Natalie Cone’s short story “Haunted Identity” won the 2015 SELTI Writing Contest, which featured Huntsville, Alabama. Part of SELTI’s mission is challenging writers to use real tourism attractions as settings in their fictional short stories and novels, and Natalie’s story does a wonderful job of bringing to life Huntsville’s historic district. Click on the links […]
Read More “Haunted Identity” Wins 2015 SELTI Writing ContestCan poetry promote tourism? Rather than leave that question as just a hypothetical, SELTI partnered with Faulkner University and the Alabama Tourism Department to sponsor the nation’s first tourism poetry contest. Below are the first and second place winners from that contest, but there were fifty submissions from Faulkner’s several campuses around the state. Please […]
Read More Faulkner University Conducts Nation’s First Tourism Poetry ContestCoosada, Alabama: The Beginning By Kaytie Simpson University of South Alabama I am Coosada: the beginning, but like most beginnings, I have been forgotten. I have been overshadowed by my siblings, Mobile, Huntsville and Montgomery. Their great accomplishments draw people to them, making them forget that I exist, what my name is, and my unique […]
Read More Coosada, Alabama: The BeginningOn October 15, Congressman Bradley Byrne presented the 2014 SELTI Tourism Fiction Award to Mary S. Palmer at the historic Mobile Carnival Museum. Byrne also presented Professor Palmer and Dr. Sue Walker from the University of South Alabama with commemorative copies of his speech delivered in Congress (read the full text below) praising their efforts […]
Read More Congressman Bradley Byrne Presents 2014 SELTI Tourism Fiction Award to Mary S. Palmer at Mobile Carnival MuseumSpirits of Mobile by Bonnie Hoffman University of South Alabama Silent spirits slip unseen along the sidewalk making their way to Bienville Square.1 Selecting a spot in the shade of a spreading oak, they place a blanket on the grass to sit once more among those in whom life’s blood still flows. No […]
Read More Spirits of MobileThe Ghost Fleet on the Tensaw River by Brittany Clay University of South Alabama Creak, swish, creakyyy…. That’s the sound you might hear if you travel the Mobile-Tensaw Delta early in the morning, or when the sun is setting for the day. It is known as “Ghost Fleet,” yet there are no boats or any […]
Read More The Ghost Fleet on the Tensaw River“Apparitions” is one of the many poems in an endearing poetry book named Reuben’s Mobile by Sue Brannan Walker, former Poet Laureate of Alabama and English professor at the University of South Alabama. Walker uses the inspiration of Reuben, a real Harlequin Great Dane from Mobile, as a friendly fictional guide dog to the charms […]
Read More Poet Laureate Promotes TourismMary S. Palmer’s short story “Raisin’ Cain” is the first place winner of the Mobile Bay SELTI Tourism Writing Contest, sponsored by the Southeastern Literary Tourism Initiative and the Alabama Tourism Department. Please visit the Tourism Guide beneath the short story below to learn more about the unique tourism opportunities in the Mobile Bay area […]
Read More “Raisin’ Cain” Mardi Gras Story Wins Mobile Bay SELTI Tourism Writing ContestAll of the submissions are in and judging is underway for the Mobile Bay SELTI Tourism Writing Contest. Thank you so much to everyone who spent their time, talent, and passion on this project. While there can only be one winner of this contest, there are sometimes publishing opportunities out there for finalists beyond the […]
Read More Mobile Bay SELTI Contest UpdateChandler Champion, the reigning Miss Alabama, will give a special reading from Zelda Fitzgerald’s novel Save Me the Waltz. SELTI and the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum are proud to announce that the reigning Miss Alabama, Chandler Champion, will give a special reading from Zelda Fitzgerald’s novel Save Me The Waltz at the museum on […]
Read More Miss Alabama to read from Zelda Fitzgerald’s novel Save Me The Waltz at the Fitzgerald Museum January 18.