Conover Article

Pulitzer Prize finalist and acclaimed non-fiction writer Ted Conover met with Champlain College students Friday March 26th.

Conover casually talked to the students in the Morgan room of Aiken Hall about his new book The Routes of Man as well as his career as an author and freelance writer.

 “You’ve got to write about something you enjoy,” said Conover, but he also cautioned against being single minded, asking the students to ask themselves “What would a reader want to read?”

Conover explained to the students that one of the things that drew him into his particular field of writing was his desire to have adventures. Despite his bookish appearance, Conover has traveled across the world, often to places many people have never heard of.

The idea for Conover’s latest book came shortly after publishing a piece for National Geographic about a road in Peru; a piece, which he was admittedly unexcited about. As Conover researched the road, he decided the most interesting way to write about the road, would be to write “about the people around the road and how it impacted them.”

After the articles publication one of Conover’s friends gave him the idea to turn it into an entire book about roads and how they affect man.  The idea struck a chord with Conover and he applied for a grant, as well as numerous magazine assignments that would bring him to areas of interest.

            Conover traveled the world researching roads from Peru to China, always carrying a notebook, something he advised all students to do, before finishing his book.

            Among Conover’s other books is Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing, which was a finalist in the 2000 Pulitzer Prize awards, and also featured on Oprah.

Before leaving Conover reminded the crowd of professional writing students that, “There aren’t too many writers who make money on their books.”