely portable, lightweight, to use it you need only 2 rudimentary tools, a pencil and a piece of paper and you can carry it with you for your entire life. You can choose to share it or you can keep it close to your heart. You can revisit your gift anytime, to reflect and renew, to laugh or to cry. There is no substitute for this gift.

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