travel writing competitions 2023 uk

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Anthology Travel Writing Competition

First prize of €500 and the winning entry published in anthology magazine. entries are now invited.

Established for writers who like to share authentic travel experiences and to provide a platform for publication. The Anthology  Travel Writing Competition is open to original and previously unpublished travel articles in the English language by writers of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. We are looking for an engaging article that will capture the reader’s attention, conveying a strong sense of the destination and the local culture. 

Open to both new and established writers, articles submitted must not exceed 1,000 words. Writers can submit as many entries as they wish. Each submission will require a separate entry form and is subject to a separate entry fee. 

It is not a requirement but is advisable to refer to  Anthology  magazine or purchase a copy, before submitting your work so that you can see the type of material we publish. Subscriptions and single copies are available to purchase through our  online shop .

The winner will receive €500  and the chance to see their work published in a future issue of  Anthology .

Submission deadline and entry fees

Final Deadline: 30 November 2024

• Early bird fee – €12: April – July 2024
• Standard fee – €15: August – November 2024

How to enter

Click the button below to access the entry form. Fill in your details, upload your entry and complete the payment before clicking ‘submit’. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions below for competition rules.

Terms and conditions

• To enter, submit an original, non-fictional, unpublished travel article, written in English with a maximum of 1,000 words.
• There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit. Each submission will require a separate entry form and be subject to a separate entry fee.
• There is no age limit.
• Submissions will be judged on literary merit, originality and readability.
• Once selected, the winner will be contacted by email or telephone.
• Copyright remains with the author but  Anthology  reserves the right to be the first to publish or arrange a broadcast of selected works. 
• The winner and finalists grant  Anthology  the right to use their articles in electronic form or in print for the specific purpose of promoting  Anthology  and its Awards without restriction in any media.
• Submission of a written piece implies the author’s acceptance of the rules and conditions.
• In order to minimise administrative costs and maintain affordable fees, please note that entry fees are non-refundable.
• Prize money will be paid on publication of the winning article in  Anthology  magazine.

The Anthology Travel Writing Competition is listed with:

Duotrope | Study, Work, Grow | CAP Arts Centre | Fine Art New Zealand | Film Freeway | Arizona Arts Commission | Florida Department of State | Regional Arts & Culture Council | North Carolina Arts Council | NAWE | New Writers | Writers College | Australian Writers’ Resource | Sisters in Crime Australia | CreativeWriting.ie | Christopher Fielden | Almond Press | UK Writers College | SA Writers College | Reedsy | New Pages |

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Anthology personal memoir competition, anthology nature writing competition, anthology short story competition, anthology flash fiction competition, anthology art competition, anthology poetry competition, anthology photography competition, antoon knaap, county wicklow on screen.

New Travel Writer of the Year 2023: winner and shortlist

In association with the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards.

• Post author By Bradt Guides
• Post date 31st January 2023

We’re thrilled to announce the winning and shortlisted entries for the 2023 Bradt New Travel Writer of the Year competition , in association with the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards.

What Was Left Behind

Winner of the Bradt New Travel Writer of the Year Competition 2023.

The shortlist

All You Can Eat

Shortlisted in the Bradt New Travel Writer of the Year Competition 2023.

An Unforgettable Day in Iran

Longlisted entries.

Longlisted in the Bradt New Travel Writer of the Year Competition 2023.

Sublime Svalbard

On Thin Ice

Outside Uncle Enver’s House

In Search of the Silver Lining

Janice booth.

We’re sad to report that Janice Booth died on Sunday 5 th February. Janice was a Bradt stalwart – not only a peerless editor of many Bradt books, but herself co-author of our guides to Rwanda, Socotra and Devon. She brought a fierce dedication to all her projects, and the annual Bradt travel-writing competition was a particular passion of hers. Janice became the driving force behind the competition, reading every single entry – usually several hundred – and whittling them down to a more manageable longlist for the other judges. More than that, Janice took a very personal interest in helping entrants to improve their writing. Many hopefuls received personal emails of advice and encouragement, or even fuller critiques of their writing that Janice would spend many hours putting together. Hilary Bradt, her friend of many years, tells us that the briefcase Janice took with her to the nursing home where she spent her last days was half-filled with printouts of the entries to the latest competition. It shows just how much this competition meant to her. And she, in turn, meant so much to so many. She will be greatly missed.

Enter the PureTravel Writing Competition 2023 and support Explorers Against Extinction

The puretravel writing competition 2023.

One of our Sponsors – Pure Travel – are running a travel writing contest. The winning entries will be posted on their web site and ours. PureTravel is a long standing supporter of ours and all their profits are donated to Explorers Against Extinction every year to cover our running costs.

Not only that, we get to publish some of the amazing travel writing that is sent to them!

How to Enter:

Write and tell us about your most breathtaking travel moment. Whether you stumbled on a stunning view or glimpsed a long-lost ruin. Perhaps you bumped into someone unexpectedly or were shown kindness by a stranger. Maybe you had a terrifying journey or witnessed an amazing sunrise/sunset.

Make us really feel that moment with you.

If your story is selected as the winner, you will receive  US$500  to put towards your next trip.

For full details of how to enter, visit the writing competition page at PureTravel.

Privacy Overview

Travel writing competition: Future of Travel

Latest posts.

The Masterclasses 2023: 10 travel writing tips from our experts

From establishing a niche to tackling writer’s block, the autumn series of The Masterclasses saw 12 of the UK’s leading travel journalists share the tips and tricks behind their success.

The Masterclasses by National Geographic Traveller (UK) returned in September 2023 with a brand-new series of insightful, hour-long online sessions curated for aspiring travel writers and photographers.  

Leaving no stone unturned, the expert panel of travel writers explored everything from penning that all-important opening line to forming good relationships with editors. Throughout the three sessions, they shared a wealth of inside knowledge — offering up advice that will prove invaluable to anyone hoping to make travel writing a full-time career.  

These are their 10 top tips on getting your story published, navigating the industry and using structure to elevate your travel writing.  

1. Know your reader

“I would say the number one mistake freelance writers make when pitching is they don’t understand the audience of the title. The best thing you can do if you’re really interested in writing for a publication is to go out and buy yourself the magazine and familiarise yourself with the content, the tone and the kinds of things that the readership might find of interest.”   — Alicia Miller, Pitching and getting published  

2. Be patient

“If you’re really interested in something, then there will be an audience out there for that story. It’s just about finding the right home for it. Don’t get discouraged — and believe in your idea! Because if you find it interesting, other people will too.” — Daniel Stables, Pitching and getting published  

3. Win over commissioning editors

“When I first started freelancing, editors didn’t know who I was. One way of showcasing my knowledge was deeply researching a destination and including a taste of that in the pitch. Make it concise, but also show that you have knowledge about the destination. If I was working with a new editor for the first time, I would always include links to previous work, or somehow demonstrate my expertise in the subject.” — Qin Xie, Pitching and getting published

4. Utilise social media

“Dinosaurs like me may absolutely despise it, but the reality is that if you’re a travel writer and you have no presence on social media, you have no presence.” — Tharik Hussain, How to be a savvy travel writer in 2023  

5. Know today’s travel writing landscape  

“Perhaps 10 years ago, 20 years ago, travel writing came from a person’s appreciation of a destination. Now what we’re looking at is trying to capitalise on what other people in the big internet landscape are looking for… Travel writing is kind of evolving away from being that destination-led 'this was my experience, and this is how you can recreate it' and it’s turning to using travel as a sort of lifestyle trend.” — Cathy Adams, How to be a savvy travel writer in 2023  

