I'm a winner in the 2013 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition

I'm happy and humbled to announce that I'e won the 2013 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition, taking the gold in the Personal Comment category for my article Video Games with a Refugee, part of my Iraq travel series on the Gadling travel blog.

The annual competition is sponsored by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation. Winners of the awards, the most prestigious in the field of travel journalism, were announced Oct. 21 at the SATW convention, held this year in Biloxi, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This is the 29th Lowell Thomas competition and drew 1,257 entries. Judges were members of the faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

In honoring my work, the judges said: "Is it possible that we can have our hearts broken while playing with a child? The author demonstrates that it is. In this extraordinarily touching piece, Sean McLachlan recounts a hotel lobby visit with a Syrian refugee, 9, who wants to play video games with him. In one short piece, he delivers the pathos of the Syrian conflict with the innocence and joy of a child. This crisply written piece is not weighed down by sermonizing. Its impact comes from the story, sharply told."

This made my week! Oh, and I big shout out to my friend David Farley, who won gold in the Short Article on Travel for his article “Mama Knows Best” in Afar magazine!

Guest blogging about my time in Iraq

Yesterday I was over at the Post Modern Pulp blog talking about my time with the various armed forces during my trip to Iraq. I also have a post on the Osprey Publishing blog today about some curious Ottoman artillery I saw in Baghdad. There are plenty of interesting photos in both of these posts.

So check them out, or my buddy here will level his machine gun at you. Also check out my Iraq travel series on Gadling.

Finishing my Iraq travel series

My series on travel in Iraq is finally done over at Gadling. The final articles include visits to Ur, Ctesiphon, and Babylon; Iraq's Christian community; the much more chilled-out region of Kurdistan; a Baghdad amusement park (no, really); and my experiences walking alone through Baghdad (bad idea, glad I did it). I round out the series with ten random, humorous observations about Iraq and a discussion of the practicalities of travel in Iraq.

If you liked this series, please share, tweet, and blog about it. More people need to read it, not because I need more readers but because people need to know what Iraq's like beyond the mass media headlines.

It's always a bit of a bummer finishing a series. It makes me feel like I'm finally done with the trip. Don't worry, there will be plenty more adventures in 2013!

Hostility and history in Iraq

My travel series about Iraq continues. The latest installments include a walking tour of Nasiriyah, one of my most intense experiences in the country that included equal parts warmth and hostility; and the first of a two-part post on the archaeological sites of Iraq. The first is about ancient Assyria.

Check them out! That guy next to the Assyrian guardian spirit wants you to!

More dispatches from Iraq

I'm still working hard on my Iraq travel series. In my latest articles I visit the soon-to-reopen National Museum of Iraq, Saddam Hussein's palaces, and I go on a beer run in Basra.

I've also done a guest post for Osprey Publishing, which publishes my military history books. It's about the Baghdad North Gate War Cemetery, where many of the British Empire's fallen from the First World War are interred.

So don't be caught napping! Go check out these one-of-a-kind articles. And if you like what you see, please tweet, share, comment, and blog about it. I'm always available for guest posts and interviews.


Photo of some of Basra's finest by Sean McLachlan. These guys were assigned to guard us. Good thing there aren't pirates in the Shatt al-Arab anymore!

Join me on Reddit tomorrow for a chat about Iraq!

My Iraq travel series is has two more articles up, one on Iraqi street art and another on my most terrifying experience in Iraq. It's not what you think. :-) I also did a guest post today on a medieval castle in Iraq.

Also, tomorrow you'll have a chance to talk with me directly about my Iraq adventure on Reddit. Tomorrow, November 20, from 11-4PM ET I'll be doing an AMA (Ask me Anything) on my recent trip to Iraq. You can check it out here once it's live. I've never used Reddit before so it would be great if there were a few friendly faces there to throw me some softballs!

So be there! That's what this cuneiform says. I think.

Uncovering ancient Iraq

My Iraq travel series is still going strong over at Gadling and I'm also doing some guest posts. D.G. Hudson interviewed me over at Rainforest Writing about the archaeological sites in Iraq. Over at The Adventure Blog I've written about the ancient Arab city of Hatra. Both blogs have lots of good content, so you might want to follow them!

Needless to say, I loved exploring Iraq's archaeological sites. There are lots of artifacts scattered on the surface, including nearly complete pottery vessels and fragments of cuneiform writing.

Dispatches from Iraq

I have two posts up about Iraq today. The first is for Gadling and is perhaps the most serious post I'm doing for the series. It's about my experience meeting a child refugee from Syria. Read the story, but don't watch the video if you have a weak stomach.

The other article is about Exploring Medieval Baghdad, written for the Black Gate Magazine blog, which published my historical fantasy novella The Quintessence of Absence. So head on over to these sites and get some good free reading. That's where this little Iraqi girl is going!

More interesting reading on Iraq

Want to learn about Iraq? This bookstore in Baghdad has plenty of good source material. The problem is, it's all in Arabic! So if you can't read Arabic, read my Iraq series.

The latest installment is titled Muqtada Al-Sadr Promotional Posters--Why Saddam's Hanging Makes For Good Advertising. It's all about how a poorly read cleric scrabbled his way to the top through a combination of Daddy's reputation and sheer ruthlessness.

In the next few days, you'll meet a nine-year-old refugee, visit the holiest shrines of Shia Islam, and see some cool street art. Stay tuned!

And if you do happen to read Arabic, check out Baghdad's bookshops. You can even find an Arabic edition of Orwell's 1984.

Going on a road trip in Iraq

The next post in my Iraq travel series, Iraq Road Trip: Who Takes The Ultimate Adventure Vacation And What's It Like? is now live on Gadling. As usual, if you like what you see, please tweet, share, etc. I want to make this series something big!

Here's a group photo of my travel companions and some Iraqi cops in front of the famous spiral minaret of Samarra, which I was sure I was going to fall off of. I'll be posting about that little experience later in the series. I'm the guy in the blue shirt just to the left of center. That's a money belt, not a pot belly!

How I nearly got arrested in Iraq

The next in my adventure travel series, Destination: Iraq, is now live on Gadling. Titled A Run-in With Iraqi Police, it tells the story of how I nearly got arrested for being too trusting of the Iraqi people.

I really want to make this series big, so please share, tweet, and blog about it. I'd be happy to drop by your blog and answer a few questions. Help me out or this guy will come after you!

My series on traveling in Iraq has started!

My new series, Destination: Iraq, about my 17-day trip through Iraq, has started over at Gadling. The first article, Going on Vacation in Iraq explains just why the hell I'm doing this.

I really put myself on the line for this one, folks, so please tweet, share, like, comment, and blog about this series. It would really help me out and encourage my editor to send me on more trips like this one. So spread the word! Nabu, the Babylonian god of wisdom and literature, commands you!!!