Bill and Mary Burnham are travel writers, kayak guides and instructors who split their time between Virginia's Eastern Shore and the Florida Keys. The Burnhams have been writing together for more than a decade, blending their love of the outdoors with backgrounds in journalism and photography. Their books include The Florida Keys Paddling Atlas, The Complete Florida Beach Guide, Knack Car Camping, Wild Florida Islands, Day Hikes Near DC, Backroads of Virginia, and Hiking Virginia, a Falcon Guide, which earned a National Outdoor Book Award honorable mention. In summer they lead visitors through historic creeks, bayside marshes and seaside barrier islands of Virginia's Eastern Shore. In winter, they fly south to explore the mangrove paradise of the Florida Keys and Everglades. Bill is an ACA-certified coastal kayak instructor and has taught children's kayak camps. In researching the Florida Keys Paddling Atlas, they spent three years poking their bows into every mangrove creek and island along the 100-mile chain, Bill with a tape recorder and GPS, Mary with waterproof camera. Next, they spent six months traveling the entire Florida coast researching Wild Florida Islands, paddling out to every island they could, from the Panhandle to the Space Coast.
In 2008, they conducted a 100-mile book tour by kayak, from Key Largo to Key West. They are members of The Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), the Authors Guild, and the American Canoe Association (ACA). Their latest articles appear in The Washingtonian, The Miami Herald, South Florida Adventures, Fort Myers Magazine, Hampton Roads Magazine, Virginia Wine Lover, Backpacker, Blue Ridge Outdoors, and Alaska Airlines Magazine. They chronicle their adventures at www.BurnhamInk.com.