6. Find a niche  

“Editors, increasingly, are looking for people either based in a destination or people who know a place really well and really understand the culture. And so, a couple of benefits of having a niche are that it helps editors find you: they can remember what your patch is. And then, on a personal level, I find it really satisfying to find those stories that take you to the deeper levels of a destination. You have to have a really genuine passion for the place because it’s a bit like writing a book: you still have to find it interesting after 50,000 words.” —   Zoey Goto, How to be a savvy travel writer in 2023  

7. Find the right working environment

“Usually, I’ll find some travel writing from a writer I really like, and I’ll kind of read over their pieces just to get in the right frame of mind. I’ll usually listen to some quite amped-up music — usually the same playlist I use for running — because it kind of gets you in the mood to do things. For actual writing, I’m a big fan of white noise. Having narrowed it down over several years, I think my favourite type of white noise is the tumble dryer; there’s a whole tumble dryer playlist on Spotify that I am really dedicated to.” — Georgia Stephens, How to structure your storytelling  

8. Write as though talking to a friend

“You don’t have to use highfalutin prose to make an intro work. Often, it’s the simple stuff. Good journalism is a bit like talking to a friend. Just tell me what’s happening… And in the same way that your friends wouldn’t when you tell them about your travels, [the reader] won’t listen to more than two sentences of description. With the greatest of respect, no one cares.” — James Stewart, How to structure your storytelling  

9. Make the most of quotes

“Quotes are a way to deliver information to your reader from a different perspective — and it’s so much more powerful coming from someone else other than you. It’s definitely important to use quotes, especially when you’re writing about communities that you may not be a part of. Allowing people to tell their stories in their own words as much as possible, is so important.” — Katherine Gallardo, How to structure your storytelling  

10. Don't be afraid of writer's block

“As someone who has come to this relatively recently, I would say that even the best writers struggle to write sometimes. Everybody gets writer’s block, even published authors. Just don’t beat yourself up. If it’s not coming, it’s not coming. Just come back to it another day.” — Georgia Stephens, How to structure your storytelling  

Related Topics

• ADVENTURE TRAVEL
• TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE
• STORYTELLING

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Best Travel Writing Contests in 2024

Showing 8 contests that match your search.

Travel Writing Award

Ottawa Tourism

Genres: Travel

Ottawa Tourism offers an annual $500 CAD prize for outstanding travel writing featuring Canada’s Capital Region. Eligible entries include items in English or in French that have appeared in magazines, newspapers, or online media in 2023 that highlight Ottawa as a travel destination.

📅 Deadline: February 02, 2024 (Expired)

Crossings Travel Writing Competition

Intrepid Times

Genres: Non-fiction, Short Story, and Travel

Write an original, factual, first-person travel story that centers on a crossing of some kind. Your travel story should, as always, grow around the context of a place or experience; we want to see the theme being used in a way that enhances both. Editors will be looking for originality, voice, and a satisfying story arc that captures attention and makes use of imagery to pull the reader along at every step.

Additional prizes:

Publication in Intrepid Times

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024

Solas Awards

Best Travel Writing

Genres: Essay, Non-fiction, and Travel

Extraordinary stories about travel and the human spirit have been the cornerstones of our books since 1993. With the Solas Awards we honor writers whose work inspires others to explore. We’re looking for the best stories about travel and the world. Funny, illuminating, adventurous, uplifting, scary, inspiring, poignant stories that reflect the unique alchemy that occurs when you enter unfamiliar territory and begin to see the world differently as a result. We hope these awards will be a catalyst for those who love to leave home and tell others about it.

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: September 21, 2024

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Learn more about Reedsy Studio .

New Deal Writing Competition

New Deal Museum

Genres: Christian, Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ, Mystery, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Travel

GVCA is excited to announce the ninth annual New Deal Writing Competition! This competition challenges writers to use a painting chosen by the staff at GVCA as inspiration for a short story. This year’s painting is “Playtime” by Fred Ross.

Publication in newsletter

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: March 15, 2024 (Expired)

Global Experience Travel Writing Contest

Have you been marked by travel? If so, tell us how. Engaging with the genre of creative nonfiction, seize upon memorable incidents from your travel history — study abroad, domestic travels, even your discovery of Northfield. Entertain us. Make us laugh. Move us. Help us travel with you.

📅 Deadline: April 07, 2024 (Expired)

100 Word Writing Contest

Tadpole Press

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Children's, Poetry, Romance, Short Story, Suspense, and Travel

Can you write a story using 100 words or less? Pieces will be judged on creativity, uniqueness, and how the story captures a new angle, breaks through stereotypes, and expands our beliefs about what's possible or unexpectedly delights us. In addition, we are looking for writing that is clever or unique, inspires us, and crafts a compelling and complete story. The first-place prize has doubled to $2,000 USD.

2nd: writing coach package

💰 Entry fee: $15

Irene Adler Prize

Lucas Ackroyd

I’ve traveled the world from Sweden to South Africa, from the Golden Globes to the Olympic women’s hockey finals. I’ve photographed a mother polar bear and her cubs and profiled stars like ABBA, Jennifer Garner and Katarina Witt. And I couldn’t have done it without women. I’ve been very fortunate, and it’s time for me to give back. With the Irene Adler Prize, I’m awarding a $1,000 scholarship to a woman pursuing a degree in journalism, creative writing, or literature at a recognized post-secondary institution.

2x honorable mentions: $250

📅 Deadline: May 30, 2024

Anthology Travel Writing Competition 2024

Anthology Magazine

The Anthology Travel Writing Competition is open to original and previously unpublished travel articles in the English language by writers of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. We are looking for an engaging article that will capture the reader’s attention, conveying a strong sense of the destination and the local culture. Max 1000 words.

💰 Entry fee: $16

📅 Deadline: November 30, 2024

Discover the finest writing contests of 2024 for fiction and non-fiction authors — including short story competitions, essay writing competitions, poetry contests, and many more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters. If you’re looking to stick to free writing contests, simply use our filters as you browse.

Why you should submit to writing contests

Submitting to poetry competitions and free writing contests in 2024 is absolutely worth your while as an aspiring author: just as your qualifications matter when you apply for a new job, a writing portfolio that boasts published works and award-winning pieces is a great way to give your writing career a boost. And not to mention the bonus of cash prizes!

That being said, we understand that taking part in writing contests can be tough for emerging writers. First, there’s the same affliction all writers face: lack of time or inspiration. Entering writing contests is a time commitment, and many people decide to forego this endeavor in order to work on their larger projects instead — like a full-length book. Second, for many writers, the chance of rejection is enough to steer them clear of writing contests. 

But we’re here to tell you that two of the great benefits of entering writing contests happen to be the same as those two reasons to avoid them.

When it comes to the time commitment: yes, you will need to expend time and effort in order to submit a quality piece of writing to competitions. That being said, having a hard deadline to meet is a great motivator for developing a solid writing routine.

Think of entering contests as a training session to become a writer who will need to meet deadlines in order to have a successful career. If there’s a contest you have your eye on, and the deadline is in one month, sit down and realistically plan how many words you’ll need to write per day in order to meet that due date — and don’t forget to also factor in the time you’ll need to edit your story!

For tips on setting up a realistic writing plan, check out this free, ten-day course: How to Build a Rock-Solid Writing Routine.

In regards to the fear of rejection, the truth is that any writer aspiring to become a published author needs to develop relatively thick skin. If one of your goals is to have a book traditionally published, you will absolutely need to learn how to deal with rejection, as traditional book deals are notoriously hard to score. If you’re an indie author, you will need to adopt the hardy determination required to slowly build up a readership.

The good news is that there’s a fairly simple trick for learning to deal with rejection: use it as a chance to explore how you might be able to improve your writing.

