About Us
We started World Hum out of our apartments in May 2001 with $35 and one goal: To publish the best travel stories on the Internet.
Countless travel publications and websites tell you where to go, where to stay, what to do. At World Hum, we focus not only on destinations but on the journey, on travel in the broadest sense of the word. We explore how travel changes us, how it changes the way we see the world and how travel itself changes the world.
Who are we? We’re storytellers of all kinds, from world renown authors and adventure photographers to videographers and bloggers on the backpacker circuit. What all of our contributors share is a passion for travel—and a talent for telling great travel stories.
Over the years, stories from World Hum have been honored with awards, including Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, and have been included in countless travel anthologies, including regular appearances in The Best American Travel Writing.
We’re proud of our tradition of great travel storytelling, but we’re not satisfied. World Hum continues to evolve, using video, audio, photography and others tools of the digital revolution to tell new stories in new ways from all corners of our shrinking planet.
We hope you’ll join us for the journey, and even share stories of your own.
Enjoy the site, follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook and let us know .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Jim and Mike
Cofounders and Coeditors-in-Chief
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) has written for National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic Traveler, Outside, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times Magazine and Men’s Journal. He’s a former reporter at the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register. He lives in San Diego, where he teaches travel writing and makes frequent trips across the Mexican border to his favorite carnitas and mariachi joint. Follow him on Twitter. More: JimBenning.net.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) has worked as the Destinations Editor at USATODAY.com, and as an editor at Men’s Fitness, Men’s Journal and Journey magazines. His stories have appeared in Salon, Sunset, Via, Playboy, Westways, E!Online, Outdoor Explorer and many other publications. He lives in the Washington D.C. area. Follow him on Twitter, or see MichaelYessis.net.
Senior Editor
Eva Holland has written for the National Post, the Montreal Gazette, the Vancouver Sun, the Ottawa Citizen and WestJet’s Up! Magazine, among other publications. Based in Canada’s Yukon Territory, she loves to write about travel, history, sports, and culture high or low.
Email Michael or Jim if you’d like to send press releases, books or other media via snail mail.
Praise for World Hum:
“Superb writing and stylish layout make visiting the site like cracking open a high-quality travel magazine.” - The Wall Street Journal
“The best darn travel writing Web site, period.” - South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The “ultimate Weblog (or ‘blog’) for travel-related content that is devoted to the journey rather than the destination.” - Chicago Tribune
Gold Award, Best Travel Site, 2006 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards
Bronze Award, Best Travel Site, 2003 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards
Silver Award, Best Travel Site, 2002 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards
Nominee, Best Travel Site, 2002 Webby Awards
“The essays on World Hum are beautifully written. But better than that, each bears the specific stamp of the traveler, quirky, curious and very human.” - Newsweek International
“The people behind worldhum.com ... offer a refreshing take on going abroad.” - Times of London
“A good example of a travel site working as a global information network.” - BBC World
“[T]his evocative site offers original dispatches and an extensive list of well-chosen links.” - USA Today
One of the 100 best Web sites for guys - Men’s Journal
“Poignant, informative and entertaining ... With all the swill that passes itself off as travel literature on the Web these days, it’s a nice change of pace to discover a site that truly grants readers a little vicarious adventure.” - Toronto Globe and Mail
One of the Net’s top literary travel sites - San Francisco Chronicle
One of the 101 most useful websites.—The Telegraph (UK)
“The quality of writing is first class” - New Sunday Express (India)
World Hum “provides a high-energy, in-your-face look at travel today” - Chicago Sun-Times
“A great place to go to read travel tales beyond the typical. It’s full of wonderful stories” - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“An entertainment fix for travel junkies, with engaging writing, an archive of stories, a weblog and links to travel Web site” - San Diego Union-Tribune
“Solid, entertaining content, a great travel writing weblog and quick-loading design.” - Lonely Planet
A “massive, ever-growing ... tell-it-like-it-is ... portal” featuring “tales of love, life, beauty and horror.” - Independent (UK)
“Fresh online travel writing.” - Travelers’ Tales
“A repository of fine travel writing”—Slate
“Vicarious travelers can find plenty of interesting stories at this site ... content excels.” - Detroit Free Press
“For a less corporate-sponsored environment, deeper submissions and more thought-provoking prose, try World Hum.” - Buffalo News
“A literary travel magazine high on links and wit” - Compass
“Young, fresh and stylish.” - Expatriate Cafe
“Ha textos interessantes” - Brasil Online
“Av og for intellektuelle vagabonder” - NettGuide