Bill Gleeson

A fifth generation Northern Californian, Bill Gleeson is the bestselling author of more than a dozen popular travel guidebooks.

After graduating from California State University Chico, Gleeson drew inspiration from family excursions of his youth to write and illustrate his first travel guide, Small Hotels of California, published in 1984 by Chronicle Books in San Francisco.

Travel research for that book introduced him to boutique winemaking operations in up-and-coming wine regions including the Mother Lode, East Bay and the Central Coast. Those travels led to the publication of Backroad Wineries of Northern California followed by Backroad Wineries of Southern California (Chronicle Books).

As a father of two young children, Gleeson also wrote and photographed The Great Family Getaway Guide: Over 180 California Adventures for You and Your Kids, also published by Chronicle Books.

In the mid-1980s Gleeson conceived of a curated and richly illustrated guide to California’s most romantic destinations. Weekends for Two in Northern California: 50 Romantic Getaways became a regional bestseller for Chronicle Books, spawning a second volume as well as a national series of Weekends for Two editions featuring destinations in Southern California, the (Northern CA) Wine Country, the Pacific Northwest, the American Southwest, New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Gleeson’s eight-volume Weekends for Two franchise, with color photography by noted American photographers, sold nearly a half-million copies.

Gleeson also published Vacation Homes America, the nation’s first coast-to-coast vacation rental property guidebook.