In an ideal world, each rejection from a publisher or contest would come with a detailed letter, offering construction feedback and pointing out specific tips for improvement. And while this is sometimes the case, it’s the exception and not the rule.

Still, you can use the writing contests you don’t win as a chance to provide yourself with this feedback. Take a look at the winning and shortlisted stories and highlight their strong suits: do they have fully realized characters, a knack for showing instead of telling, a well-developed but subtly conveyed theme, a particularly satisfying denouement?

The idea isn’t to replicate what makes those stories tick in your own writing. But most examples of excellent writing share a number of basic craft principles. Try and see if there are ways for you to translate those stories’ strong points into your own unique writing.

Finally, there are the more obvious benefits of entering writing contests: prize and publication. Not to mention the potential to build up your readership, connect with editors, and gain exposure.

Resources to help you win writing competitions in 2024

Every writing contest has its own set of submission rules. Whether those rules are dense or sparing, ensure that you follow them to a T. Disregarding the guidelines will not sway the judges’ opinion in your favor — and might disqualify you from the contest altogether. 

Aside from ensuring you follow the rules, here are a few resources that will help you perfect your submissions.

Free online courses

On Writing:

How to Craft a Killer Short Story

The Non-Sexy Business of Writing Non-Fiction

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Stop Procrastinating! Build a Solid Writing Routine

On Editing:

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After you submit to a writing competition in 2024

It’s exciting to send a piece of writing off to a contest. However, once the initial excitement wears off, you may be left waiting for a while. Some writing contests will contact all entrants after the judging period — whether or not they’ve won. Other writing competitions will only contact the winners. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind after you submit:

Many writing competitions don’t have time to respond to each entrant with feedback on their story. However, it never hurts to ask! Feel free to politely reach out requesting feedback — but wait until after the selection period is over.

If you’ve submitted the same work to more than one writing competition or literary magazine, remember to withdraw your submission if it ends up winning elsewhere.

After you send a submission, don’t follow it up with a rewritten or revised version. Instead, ensure that your first version is thoroughly proofread and edited. If not, wait until the next edition of the contest or submit the revised version to other writing contests.

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Anthology Travel Writing Competition

30 november.

• Deadline: Midnight (UK time) on 30 November 2024
• Entry Fee: Very early bird: €10 per article (until 31 March 2024); Early bird: €12 per article (April to 31 July 2024); Standard fee: €15 per article (1 August to 30 November 2024)
• Prizes: 1st Place: €500 , plus publication in the Anthology magazine
• Word Limit: 1,000 words
• Category: Travel Writing Competitions
• Competition Website: anthology-magazine.com/awards/travel-writing-competition

Organised by Anthology magazine , this travel writing competition offers the chance to win a tidy top prize of €500 and to gain publication in their stylish magazine. With a maximum of 1,000 words, there’s enough room to be relatively expansive in your travel tales.

So if you enjoy writing about places you’ve visited, wherever they might be, this could be the competition for you – and enter before 31 July 2024 for the discounted entry fee.

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Unintended Baggage

What it means to be a writer in a world with ai, protecting the mediterranean’s ecosystem onboard grimaldi lines, the beautiful madness of europe’s budget airlines, why we travel: interview with ash bhardwaj, on the edge of a storm in south africa, welcome to travel writing with heart.

Since 2014, Intrepid Times has been the online home for narrative, non-fiction travel writing. Our hundreds of contributors come from around the world. Some are award-winning journalists, while others are novice writers putting pen to paper for the first time. What they share is a passion for discovering the world and the relentless drive to share travel experiences for those with inquiring minds and a sense of wanderlust. We publish a new story every week and also run courses to help writers find their footing and get their stories published.

Submit Your Travel Story

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Meet Top Travel Writers

Listen to the Intrepid Times podcast to hear from the people behind today's most compelling travel stories.

Enter Our Competitions

We host regular travel writing competitions with monetary prizes—find out what's open and discover past winners.

On The Edges of Europe

Updated every Wednesday around 12PM Eastern time, Intrepid Times travel stories are true adventures you can get lost in.

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Travel Writing Awards Competitions

While the pandemic has effectively shut down travel, it hasn’t completely wiped out travel writing awards competitions. For example, the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards offered prizes this year, but in only three categories. That said, other competitions continue to offer prizes in many categories. Below is a list of the most established travel writing competitions. Please note that because of the pandemic, some deadlines, announcements, and eligibility windows have changed this year.

Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards

At the top of our list are the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, which focus on books and literary travel writing. These are among the most prestigious travel writing awards in the United Kingdom. See our interviews with ESTWA winners and nominees and related articles .

• Website:  https://www.edwardstanfordawards.com
• Submission Deadline: December/January
• Shortlist Announcement: February
• Winner Announcement: March
• Eligibility Window: Works published from mid-November to mid-November of the previous year (If the submission deadline is January 2022, then the publication window is November 2020 to November 2021)
• Categories: Books primarily

SATW Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition 

In the United States, the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards are among the most prestigious. The award categories are vast and typically include consumer-oriented travel writing and media. Entrants need not be SATW members.

• Website:  http://www.satwf.com
• Submission Deadline: April
• Winner Announcement: October
• Eligibility Window: Works published from April of the previous year through March of the current year
• Categories: Consumer-focused journalism, various media, and books

AITO Travel Writer of the Year Awards

AITO, the Specialist Travel Association, have a long-running travel writing awards competitions in five categories: Travel Writer of the year (<1500 Words), Travel Writer of the Year (>1500 words), Young Travel Writer of the Year (Under 30), Blogger of the Year, and Travel Trade Writer of the Year.

• Website: https://www.aito.com/media-area/awards
• Submission Deadline: August
• Eligibility Window: August of the previous year through July of the current year 
• Categories: Consumer-focused journalism, featured stories, and blogging

North American Travel Journalist Awards 

The NATJA awards also honors a wide variety of award categories and generally involve consumer-oriented travel media. Entrants need to be NATJA members in good standing. See our NATJA posts .

• Website: https://www.natja.org
• Submission Deadline: November
• Eligibility Window: September of the previous year through September of the current year 
• Fees: Yes, membership also necessary

Solas Travel Writing Awards

Sponsored by the publisher Travelers’ Tales, the Solas Awards focus on feature stories. Winners may also see their work published in Travelers’ Tales books. 

• Website: https://besttravelwriting.com
• Submission Deadline: September
• Eligibility Window: Unclear
• Categories: Features only, from 750 to 5,500 words

LATA Media Awards

The Latin American Travel Association (LATA) focuses excellence in British travel media that focus on Latin America. LATA reveals the winners of their LATA Media Awards in May.

• Website: https://www.lata.travel/media/media-awards/
• Submission Deadline: March
• Winner Announcement: May
• Eligibility Window: Works published during the previous calendar year
• Categories: Consumer National Newspaper Feature of the Year Award (print), Consumer Magazine Feature of the Year Award (print), Online Consumer Feature of the Year Award (national magazine or newspaper), Best Regional Feature of the Year Awards (print a/o online), Best Latin American Round-up, Trade Publication Feature of the Year Award (print or online), Blog, Vlog or Podcast of the Year Award, Best Self – Published Award (i.e. Company Blog/Website), Top published Latin America photo, Social media campaign of the year

GTMA Awards

The Global Travel Media Alliance (GTMA) pulls together the three major English-speaking travel writing associations: the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), the British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW), and the Australian Society of Travel Writers (ASTW).

• Website: http://gtmalliance.com
• Eligibility Window: Works mostly published during the previous calendar year
• Fee: Yes, $25
• Categories: Global Travel Writer, Global Travel Photographer, Global Travel Communicator

BGTW Members’ Excellence Awards (MEA)

The British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW) holds their Members’ Excellence Awards (MEA) yearly.

