Lonely Planet Guide author to teach university students

An award winning travel writer and Lonely Planet Guide author has joined the media department at Glyndŵr University.

David Atkinson is to work with media and journalism students as a lecturer within the School of Humanities at the University’s Wrexham campus from the beginning of October.

David is a freelance journalist who specialises in travel features for national newspapers and magazines, including the Observer, Weekend Financial Times and Wanderlust magazine.

He was the joint winner of the 2008 Latin American Travel Association Travel Article of Year award for an article about Bolivia published in Wanderlust magazine.

He also won the best guidebook prize in the British Guild of Travel Writers Members’ Awards 2007 for his Bradt Travel Guide to Bolivia.

David spent several years travelling and working in Japan and Latin America. Having returned to Chester a few years ago, he was commissioned to research and write the Lonely Planet guide to Wales.

David is currently covering Wales for a new edition of the Great Britain book for the popular series of travel books.

He said: “It’s a long way from La Paz to Wrexham, but I’m happy to be working back in the town where I was born. I’m hoping to inspire the new intake of students with both my take on good journalism and with some tales of life on the road as a jobbing travel writer.”

Head of Glyndŵr University’s School of Humanities, Dr Richard Dover, said David had joined the university as part of the expansion of its media programme, which included a new Broadcasting and Journalism degree option.

“We are delighted that someone of David’s calibre is offering his services to Glyndŵr University,” he said.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the media courses or studying on other programmes at Glyndŵr University should contact the Student Information Desk (SID) by email at sid@glyndwr.ac.uk or telephone (01978) 293439.