For over 25 years, Bradt Guides’ New Travel Writer of the Year competition has sought out and promoted new writing talent. Previous winners and finalists of the competition have had their work published in newspapers, travel magazines and books.
As before, we have teamed up with the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards to offer this unique opportunity for unpublished travel writers. We are also delighted that this year’s first prize goes to a Train trip for two to Pas de Calais sponsored by Pas de Calais Tourisme, together with the assignment to write an article about the trip.
The topic
The theme of this year’s competition is A hasty departureParticipants are asked to submit an original text of 600 to 800 words dealing with this topic. It is not mandatory to include the phrase in the body of the piece itself, but the piece must adhere very clearly to this theme. Please note that “A Hasty Exit” NOT the title of the piece – each contribution must have an original title.
The piece must be a true story based on the author’s personal experiences and written as a first-hand account in the first person and in English.
The prices
Three finalists will be invited to the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards in London in early 2025, where the winner will be announced along with all other award winners.
The overall winner wins a short trip to Pas de Calais, including return train journey. They will be commissioned to write an article about their trip that will be published on the Bradt website and in Traveler Magazine.
The two runners-up will receive three Bradt guides of their choice. All shortlisted entries will be published on the Bradt website.
For further details please see our Terms & Conditions page.
The jury
The jurors of this year’s competition:
- Hilary Bradt, founder of Bradt Guides
- Adrian Phillips, Managing Director of Bradt Guides
- Amy Sohanpaul, editor of Traveler magazine
- Jonathan Lorie, travel literature coach and author of The path of the travel writer
- Hugh Brune, Head of Sales and Marketing at Bradt Guides
Before entering
To maximize your chances of success, take a look at our Notes from a previous competition about what the jury is looking for. You can also see all last year’s longlist entries. Still not sure whether to throw your hat in the ring? Read Jonathan Lorie’s article on travel writing competitions.
For more inspiration please see: Write a travel storyan anthology of the best writing submitted to the judges over the past 20 years. Six themed chapters cover remarkable places, extraordinary people, wildlife encounters, real terror, history, and learning and reflection. In total, 95 stories cover everything from border officials’ mix-ups, wild animals and dodgy navigation to a day trip to Iceland and being seduced by a goat in a French market.
Am I eligible to participate?
The competition is open to only unpublished authors. We define this as someone who has not previously been paid for a travel-related article published either in print or online. There are always grey areas here. For more information, see the competition rules here. If you’re still unsure, get in touch.
The small print
Entrance fee: £15.
Deadline for entries: 15 November 2024.
You will receive detailed information on how to submit your entry after payment of the participation fee.
Pay your entry fee here.
Full terms and conditions can be found at this page.