• Website: https://bgtw.org/awards/members-awards/
• Submission Deadline: See members’ section
• Winner Announcement: At the Gala dinner in November
• Eligibility Window: See members’ section
• Fee: Membership dues
• Categories: Travel Feature of the Year – UK, Travel Feature of the Year – non UK, NEW for 2020 – Travel Feature of the Year – Regional and Specialist Media, NEW for 2020 – Specialist Travel Feature of the Year – the Bryn Frank Award, Transport Feature of the Year – The Kenneth Westcott-Jones Award, Travel Book of the Year – The Adele Evans Award, NEW for 2020 – Travel Photo Feature of the Year, NEW for 2020 – Travel Blog Post of the Year, NEW for 2020 – Travel Broadcast of the Year, BGTW Travel Blogger of the Year, BGTW Travel Broadcaster of the Year, BGTW Photographer of the Year, BGTW Travel Writer of the Year

The list above is obviously not exhaustive. Please leave a comment below if there are other active travel writing competitions we need to include in this list.

Last Updated on 22 June 2021 by Travel Writing World

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Travel Writing World

With an emphasis on travel books and long-form travel literature, host Jeremy Bassetti talks with the world’s most inspiring travel writers about their work and about the business and craft of travel writing in this award-winning podcast and website. In addition to the podcast, the site also features travel writer profiles, book reviews, and articles.

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• Great Stories
• Learn about the Solas Awards for the best travel stories of the year
• Read some of the best travel writing today
• Here's how to enter the competition for cash awards and publication
• Discover new writers and great reads with Travelers’ Tales books

Win Cash and Publication Many Categories for True Stories Submit Your Story for the Solas Awards Here

Eighteenth Annual Solas Awards Winners Announced

The Travelers’ Tales editors and this year’s returning judge Scott Dominic Carpenter announced the winners of the Eighteenth Annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Story of the Year on March 1, 2024. Grand Prize winner Sue Parman collected $1000 and the gold award for “ Y ou Can’t Get There from Here ,” her wondrous tale about connecting with others in the Outer Hebrides. Lance Mason won the silver award and $750 for “ The Lessons of Drnc ,” his story about cultural conflict in the Balkans. Pier Nirandara took the bronze award and $500 for “ To the Thai Woman Who Touched Me ,” her reflective essay about class and ethnicity in mixed cultures.

Scores of entries in 21 categories kept the judges busy. As usual, not every story that deserved an award received one. Here’s the complete list of winners. Winning stories will be posted as Editors’ Choice stories on TravelersTales.com , and may appear in future Travelers’ Tales books.

Nineteenth Annual Solas Awards Open for Entries

Deadline for the Nineteenth Annual Solas Awards is September 21, 2024. The competition is year-round, however, so submit your stories any time. Winners of the Eighteenth Annual Solas Awards were announced on March 1, 2024.

See the complete list of winners in the Eighteenth Annual Solas Awards.

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Travelers’ Tales Sponsors Solas Awards

Award-winning publisher Travelers’ Tales is the sponsor of The Solas Awards, an annual competition to honor excellence in travel writing.

Dates: You can enter year-round. The current competition closes on September 21, 2024.

Grand Prize for Best Travel Story of the Year:

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‘So good I went five times’: travel writers’ favourite discoveries of 2023

We asked 23 Guardian travel writers to share their best experiences of 2023, from elegant spas and an art deco cinema to a new ‘megalith’ and a futuristic hotel

A hotel from another planet lands in rural Brittany

There are many places where you expect to see jaw-dropping architecture, but the quiet Brittany countryside isn’t one of them. As we walked toward Hotel l’Essenciel (not a typo, ciel means sky) with its 36 rooms, or “nests” suspended around its central structure, with the flying-saucer shaped restaurant La Table des Pères at its foot, I had to wonder if I’d stepped into a parallel universe or on to another planet.

Inside, the cocoon-like room was as stylish as any boutique hotel, only with a slight bounce in the floor – thankfully not gravity-defying. From the window, we had an incredible view of the sculpture park in the grounds of the 18th-century Château des Pères, once a monk’s retreat and now a centre for woodwork, sculpture and pottery workshops. These classes give a clue to why the hotel was built here, surrounded by farmland 50 minutes south-east of Rennes. Its owner is the Legendre family, founder of the Groupe Legendre construction firm, who wanted to showcase the industry’s ingenuity and talent by creating something with a wow factor. They did not disappoint. Doubles from €180 room-only Carolyn Boyd

The Roker riviera, Tyne and Wear

To my mind, Sunderland is the best city in the north-east. I went for a city break a few weeks ago, and left the former shipbuilding heavyweight irreparably smitten: with its people, its pedigree, its architectural spread, and by what it’s putting on the table (the tacos at Mexico 70 were ineffable, the sandwich at Pop Recs sublime).

Other gleaming features include the Penshaw Monument (a whopping folly on a hill), the National Glass Centre (a revealing experience by the river), and a local speciality called Pink Slice . Jordan Pickford aside, Sunderland’s brightest asset must be its beach – the Roker riviera. LS Lowry used to journey across the Pennines to holiday here every year, and it’s not hard to see why. As I ran along its spirit-lifting length, the beach appeared to go on forever. Oh that it did! Ben Aitken

The Canary Islands’ Little Venice

When a friend invited me to Gran Canaria this summer, I thought I knew what to expect. I’d been to Tenerife and Lanzarote, and was keen to explore another lunar landscape. To an extent, I was right. We trekked around Pico de las Nieves, the summit in the centre of the island, and ventured out on to the vast Maspalomas dunes.

What I wasn’t expecting to find was a Little Venice. Puerto de Mogán is an old fishing port linked to a newer marina by a series of canals and bridges, hence the nickname. Visitors can wander around the flower-filled streets and boardwalks, take a boat trip (no gondolas, sadly) and swim off the sandy beach under high cliffs. We climbed to a lookout point above the fishing quarter, then headed down to one of the numerous waterside restaurants to eat garlicky lapas a la plancha (grilled limpets) washed down with Canarian white wine – at a fraction of Venetian prices.

On the edge of town is the fascinating archaeological site of Cañada de los Gatos, a pre-Hispanic settlement thought to be more than 1,300 years old. The Museo Canario in Las Palmas, the capital, is a good place to learn more about the indigenous Guanches who built it – yet another aspect of the Canary Islands I had been in ignorance about. Rachel Dixon

A chilling experience in an ancient tomb, County Meath

At the end of a country lane about 15 minutes’ drive west of Drogheda sits a big grassy dome fronted with quartz and engraved kerb stones. From afar, you could mistake it for some sort of military installation. Or, as an Irish colleague put it: “Post-restoration, it looks like a 1960s Methodist church.” But Newgrange tomb is among the oldest buildings in the world – it predates the pyramids by five centuries. The late archaeologist Michael J O’Kelly excavated and restored Newgrange from 1962 to 1975, and made a remarkable discovery, which he eerily related in Arthur C Clarke’s 1980s television series Mysterious World.

O’Kelly found a slit above the entrance to a vaulted inner chamber that contained the bones of four adults and one child. His theory was that the slit was put there to let in the rays of the rising sun to wake the spirits of the dead. But only on one day of the year, the winter solstice.

“The first shot of orange-red light penetrated right to where I was sitting,” O’Kelly said. “It gradually widened to a 17cm band that illuminated the whole interior. I could feel the spirits of the dead all around me … and then a point came after 17 minutes, a sudden cut-off. Darkness.”

