Andrew Evans (travel writer)

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BornAndrew Ellis Evans
OccupationAuthor
LanguageEnglish
EducationBrigham Young University, Oxford University
Genre
Notable awardsLowell Thomas Award from the Society of American Travel Writers; Stonewall Book Award from American Library Association

Andrew Evans is an American travel writer, author and television host.[1][2]

Early life and education[edit]

Evans was born in Texas and raised in Ohio.[3] He began traveling internationally at the age of 16 when he moved to France on a Rotary Youth Exchange, and later to the Ukraine as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[4][non-primary source needed]

Evans was raised as a Mormon, but had struggles with expressing his gay identity at Brigham Young University.[3][5] In an article for Outsports, Evans discussed the compulsory year of conversion therapy and "traumatic moments" BYU made him undergo in the late 90s as a student after he was caught kissing a man by his roommate. BYU told him he could be expelled or visit weekly with his bishop, turn in fellow gay students, cut off contact with any gay friends, and have frequent visits with a BYU therapist until he was heterosexual and "safe" for other students to be around. Included in the therapy was weekly dates with women as an additional attempt to change his attractions.[5]

He got his Master's degree at Oxford University where he studied Geography and Russian Foreign Policy.[3]

Career[edit]

Evans began working for National Geographic Traveler on a real-time digital story-telling assignment in 2009 on an assignment called "Bus to Antarctica". He traveled overland from Washington DC to Tierra del Fuego by bus and the last leg to Antarctica by boat.[6] When Evans reached the island of South Georgia, he encountered a black emperor penguin, which was described to be as rare as "one in a zillion".[7] It later became the namesake of his 2017 travel memoir The Black Penguin, which expands upon his blog posts and tweets and includes insights from Evans about his struggles regarding family, religion, and sexuality,[8] The memoir received a Stonewall Book Award honor.[4][9]

He was given the moniker of National Geographic's "digital nomad",[10] as he continued on other assignments, and also contributed to the compilation book Four Seasons of Travel.[11][12][13][14]

Personal life[edit]

Evans is married to Brian.[15] They live in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains near the Washington DC metro area.[3][16]

Books[edit]

  • The Black Penguin (University of Wisconsin Press, 2017), ISBN 978-0299311407

Bradt Travel Guides

  • (with Massimiliano Di Pasquale) Ukraine (Bradt/Globe Pequot, 2004–2013 (4th ed.)), ISBN 9781841624501
  • Iceland (Bradt/ Globe Pequot, 2009–2018 (4th ed.)), ISBN 9781784770440
  • Reykjavik: The Bradt e-Guide (Bradt/Globe Pequot, 2014–2017 (2nd ed.))

Television[edit]

Evans has hosted several travel shows on the National Geographic Channel

  • 2017 Hidden Cities Revealed: Baku[17]
  • 2015 A Peak Under the Hood of Innovation in Detroit. CNet[18]

2020 Turkey's Hidden Gems series:[19]

  • "Land of Ancients" (2020)
  • "Lost Cities of Anatolia" (2020)
  • "Istanbul: East Meets West" (2020)

World's Smart Cities series:

Awards and honors[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ BBC Travel. "Forms of Identification: Andrew Evans". BBC Travel. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  2. ^ Sutton, Brook (23 June 2016). "The Real Life of a Globe-Trotting Travel Writer". Adventure Journal. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "Andrew Evans, The Digital Nomad | Gay City News". www.gaycitynews.nyc. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18.
  4. ^ a b Evans, Andrew (2017). The Black Penguin (1 ed.). University of Wisconsin Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-0299311407. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  5. ^ a b Evans, Andrew E. (8 June 2017). "Rise and shout, the Cougars are out: Gay former student says BYU forced him into reparative therapy". Out Sports. Vox Media, Inc. SB Nation. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  6. ^ Hernandez, Joseph (June 9, 2017). "In 'The Black Penguin,' author explores the intersection of travel, religion and gay identity". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  7. ^ CBS (March 13, 2010). "All-Black Penguin Is One-in-a-Zillion". CBS News. CBS. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: The Black Penguin by Andrew Evans. Univ. Of Wisconsin, $24.95 (264p) ISBN 978-0-299-31140-7".
  9. ^ a b "Stonewall Book Awards List". Round Tables. September 9, 2009.
  10. ^ "National Geographic 'digital nomad' Andrew Evans explores Ontario | The Star". The Toronto Star. 30 June 2011.
  11. ^ "National Geographic's 'Digital Nomad' Roams the World". www.wbur.org.
  12. ^ NBC News (June 2014). "Connected Travelers Seek Out Digital Detox on Vacation". NBC News. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  13. ^ Nguyen, An (15 April 2019). "Nat Geo explorer delivers critique against travel influencers". Campus Times. University of Rochester. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  14. ^ "12th Consumer Editors Round Table". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Lost: In Conversation with Andrew Evans". 6 August 2018.
  16. ^ "ABOUT". ANDREW EVANS.
  17. ^ "Hidden Cities Revealed: Baku". You Tube. National Geographic Channel. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  18. ^ CNet. "A peek under the hood of innovation in Detroit". CNet. CBS. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  19. ^ "National Geographic - Turkey's Hidden Gems". National Geographic. National Geographic Channel. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Durban firmly on tourism map | IOL Travel". www.iol.co.za.
  21. ^ "Bucharest how smart you are!". www.businessdays.ro.
  22. ^ "National Geographic Channel's "World's Smart Cities: San Diego"". San Diego Magazine. 26 June 2015.
  23. ^ SATW. "Past Winners SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Awards". Society of American Travel Writers. SATW. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  24. ^ PRLOG. "Travel Writer and Explorer Andrew Evans to Receive Reach the World's Cronkite Award". PRLOG. Reach the World. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
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