Have you been scammed during your vacation? Harmlessly distracted by locals, only to find your wallet or passport missing? Coerced into buying souvenirs you never wanted — or accused of stealing them?
If you have encountered the "dangers and annoyances" of life on the road, we want to hear about them!
World Swirl Press is looking for contributors for an upcoming travel guide and anthology of stories about the scams you've encountered while traveling: pickpocket scams, bait-and-switches, purse snatchings, scams by "travel agencies," robbery traps, forced bribes, wrongful accusations, credit card frauds, passport forgery, souvenir scams, attempted kidnappings (gasp!), counterfeit money exchanges, etc.
The more obscure or unique, the better. There are plenty of travel scams out there, targeting the entire gamut of travelers — from backpackers to luxury jetsetters, and all the tourists in between.
We seek well-written, narrative stories — 1,000 words or less — each recounting the scam from beginning to end. Some questions to consider when writing: Where did the scam take place? Who were the scammers? How did you end up in the scam? Did you fall for it? How did you feel? What would have done differently? Was there a way out? Did you learn from your mishap? How would you advise someone traveling to the same destination?
We are also looking for "sidebar" content — lists or blurbs about the travel scams you've seen happen, heard about, or fallen for. Written contributions should detail the location of the scam, the circumstances, how it is executed and how it could be avoided.
Please send all written contributions as attachments (RTF or Word documents) to 
. Don't forget to include your contact information in the actual attachment. Also provide a short biographical paragraph about yourself as a traveler and a writer. Written pieces that have already been published, including book excerpts, are eligible as long as you retain the copyright or can obtain permission from the copyright holder to reprint the material. You don't necessarily have to be an established writer to be considered, we just ask that you be a good writer.
No written contributions will be returned. Please don't contact us concerning the status of your story; if your piece is selected, we will contact you. We intend to offer compensation for your work, but at this time we're still trying to determine just what that will be as this book project will evolve based on what pieces we receive.
We are accepting written contributions through the end of 2008 (for publication sometime in 2009), so submit your travel scam story today!
World Swirl Press is a publishing venture initiated by travel writer Erik R. Trinidad, focusing on trustworthy travel guides and advice.
For the past decade, Trinidad has traveled around the world — encountering and avoiding travel scams himself along the way — keeping an audience intrigued with his tales from the road. His travel blog at TheGlobalTrip.com has been praised by the on-line travel communities of BootsnAll, Travelocity's IgoUgo network, and Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree, and has been recommended by RickSteves.com and USA Today. In Spring 2005, it was selected by the editors of PC Magazine as one of the year's "Top 100 Sites You Didn't Know You Couldn't Live Without," in the travel category.
Formerly an employee of Simon & Schuster and a travel columnist for the Lycos Network, Trinidad's work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, the New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, Pilot Guides' GlobeTrekkerTV.com, and BootsnAll.com.
His short story "Disbelief of Wonder" appears in Travelers' Tales' best-of-travel-humor anthology, Hyenas Laughed at Me and Now I Know Why, which also includes the work of Tim Cahill, Doug Lansky, Jennifer Leo and Rolf Potts. In 2008, his piece "Along the Trail of Brotherhood" won the Silver Certificate of Adventure Travel in the Second Annual Solas Awards, honoring excellence in travel writing from around the world.
Erik R. Trinidad is currently collecting content for this anthology of travel scams — title to be determined — for which he will serve as editor and publish with World Swirl Press.