As we weren’t there on the shortest day of the year, we had to make do with the guide’s torch to simulate the sepulchral light. Even so, it was a chilling experience. And mind-boggling to think that 5,000 years ago, without the aid of mathematical tools, stone age builders had arranged this aperture to be perfectly level with the horizon when the sun casts its first rays, on only one day a year. Booking essential, heritageireland.ie Andy Pietrasik

Vineyard revival, Czech Republic

While on a tour of the Czech wine region of Znojmo, I was initially a little dubious when we pulled up in Vrbovec (population: 1,200). This unassuming town, however, is the site of a spectacular cultural renaissance. When German speakers were expelled from Czechoslovakia after the second world war, Vrbovec lost almost its entire population, along with its wine-related traditions and festivals. But in the early 2000s, its residents (now mostly Czech speakers) revived these traditions, and they’ve been a huge hit nationally – helped along by their delectable wines, which are also making a comeback after decades of neglect under communism. Their summer harvest festival, featuring Moravian folk dances and lots of wine, drew about 2,000 people last year. Outside of festival time, a folk culture trail and wine cellars are open every weekend – owners will place a yellow bike outside to indicate that a cellar is open to visitors. I suggest arranging a visit through a local tour operator (try Wine Tours Moravia ), as it’s still so off the radar – but I suspect that will soon change. Sarah Gillespie

Here for the beer – and the decor, Cwrw pub, Carmarthen

The name Cwrw (“kooroo”) means beer in Welsh. Selling all kinds of craft ales, lagers, sours, stouts and wheat beers, this colourful pub in Carmarthen does what it says on the sign and more. It hosts tastings, comedy nights, poetry readings and regular live music.

What drew me in was the motley decor: pot plants and bunting trail round a window that says BAR in neon letters. Lighting ranges from repurposed traffic lights to filigree lamps; postcards paper the beams and international number plates hang over the bar. One of the wooden tables sits under a wall-sized photo of sunshine streaming through a misty forest.

Upstairs, above a patchwork sofa, there’s a record store. The streets nearby are home to independent shops, cafes and art galleries. The Oriel Bevan Jones gallery opposite is run by the Arts Care charity and sells elegant textiles. Phoebe Taplin

‘Peerless’ kebabs, Ankara, Turkey

Checking my credit card statement recently, I saw that Ciğerci Aydın restaurant (on Tahmis Çarşısı street) had charged me the same amount twice on the same day. I worried I’d been double charged, but then remembered I visited it twice in the space of a few hours, ordering the same thing each time.

I was in Ankara to catch the Doğu Express train , and had ordered lamb and chicken skewers, adana kebab (seasoned ground lamb) drowning in yoghurt and tomato sauce, Turkish tea poured from a stacked metal kettle, and syrupy hot knafeh (a gooey, cheesy dessert). All common menu items in Ankara, but peerlessly sumptuous here.

I waved a skewer at my friend and said: “It’s just meat on a stick. How can they make it taste this good?”

By my fifth visit, the charming waiter laughed and ushered me to my favourite table. Jamie Fullerton

A very special island – weather permitting, Devon

This is one of those well-known places that few visit. Lundy sits 11 miles off the coast of Devon, isolated by storms, winds and tides, accessible only when the elements allow. My trip this year was almost abandoned , but the storm blew itself out and a three-night stay was trimmed to a day. The high possibility of cancellation seems only to sharpen the appreciation when the venerable MS Oldenburg ferry does operate.

Rock climbers have a cornucopia of great routes, including the classic, Devil’s Slide; hikers enjoy magnificent panoramas; swimmers get seals and lots of smaller creatures. There is even a convivial pub where you can sit and read about the colourful history of this rock, barely a half a mile across and three long. Seabirds are a particular attraction and a growing one: the population hit 40,000 in 2023 , the highest figure since the 1930s. Kevin Rushby

Mural trails and top tapas in Torremolinos, Spain

This well-trodden – and some might argue, tacky – Costa del Sol resort may seem an unlikely candidate, but off-season it yielded unexpected delights. Blame it, perhaps, on the balmy subtropical climate, but wandering the newly scrubbed-up streets – it’s recently benefited from a €10m regeneration scheme – my partner and I enjoyed bargain verdejo and tapas at frenetic 60-year-old institution Bodega Guerola on Calle San Miguel, explored the bars and restaurants of Pueblo Blanco (a labyrinth of alleyways around a picturesque white courtyard) and strolled along the palm tree-lined paseo to the sleepy fisherman’s quarter, La Carihuela.

We also marvelled at the new trail of vast public murals ( Ruta de Murales ) celebrating iconic past visitors from Sinatra to Bardot, as well as LGBTQ+ history on Pasaje Begoña, where a key artwork marks a pivotal 1971 police raid of its pioneering gay venues. Happily, in 2023 the queer scene is ever-expanding, especially in the La Nogalera neighbourhood: another welcome discovery. Stephen Emms

Slow cooking at its finest in Sofia, Bulgaria

Like most of my finest discoveries, this cosy old restaurant came recommended by a fellow passenger on a train. It was midwinter and I was travelling from Bucharest to Sofia, snowdrifts rising around our carriage as I yearned for stodge, stew and maybe a fireplace. “Go to Staria Chinar ,” she said, scribbling in my notebook. On arrival in the Bulgarian capital my friend and I set off on foot, passing the golden dome of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, from which it was a five-minute walk to what appeared to be an old house with a courtyard and antlers for a door handle. Winding up the stairs, we passed a warren of low-lit rooms with worn floral wallpaper.

Only one other couple was seated in our nook as we tucked into sticky wodges of lamb slow-cooked in the outdoor clay oven along with gooey beef cheeks in black pepper sauce. My fingers were slicked with the saltiness of fried cheese and my stomach full and sated. Monisha Rajesh

The history of Bordeaux under one roof, France

It was a family holiday and we needed cheering up, so had spent the morning at the old Chartreuse cemetery. When sudden rain sent us looking for shelter, I didn’t expect much from the Musée d’Aquitaine , except that we’d be dry. But it was a revelation: a Roman altar to a lion-headed god; golden coins stamped with galloping horses; a medieval carving in which an angel stilled the sword Abraham held poised to cut Isaac’s throat. Here were ancient objects imbued with undimmed power.

Best of all was the Venus of Laussel , the most exciting prehistoric rock art I’d seen. Carved into limestone at least 22,000 years ago, she is naked, pregnant and holds a bison horn. I wished she wasn’t behind glass, that she was still part of the cave where she was discovered in 1911. But to fall into her company by chance was a blessing. Peter Ross

Spas, vineyards and hilltop castles in Croatia

It’s easy to be sceptical when tourist brochures talk about “fairytale lands”. But then you look at the Zagorje region of northern Croatia and think: fair enough. With a glass of crisp Croatian sparkling wine in hand, I lounged on a deck chair overlooking the vineyards and gentle hills of Vuglec Breg guesthouse and winery, watching the autumn light work its magic. Weekenders from Zagreb and Slovenia stay in rustic houses called hiže and enjoy swimming in the hillside infinity pool, wandering through vineyards, tasting the family’s wines and feasting on roast duck.

This luscious green region between Zagreb and the Slovenian border is home to hilltop castles (including 16th-century Veliki Tabor ), thermal spas such as Terme Tuhelj , and Europe’s largest collection of Neanderthal remains at Krapina . Boutique wineries make superb graševina , traminer, pinot noir and muscat. Vuglec Breg has doubles from €105 B&B and apartments from €170. All have terraces, and some feature saunas and hot tubs. Mary Novakovich

Zurich’s lakeside ‘bathing palace’

“What are your plans for the stopover in Zurich?” My son and I had bumped into Vicky, an old friend, in the Eurostar queue and when we realised we were booked on the same trains between London and Milan we started plotting meet-ups. A two-hour transit in Zurich opened up the possibilities and, as the co-author of wild swimming books, Vicki soon had us digging out our swimming gear and catching a tram to Seebad Utoquai .

