Jonanna Widner is about to become an official expert on places to see and things to do in DFW. Her travel guide about Dallas and Fort Worth will hit bookshelves next month.
After recognizing the Avalon Travel Publishing name, she answered their Craigslist ad for the gig. Avalon publishes the popular Moon travel guides and handbooks. She soon found herself submitting a proposal outlining the entire book, providing writing samples, marketing research and a business plan She said it was all “a giant pain in the ass,” but she was selected and spent a big chunk of 2008 getting it done. I asked why she thought they picked her for the gig. “I think they picked me because I have a definite voice, and their books are known for having a breezy but authoritative tone,” she said.
Now her work is about to see the light of day. Moon Dallas and Fort Worth will be on out in October but is available for pre-order here. No doubt she was going to touch on the usual DFW fun stuff but what was the LGBT content going to be like? She said she definitely had it covered. “It has a large nightlife section, divided up into different genres, and LGBT is one of them. The publisher already had it as a section. They are a respectful and cool company. Of course as a queer North Texan I put a lot of my favorite hot spots in there. There is also a section in the back with tips for different types of travelers, so I put a part in there with the real scoop for LGBT visitors,” she said.
Full disclosure, y’all: Jonanna was my boss during her tenure as the Music Editor at the Dallas Observer. Since her depature, her work has appeared in Curve, Austin Chronicle and Bitch. And now, Moon.
