Kevin Fedarko has written for Outside, Esquire, and National Geographic Adventure. His first book, The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon, was a New York Times bestseller. His adventure stories from the Himalayas, the Horn of Africa, and the Colorado River have been anthologized in The Best American Travel Writing.

Patricia Schultz is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and 1,000 Places to See in the United States and Canada Before You Die. A veteran travel journalist with 25 years of experience, she has written for guides such as Frommer’s and Berlitz and periodicals including The Wall Street Journal and Travel Weekly.

Andy Isaacson is a freelance writer and photographer whose stories have appeared in The New York Times, Smithsonian, AFAR and National Geographic Traveler. He’s the recipient of four Lowell Thomas Awards for travel writing and photography. He lives in his hometown of Brooklyn.

Tracy Ross won the 2009 National Magazine Award for her essay The Source of All Things. She later turned that into a book, published by Free Press. Her stories have been anthologized in Best American Sports Writing, Best American Magazine Writing, and Best American Travel Writing.

Chris Taylor is a writer based in Bangkok and Southwest China. He wrote, co-wrote and updated Lonely Planet guides to several Asian destinations, including China, Tibet, and Cambodia. His first novel, published in 2010, is Harvest Season.

Eva Holland is a freelance writer and editor based in Canada’s Yukon Territory. She’s the co-editor of World Hum, a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a founding contributor to Vela Magazine. She’s a regular contributor to SB Nation Longform and a former online columnist for Outside.

Brian Kevin is the author of The Footloose American: Following the Hunter S. Thompson Trail Across South America. He’s a contributing editor at Down East magazine and an occasional contributor to Outside, Travel + Leisure, Men’s Journal, Sierra, Audubon, and the Fodor’s series of travel guidebooks.

Darley Newman is the host, writer and producer of the Emmy-winning Equitrekking TV series broadcast nationally on PBS and international networks in over 82 countries, and owner of DCN Entertainment, a multi-media production company. She’s been honored with five Daytime Emmy Award nominations, the North American Travel Journalist Award, and the Inspiring Woman Award from Women in Philanthropy and Leadership.

Hilary Bradt co-founded Bradt Travel Guides in 1974. Her books include ten editions of the Bradt Guide to Madagascar and the anniversary edition of Trekking in Peru, as well as two narrative books describing a journey on horseback through western Ireland, Connemara Mollie, and Dingle Peggy. She was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth in 2008, and now lives in semi-retirement in Devon, England.

Grant Martin is a freelance writer and editor based out of Chicago. Specializing in consumer travel and the airline industry, he recently worked as the editor of AOL’s Gadling.com, and currently splits his time between projects at The Economist and Forbes. His favorite airline lounge is the Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul.

Born and raised in Croatia, New York-based Anja Mutic has been traveling the world professionally since 2000. Her writing — which has won several awards — has appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, National Geographic Traveler and BBC Travel. Fluent in Croatian, English and Spanish, she has authored or contributed to Lonely Planet guidebooks for Croatia, Bolivia, and Chile.