Reachable in 15 minutes from the main railway station, the Badi (built in 1890) is a historic “bathing palace” on a lakeside promenade. Though it looks out over Lake Zurich’s glacier-blue waters to mountains, its elegant wooden jetties, changing rooms, sun terraces and yoga classes give it the feel of a beach club. We swam out around the baths’ pontoons, giddy on fresh air and endorphins, before hauling ourselves out of the water for hot chocolates in Utoquai’s cute cafe – a fine way to wash off a long train journey, we agreed. Rhiannon Batten

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Ancient beech and fern forests in Romania

I love Romania’s wild beauty, and on a trip this year discovered an ancient beech forest just outside the village of Nucșoara , on the southern slopes of the Făgăraș Mountains . They are among the oldest and most spectacular beech trees in Europe, over 5,000 of them, gnarled and huge, some up to seven metres in girth.

It’s stunning to wander among these giants and contemplate the history they have lived through: anti-communist partisan Elisabeta Rizea and companions spent years hiding out in these woods. Her cottage is in the village and now a guesthouse, Caezu , has opened there (the owner’s great-grandmother was Elisabeta’s sister). Visitors can “ adopt a beech tree ” in a scheme started by the mayor and Foundation Conservation Carpathia, with funds going to help preserve the forest.

The beeches are not the only remarkable natural attraction in the area. Nearby is a fern forest (they grow up to two metres in summer) and it’s close to Moldoveanu, the highest mountain in Romania, at 2,544 metres. The hiking is wonderful. Jane Dunford

A spontaneous stopover in Denmark

I love spontaneous overnight stops when making long train journeys. Unplanned and with nothing booked in advance, I chanced on Ribe , a town which punched far above its weight in the middle ages as ecclesiastical centre and trade hub. Ribe boasts oodles of history and with its millstreams, parks and cobbled streets, it makes a perfect stopover for anyone travelling through Jutland.

I’ve long been fascinated by social reformer and documentary photographer Jacob Riis (1849-1914) and was surprised to find he was born in Ribe. His How the Other Half Lives (1890) mapped the squalor of American slums and galvanised politicians into taking action on poverty.

Ribe never quite acknowledged Riis’s remarkable work in his lifetime but has made amends by opening a museum in his childhood home. The exhibits probe the life and work of a man who used powerful words and images to cast light in dark places. Nicky Gardner

Discovering Lusty the limestone man in County Fermanagh

“I think we’ve just passed it – again,” said Mairead, my wife and navigator, just before I hit the brakes. The lonely, unwaveringly straight road appeared to go on to infinity, a thin streak of asphalt that cut through Boa Island ’s lush, flat countryside from causeway to causeway. I pulled off the road and eased down a laneway. Ahead, Lough Erne glistened through the branches of ancient trees and birds called and sang at the height of nesting season.

As we entered the old turnstile to Caldragh cemetery, it occurred to me that everything about this discovery was shrouded in ambiguity and contradiction. For starters, Boa Island has nothing to do with snakes. It was, in all likelihood, named after the druid goddess Badhbh. As for Lusty Man, who we had come to visit: he’s a stubby chiselled figure with zero trace of testosterone, sculpted from limestone in some indeterminate time between the bronze age and the early middle ages.

Lusty stands low in the middle of the small graveyard by the slightly taller Janus figure – the mysterious muse of Seamus Heaney’s poem, January God. It’s a two-headed, two foot-high stone statue with sharp features like a Guy Fawkes mask. Both statues blend into the slabs and stumps of weathered, forgotten headstones in the bumpy terrain. Experts cannot decide whether the figures are Christian or take the form of earlier Irish deities, but that ambiguity just adds to the ethereal setting and made it my discovery of 2023. Vic O’Sullivan

A gorgeous B&B amid spectacular gorges in Piedmont, Italy

“If only we’d brought water,” I wailed. In this year’s heatwave, we’d stupidly set off from Monteu Roero to “just have a look” at one of several walking trails around the rocche, a stretch of spectacular gorges, cliffs and rocky pinnacles. The route was so beguiling we were tempted on and on. Then, just as we were telling ourselves it was mad to walk a five-mile route in 34C without a drink, I spotted a tap in an open farmyard. No one was about so we hurried over and bent under the tap to gulp the cool water. “Would this help?” came a gentle voice. Elettra Griseri had silently appeared holding a jug and glasses.

And that’s how we discovered L’Ottavo Sapore – farm, shop and three-room B&B (doubles from €65), where the remarkable Elettra grows vines, hazelnuts, honey, saffron and sweet chestnuts. She also makes and sells biscuits, cakes and a hazelnut spread that will spoil Nutella for you for ever. This and more go into generous breakfasts served under a traditional brick-vaulted ceiling, fuel for more dramatic walks – with full water bottles, of course. Liz Boulter

One of the world’s most beautiful cinemas, Amsterdam

I only went to escape the relentless Amsterdam rain; I wasn’t expecting the Tuschinski theatre to be the most beautiful cinema I’d ever seen. But it was clear even from the dramatic sculpted facade – which blends art deco, art nouveau and Amsterdam school architectural styles – that this was somewhere special.

The dazzling interior was even more impressive – gold plastering, ornate metal lights, glazed tiles and red velvet in the style of a grand old opera house (it’s a live performance space as well as a cinema). It was created by Abraham Tuschinski and opened in 1921, with a lobby designed to give cinemagoers a feeling of “stepping into an illusion”. A century on, it remains spellbindingly opulent.

At the ticket booth I remembered a line by Vincent (John Travolta) in Pulp Fiction: “You can walk into a movie theatre in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don’t mean just like in no paper cup; I’m talking about a glass of beer.” Happily, it’s true – and I don’t mean no ordinary beer; I’m talking about an 8% Brouwerij ‘t IJ, a delicious, heady, fruity blond served in an elegant bespoke glass. I rested it on a small table (with its own art deco lamp) beside my plush reclining velvet chair … This place was as cool as Pulp Fiction!

The only thing I got wrong was my choice of film: Scorsese’s interminable Killers of the Flower Moon. I could have done with at least another couple of beers to get through it. Gavin McOwan

At last, East Sussex gets its own ‘megalith’

I live in a county that boasts the mighty Wilmington Giant and 20-odd Neolithic hill forts. However, unlike Wiltshire, further west, it was until recently bereft of stone monuments. This year I was delighted to discover that thanks to the musical duo Jem Finer and Jimmy Cauty (the latter best known for being one half of the KLF ), East Sussex now has the mighty Gurdy Stone – two and a half tonnes of Welsh slate that sits up in the South Downs overlooking the village of Kingston.

Its arrival on Lovebrook Farm in April – via lorry then a digger – was heralded by a ceremonial procession (Wicker Man style), speeches, music and plenty of yellow smoke bombs to create the right atmosphere. Here it is expected to remain for the next 50,000 years – enough time, as decreed by its custodians, to herald the return of the Green Comet, last visible during the stone age. In a time of great resurgence of interest in paganism, the Gurdy Stone is a fitting new monument for honouring our past and our future. The stone is on Lovebrook Farm and can be visited on Saturdays, dawn-1pm David Bramwell

A slow drive around a peaceful Highland peninsula

Every year I go on a driving trip with Bob, one of my oldest friends. He likes to drive; I’m not keen. We have honed these trips over the years, going slowly, stopping often, avoiding motorways.

This year we booked a cabin in rural Inverness-shire and played it by ear. We travelled via Loch Lomond and the Glen Coe beauty spots but avoided the busy NC500. This opened up new areas on the map.

