This Writer's Life: The Joy of Regionals

I would be lying in I didn't recognize that the biggest rushes I get as a writer are when I see my articles in print in a major publication, such as Robb Report, Saveur or Beverage Media, or online in epicurious.com and men.style.com.

Yet some of the greatest personal enjoyment comes in working with regional publications such as The Hunt, Signature Brandywine or Pennsylvania Wine & Spirits Quarterly. Part of the allure is the great range of topics -- a profile of a professional flyfisher (the photo above), a piece on McFarming about business execs and professionals who do serious dirty things in their "backyards," or a final hommage to one of our best-known locals, Andrew Wyeth.

It's also fun to jump into the car and run off for an interview 30 minutes cross-country. Of course, I wouldn't trade my well-planned trips to Bordeaux and Umbria, but, still, the immediacy and intimacy of local reporting has its perks.

Finally, some of the most beautiful spreads to which I have had my name attached were published in the regionals. If you could flip the page above, you would see two more lovely spreads in The Hunt, finely photographed by Jim Graham and expertly laid out by the magazine's excellent art director, Leslie Kedash.

As Terry Peach, the flyfisher getting ready to cast away in the Brandywine, might say, it may be a small pond, but the fishing is good.

Until next time....

Roger Morris