| Freelance Writer, Editor, Photographer and Educator
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| Photo by Mark Bennington |
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| From partying with bikini-clad models on South America's most glamorous beaches to visiting Bin Laden's Tora Bora caves with Afghan warlords who talk of opening amusement parks in the area, to poignant interviews in war-torn Baghdad, I can pretty much say my travel writing and photography career in over 100 countries and all seven continents has been out of the ordinary.
My name is Michael Luongo. Thanks for visiting my website to learn more about me.
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| Michael Luongo speaking at TEDx Purdue Universit by Yash Trivedi Feb 18, 2023 |
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Michael Luongo's work as a journalist in locations including Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine and other areas has helped him to see aspects of this in many locations. He first decided to visit such locations after being part of a Ground Zero clean-up crew, searching for dead bodies in the rubble of September 11th, understanding firsthand as a New Yorker what it meant to live in a war zone. As a long-time travel journalist, he decided to see how others rebuild their tourism sectors after or in the midst of war, something not looked at by researchers, despite the fact that war is all around us. Michael Luongo is a PhD student in Purdue University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. His research centers on tourism recovery in the context of conflict. An awardwinning long-time freelance travel journalist, his experiences volunteering on a Ground Zero cleanup crew days after September 11th vastly transformed him, launching him to report in Afghanistan, Iraq and other conflict areas, covering tourism, culture, human rights and LGBT issues for the New York Times, Bloomberg, Gay City News and others.
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Speaking Engagements and Expertise
Looking for a travel expert? I am available for radio and television commentary, panel presentations, speeches, conducting photo lectures and presentations on a multitude of travel destinations. Take a look at the pages of this website where my photos, links to articles, reviews and descriptions of my books, and other items will give you many ideas for conference speeches, media consultations, book editing consulting and idea gathering and other projects for which I may be of help.
I am also a frequent lecturer on the university circuit speaking on travel, human rights, LGBT issues and many other topics.
How can I help your students be the best they can be, and engage them with topics important to today's world? What topics might engage your radio, TV, podcast or other audience that I can help you explain to them?
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Recent Video and Radio Interviews:
CNN International on Canada's caution to LGBT travelers to the USA.
How dangerous is it for LGBTQ+ travelers heading to the United States? A talk with Kim Brunhuber of CNN International.
NPR on Mar-aLago
Global Perspectives with John Bersia at the University of Central Florida, Orlando
Filmed in the aftermath of the horrific Orlando Pulse massacre, a look at LGBTQ+ issues around the globe, with a particular focus on the Middle East.
How To Be A Travel WriterWant to be a travel writer? An interview with my Purdue University colleague Lindsay Veremis on my travel writing journey, spanning from the 1990s to now, along with what it is like to do war journalism after being on a September 11th volunteer cleanup crew.
Ebru Today TV Travel Advice
Rolf Potts' Interview:
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Some of my recent and most popular books:
| The controversial Gay Travels in the Muslim World, released by Haworth Press in 2007 and now published by Routledge/Taylor Francis. It is the first gay American book ever translated into and published in Arabic. www.gaytravelsinthemuslimworld.com
| Frommer's Buenos Aires, fourth edition, the most popular U.S. published guide to the Argentine capital. See also below, the book on Argentina. www.misterbuenosaires.com
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| My Bruno Gmunder Sensual Travels edited collection was a Lambda Literary Awards Finalist in the Erotica category |
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| Order Sensual Travels Here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sensual-travels-gay-erotic-stories-michael-luongo/1113860916?ean=9783867875219 |
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| The Frommer's Argentina Third Edition, with co-writers Christie Pashby and Charlie O'Malley |
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| Gay Tourism, the first academic book on the gay travel industry, co-edited with Dr. Stephen Cliftt and Carry Callister |
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C-Span Book TV
Filmed at The Queens Public Library
One of my lectures was taped for airing on C-Span's BookTV. The one hour and seven minute program includes a Q&A with the audience. If you have been unable to catch me live, this is a good way to see what this controversial and thought provoking book is all about. It was also the first gay themed American book ever translated and published into Arabic.
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| click on image for link |
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