A few years ago, while “researching” (idly websurfing) Scottish weather, I read that Portmahomack was the driest place in the country. I’d also read about the north-east coast in an Inspector Rebus novel , which gave me an idea. It’s always an interesting experiment to see if you imagined a place correctly.

We crossed the Kessock and Cromarty bridges and turned east to Easter Ross, a peninsula of low-lying farmland that looked rich and golden under the late summer sun. Portmahomack was pretty and blissfully quiet. The road took us through the so-called Seaboard villages , huddling down but facing outwards. We rode the ferry back.

Our cabin was close to Loch Ness but not too close: the balcony looked out on to Loch Ruthven, where I saw Slavonian grebe chicks following their mums around the reedbeds. These birds are as rare as they are beautiful. The sun shone warmly for five days and I fell for Scotland all over again. Chris Moss

Chugging across Spain’s Bay of Cádiz was a revelation

To my surprise I found myself in a naval review with the king of Spain last year, an experience that reminded me how much better it was to be actually on the water than admiring it from a fish restaurant.

The event led me to begin craving boats. Not resort-style banana boats or sunset cruise catamarans but the sailing dinghies and basic things with outboard motors you hire on holiday in Greece and Turkey but don’t in Cádiz. Why not? Because hardly anyone knows you can. The discovery that I could take a small boat out (without a licence or captain) from the back (east-facing) side of Cádiz or the ports at Sancti Petri and El Puerto de Santa Maria, opened the way to a series of sub-discoveries.

I simply hadn’t noticed the estuaries, salt marshes and water meadows, island castles, wading birds, inaccessible beaches, or the recreational sailors tacking across the Bay of Cádiz every weekend. Essentially, after a decade living in this seafaring province, this year I discovered the sea. Dinghies from Zaida sailing school cost €35 for two hours (courses also available), and motor boats from Argosailing start at €80 Sorrel Downer

Fine art meets heavy industry at this brilliant Polish museum

Poland keeps pulling me back to its world-class museums. At the interactive Warsaw Rising Museum , for example, I followed a route past improvised sewers and a Liberator bomber telling the story of the Polish resistance in 1944.

This year, in Katowice (40 miles west of Kraków), I happily lost an afternoon at the brilliant Silesian Museum . Built on the site of a former coalmine, it showcases regional Silesian fine art and archaeology and narrates the journey of Katowice via videos, photography and modern art, from a centre of heavy industry through to the 1990s – when the closing of some mines saw homelessness and drug consumption soar – to today’s city, a hopeful hub of culture and conferences (Cop24 was held there in 2018).

I plan on returning to Katowice for a concert by the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in its modern hall next to the museum, and for another cherry vodka at slick bar Wisniewski , which serves nothing else. Caroline Eden

Hot springs and indoor rain in Veneto, Italy

It is more than 40 years since I visited the Italian town where my father was born, and the only thing I can remember is a toy shop with an enviable lineup of dolls in the window. It has taken me four decades to return and discover that Abano Terme is a spa town blessed with hot springs that come out of the ground at 70-90C (tempered to a comfortable thirtysomething degrees for use in the pools) and is famous for its therapeutic mud treatments. Abano lies at the foot of the Eugenean hills, a 45-minute drive from Venice and 20 minutes from Padua, but despite its proximity to these popular visitor destinations the town seems to have fallen off the radar for most visitors to Italy. It does, however, attract plenty of Italians and Germans, who seem to have cottoned on to its full-on sense of wellness at affordable prices.

Each hotel has a plethora of pools, many in acres of gardens. Hotel Mioni Pezzato , among the more modern, has six thermal baths and 16 pools, not to mention indoor rain, a pool with exercise bikes and a whirlpool. If only I’d known it existed when I was eight. My dolls would have loved it. Max Benato

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3rd August, 2023

The ultimate guide to competitions for young writers 2023

Getting words down onto the page isn’t the hard part for many keen young writers, but making the time to polish a story or poem can be hard. That’s especially true if you’re in school and juggling other demands like exams or extracurricular activities. But entering a writing competition is a motivation to do the editing that will turn your inspired draft into a shining example of your craft. Here’s a list of competitions aimed at young writers and poets. We try and keep it as up to date as we can, but always take time to read and follow the guidelines and terms and conditions. And always check the closing date! Once you’ve found one that appeals, why not give it a go?

We are proud to run the Young Walter Scott Prize. It is the UK’s only creative writing prize for budding historical fiction authors. You can enter if you’re between 11 and 19 and live in the UK or Ireland. You could win a £500 travel grant, and a chance to see your own work in print. Entries must be between 800 and 2,000 words, set in a time before you were born. The deadline for this year’s competition is 31 st October 2023. Details of how to enter are here , and you’ll find some of the previous winning entries here .

You can also follow the YWSP on TikTok www.tiktok.com/@walterscottprizes  and YouTube www.youtube.com/c/walterscottprizes

Atom Learning Young Author Award

Open to young writers aged 7 to 11, the theme for 2023 year’s entries – which should be no longer than 500 words, is ‘If I Were In Charge for a Day… You’ll find the information you need here: https://atomlearning.com/young-author-award

Author of Tomorrow

The Author of Tomorrow prize is open to young writers in a range of age categories, from 11 and under, up to 21 years. The competition aims to find the adventure writers of the future and offers a cash award, book tokens, and digital publication in an anthology. Find out more at https://www.wilbur-niso-smithfoundation.org/awards/author-of-tomorrow-2019

BBC 500 Words

Divided into two age categories – 5 to 7 and 8 to 11 – this popular competition invites entries of 500 words or less, written in prose. There are clear guidelines and resources for schools on the web page – https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/500-words/about-500-words – and the competition opens in September 2023.

CABB Publishing Writing Competitions

CABB Publishing runs two writing competitions, one for writers aged 8 to 12 and the other for writers aged 13 to 16. Visit the website for more information: https://www.caabpublishing.co.uk/submit-competitions

Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is the biggest poetry competition for 11-17 year olds in the world. Since it began 25 years ago, the Award has kickstarted the career of some of today’s most exciting new voices. Find out more here: https://poetrysociety.org.uk/competitions/foyle-young-poets-of-the-year-award/

Green Stories Writing Competitions

This is a series of free writing competitions across various formats inviting stories that showcase what a sustainable society might look like.  Entries must be in English and unpublished. The intention is to create a resource that entertains and informs about green solutions, inspires green behaviour and raises awareness of the necessary transformations towards a sustainable economy. You’ll find more information here: https://www.greenstories.org.uk/writing-competitions/

Hampshire Young Poets Prize

The age categories for this poetry competition span 4 to 16 years, and it is open to young people who live or study in Hampshire. For more information, this is the website: https://www.hampshireculture.org.uk/hantsyoungpoets23

Orwell Youth Prize

The Orwell Foundation’s Orwell Youth Prize is open to you if you’re between 8 and 13 years old. Write a story, essay or even your own game. The themes they’re looking for vary from year to year. Sign up for more information, including details of the next annual theme at  https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-youth-prize/

Royal Geographical Society Essay Competition

Organised in partnership with the Financial Times, entrants are asked to answer a question in a 1000-word essay. This year’s question is What risks are associated with climate change and what should we be doing about them?   You’ll find details – including lots of helpful resources to aid research – on the website: https://www.rgs.org/schools/competitions/school-essay-competition/

Solstice Prize

Organised by Writing East Midlands, this nature-themed writing competition is open to writers aged 7 to 17; you can submit a story or poem and the prizes on offer include a cash award and a book voucher for your school. Head for the website, which has examples of previous winning entries, for details of the next competition at https://writingeastmidlands.co.uk/young-writers-groups/solstice-writing-prize/

The Stephen Spender Prize

A prize for poetry in translation with categories for pupils, teachers and individual young people living in the UK and Ireland, as well as an Open category for adults from all over the world. The rules are simple: translate into English any poem from any language – from French to Farsi, from Spanish to Somali. Check out the details here: https://www.stephen-spender.org/stephen-spender-prize/

War Through Children’s Eyes

Organised by the Azerbaijani Community in the United Kingdom, this award is for art and creative writing and was set up as part of the 30th anniversary commemoration of the Khojaly massacre in Azerbaijan in 1992. If you are a UK resident aged between 7 and 17 (the award is divided into 7-11 and 12-17 age categories), you can enter with artwork or a written piece inspired by the themes of war and peace. Entry is free, although participants are encouraged to make a donation to War Child. For more information about how to enter, and a list of the judges, go to https://www.warthroughchildrenseyes.org.uk/competition_entries

HG Wells Short Story Competition

There is an annual theme for this short story competition – go to the website to find out more – https://hgwellscompetition.com .  The competition is free for entry for writers under 21.

