Catherine Watson is a nationally known travel writer, photographer and teacher.

She was the first travel editor at the Minneapolis Star Tribune and was its chief travel writer and photographer from 1978 until 2004.

Nationally, she was a pioneer in voiced travel writing in newspapers, and her work won many national and regional awards, including the two most important in her field: Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year and the Society of American Travel Writers' Photographer of the Year.

Catherine's travel writing also has been anthologized in ``Tuesdays in Tanzania'' (New Rivers Press) and in four collections in the Traveler's Tales series, ``A Woman's World,'' ``A Woman's Passion for Travel,'' ``A Woman's Europe'' and ``Traveler's Tales Turkey.''

She has taught writing at the University of Minnesota (in the departments of journalism, creative writing and continuing eduction) and at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Colorado State University and The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.

Catherine is also an on-line mentor in the University of Minnesota's Split Rock Mentoring for Writers Program; see a list of her writing workshops and public appearances.

BOOKS

"Home on the Road: Further Dispatches from the Ends of the Earth," Catherine Watson's second collection of award-winning travel writing. From Tibet to the Galapagos, from the Arctic Ocean to Polynesia, Watson takes readers to the far corners of the globe, sharing rich encounters with other lives, insights into the human spirit, and the bittersweet tension between home and away. (Syren Book Company, September 2007; www.itascabooks.com).

``Roads Less Traveled -- Dispatches from the Ends of the Earth,'' is a collection of Catherine's best-loved travel stories. The 40 pieces in the book span 30 years and seven continents.(Syren Book Company, July 2005;www.itascabooks.com).

HONORS

2005 – Minnesota Book Award finalist for “Roads Less Traveled”

2006 – Three Travelers’ Tales Solas awards:

Silver for “ Beirut Unlocked’’ and Bronzes for “Roshan” and “Pilgrimages”

Golds in the Central States competition of the Society of American Travel Writers for Best Book, “Roads Less Traveled,’’ and Best Internet Travel Article, “Beirut Unlocked,’’ on WorldHum.com

Gold in the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition, for Best U.S. and Canadian Travel Article, “In Realms of the Spirit,’’ about the Pueblos of the American Southwest.