Mark Orwoll, writer

Here is everything (mostly) you wanted to know about Mark Orwoll, travel writer and author.

About Mark Orwoll

Mark Orwoll is a veteran journalist and author. He started his career as a newspaperman in California, then moved to New York, where he was a magazine writer and editor. He was on the staff of Travel + Leisure magazine for 30 years as International Editor, Managing Editor, and other roles. He is also the author of three books, Cross Purposes (Pleasant Villain Press), John Wayne Speaks (St. Martin’s Griffin) and e-Travel (Sams/Macmillan). Mark is primarily a travel writer, and has visited more than 80 countries. Since leaving T+L, he has been on assignment for Condé Nast Traveler, Robb Report, Town & Country, East-West News Service, Departures, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Travel Channel, AARP, Frommer’s Travel, Hemispheres (United Airlines), and many other outlets.

Accolades and Awards

Mark Orwoll has received numerous awards over the course of his four-decade journalism career. Highlights include:

2023 – North American Travel Journalists Assn., Bronze Award: “Austria’s Alps Adapt Traditions to Meet the Relentless Advance of Climate Change,” East-West News Service

2022 – Society of American Travel Writers (East), Silver Award: “The Intersection of Culture and Desserts Reveals Much About America,” East-West News Service

2022 – North American Travel Journalists Assn., Bronze Award: “Forward, With Onward,” Porthole Cruise & Travel

2021 – Society of American Travel Writers (East), Gold Award: “Brief Encounters in the Andes,” Porthole Cruise & Travel

2021 – North American Travel Journalists Assn., Gold Award: “Hunting for Landmines in Cambodia: If you See A Bomb, Don’t Touch It,” Matador Network. Honorable Mention: “On A Myanmar River Cruise, A Rare Chance To Interact with Burmese Monks“, Condé Nast Traveler

2020 – Society of American Travel Writers (East), Silver Award: “On A Myanmar River Cruise, A Rare Chance to Interact With Burmese Monks,” Condé Nast Traveler

2019 – North American Travel Journalists Assn., Silver Award: “Experiencing the Andaman Sea on A Tall Ship Under Full Sail,” Map Happy

2016 – Teaching Excellence Award, M.A. in Publishing Program, New York University

2011 – Folio Eddie and Ozzie Awards, Best in Series Category for “Smart Traveler,” Travel + Leisure

2003 – Telly Award and Aegis Award for Excellence, co-producer, “Travel + Leisure: The Next Destination,” television documentary produced for NBC News Productions

1999 – Advisor, White House Travel Initiative, “American Pathways 2000″

1995 – Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels

1986 – International Order of Old Bastards

More accolades on request.

Books by Mark Orwoll

Cross Purposes (Pleasant Villain Press, 2023) is a fictional thriller about a plot to steal the Shroud of Turin at the beginning of World War II. Disgraced history professor Scott Crossman and the stunning redhead Fiona “Finn” Finnegan, a failed Broadway costume designer, join a group of brilliant misfit researchers on a quest to authenticate the holy relic, but hoodlums, Nazis, and even the U.S. Government get in the way. As Finn and Crossman race across Europe and North Africa, trying to elude their pursuers and simply stay alive, there’s only one thing they know for certain: The Shroud of Turin is missing!

John Wayne Speaks (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2021) is an encyclopedia of the Duke’s most famous and trenchant quotes from the actor’s 173 movies made during Wayne’s 50-year film career. The attribute that differentiates this book from others is that each quote has been verified by the author (who watched every film at least twice for research on John Wayne Speaks) and footnoted to indicate the precise film from which the quote was derived. An in-depth introduction gives a broad overview of Wayne’s time in Hollywood, and a list of every movie Duke made includes a capsule review and production notes. “A virtual bible of the actor’s most memorable movie lines. This book is a thorough delight.” — Brian Downes, executive director at the John Wayne Birthplace and Museum.

e-Travel (SAMS/Macmillan, 1999) was one of the earliest books about planning travel on the Internet. At the time he published the book, Orwoll had been writing a daily online travel-advice column for Travel + Leisure for several years. So Macmillan naturally came to him to write e-Travel as part of the publisher’s “SAMS Teach Yourself Today” series of books about using the World Wide Web as a research tool. Orwoll’s e-Travel was later translated into Greek and Hebrew. “And I never got an extra nickle for it,” Orwoll says.

Contact

Email Mark Orwoll.

Copyright 2023 by Mark Orwoll