Wenlock Olympian Society Writing Competition

This competition welcomes stories and poems and is open to young writers from around the world. There are awards in three medal categories — gold, silver and bronze — and all medallists receive their own Wenlock Olympian Society medal. Find copies of winning stories on their website, where details of the next competition are published. https://www.wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk/wenlock-olympian-society-arts/creative-short-story/

Yorkshire Festival of Story: Children’s Story Competition

Open to young writers aged 7 to 12 years, entrants are given a theme to inspire their story of up to 500 words. Find out more here: https://www.settlestories.org.uk/whats_on/childrens_story-comp/

Young Poets’ Competition

This competition is organised by the Wells Festival of Literature. First, second and third places all win cash awards, plus a year’s subscription to the Poetry Society. Find out more here: https://www.wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk/2023/02/2023-young-poets-competition/

Undergrowth Competition

Nature and our relationship to it, growth and regeneration – this is an opportunity for writers aged 16 to 19 – ‘the next generation of nature and wilderness lovers’ – to share their stories in fiction, poetry and non-fiction. Details can be found here: https://www.overgrowth.uk/writing-competition-2023-undergrowth

Write on Art

Write on Art is an annual national writing competition sponsored by Art UK and the  Paul Mellon Centre  to encourage an interest in art history among young people. To enter, you must be aged 15 to 18 and live in England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland; choose one artwork from artuk.org that fascinates you. For details and guidelines see https://artuk.org/learn/what-is-write-on-art

Young Writers Awards

Goldsmiths University in London runs a series of writing competitions for 16- to 19-year-olds. Details can be found here: https://www.gold.ac.uk/schools-and-colleges/young-writer-competitions/

BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University

This writing prize, run by the BBC along with Cambridge University, could be for you if you’re aged 14 to 18 and live in the UK. Entries can be up to 1,000 words; the shortlist will be announced on Radio 1 and the winner will be announced live on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row. Find out more at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2cslf9QxZKznVCqplBS0SY0/the-2023-bbc-young-writers-award

The Young Muslim Writers’ Awards

The Young Muslim Writers’ Awards are open to entrants aged from 5 to 16 years. Short stories, poems, articles, screenplays and playscripts are welcome – all details can be found here: https://ymwa.org.uk/2023-competition-now-open/

Young Writers Annual Showcase

An opportunity for writers aged from 4 to 18 years – submit an entry of up to 1000 words for a chance to win, and to see your work in print. There’s more information on the webste – including a Story Generator to set you going! https://www.youngwriters.co.uk/competitions/all-ages/showcase-23?view=ind

You’ll never know how you’ll fare in a competition unless you enter, so give it a try! Whether you’ve ambitions to become an author or just enjoy working with words, it’s fun to take part.

And why not take a look at the YWSP YouTube channel where past winners talk about their experiences?

You’ll also find inspiration on our TikTok , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and our Inspirations page.

And if you come across other competitions for young writers that should be included in this list, just let us know.

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Jessica Reid | 08 November 2023

Wanderlust celebrates the best in travel at the 2023 reader travel awards.

The prestigious ceremony took place at the iconic British Museum, with legendary broadcaster Ben Fogle hosting the celebrations...

For the past several months, Wanderlust readers have been voting in their tens of thousands for the destinations they most desire. Last night (7 November), those results were revealed.  

The ceremony for the 22 nd annual Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards took place at one of London’s most iconic museums, the British Museum. Hundreds came to celebrate the best in travel for 2023, as well as  Wanderlust' s 30th anniversary.

With the magazine's   golden logo illuminated above the Greek Revival style columns and a red carpet rolled out, the museum’s grand entrance was ready to welcome hundreds of travel specialists, writers and celebrities.

Before the main ceremony began, guests were invited to take a virtual trip to Italy through the power of Wanderlust MetaTravel . After returning to reality, they moved on to the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery, which had transformed into a unique event venue. While dining on Italian gourmet cuisine and accompanied by a string quartet, guests could admire the fascinating artefacts surrounding them – including the Rosetta Stone, one of the most famous objects at the museum.

Guests gather in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery (Wanderlust)

Guests were transported to Italy with Wanderlust MetaTravel (Wandrlust)

Covers - old and new - of Wanderlust were on display (Wanderlust)

Opera singers welcome guests as they take their seats (Wanderlust)

They were then escorted to the ceremony taking place in the remarkable Great Court, where two opera singers serenaded the room with their mesmerising vocals.

Legendary British broadcaster and writer Ben Fogle then took to the stage to present the evening’s much anticipated awards, joined by special guests throughout the evening, such as Simon Calder.

Wanderlust 's Editor-in-Chief George Kipouros had several moments with the audience, speaking about the future of   Wanderlust  and the drive to continue highlighting the world's lesser-known destinations and diversifying travel journalism. 

Founding Editor Lyn Hughes also said a few words, reminiscing about the magazine's journey over the past 30 years and thanking industry friends, tour operators and readers for their loyal support and partnerships.

The Wanderlust team with their 30th birthday cake (Wanderlust)

The results

This year, the Wanderlust Travel Awards celebrated destinations, tour operators and airlines who have inspired and excited our readers in 2023.

The top ten in 20 different categories were all announced during the proceedings, with the top three being awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold accolades.

Readers voted for Croatia as the Most Desirable Country in Europe, while Australia took home Gold for the Most Desirable Country in the World.

The top prize for Most Desirable City in Europe went to Seville in Spain, while the World’s Most Desirable City was awarded to Cape Town in South Africa

Wanderlust's Founding Editor Lyn Hughes presented an award (Wanderlust)

Ben Fogle and Wanderlust Editor-in-Chief George Kipouros (Wanderlust)

Ben Fogle poses for a photo with one of the evening winners, Croatia (Wanderlust)

Regions were also celebrated, with The Greek Islands reclaiming the Most Desirable Region in Europe title that it previously won in 2021, while the Canadian province of British Columbia also took home the honours for the World’s Most Desirable Region.

Ireland remains the reigning champion for the World’s Most Desirable Island in Europe, whereas Cuba was named the Most Desirable Island in the World.

New for 2023,   Wanderlust   also awarded countries for being the Most Desirable for Culture & Heritage, Nature & Wildlife, Adventure, Gastronomy and Sustainable Experiences, as well as the Most Desirable Emerging Destination. 

Tour operators were also recognised for their outstanding contribution to travel. Among the five Gold winners were Trailfinders, who won Favourite General Tour Operator, and Journey Latin America, who won Best Specialist Tour Operator.

All the results, including the top ten in each category, can be found online   here .

Related articles, looking for inspiration.

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