Solas Travel Writers Awards

~ Here’s a shout-out for all you travel writers, bloggers, and in deed, anyone with a good travel story to relate.

The deadline for this year's Solas Awards for Best Travel Story of the Year is just a few days away (September 21, 2009). To enter this year's competition, go to BestTravelWriting.com and follow the instructions.

As of today, competition is light in the following categories: Animal Encounter, Cruise Story, Doing Good or the Kindness of Strangers, Elder Travel, Love Story, Men's Travel, Travel and Healing, Travel and Shopping, Travel and Sports, and Young Traveler. All entries submitted before midnight, September 21 will be eligible. Entries submitted after that will be entered in next year's competition.

The Solas Awards are an annual competition to find the best writing being done about the world today. The Travelers' Tales editors will choose winners in 21 categories ranging from adventure to humour, from destination to memoir, and everything in between. The grand prize category has cash awards of $1,000, $750, and $500; all other category winners receive a certificate and a copy of the most recent edition of The Best Travel Writing or The Best Women's Travel Writing. Plus, winners may be published in Travelers' Tales books.

I have a number of these collections on my bookshelf that I’m hoping to review for upcoming blog posts, so the thought that someone reading this might end up in a future collection of published tales is very exciting.

Check out BestTravelWriting.com for details of the awards and more.

Travelers’ Tales. Award-winning publisher Travelers’ Tales is the sponsor of The Solas Awards.

Extraordinary stories about travel and the human spirit have been the cornerstones of their books since 1993. With the Solas Awards they say they want to honour writers whose work inspires others to explore. To that end, they are 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. Their ultimate hope is that these awards will be a catalyst for those who love to leave home and tell others about it.

Third Annual Solas Awards Winners
Winners of the Third Annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Story of the Year were announced February 28, 2009 by the editors of Travelers’ Tales. Grand Prize winner David Torrey Peters collected $1,000 for “The Bamenda Syndrome,” his compelling story about madness in a Cameroon village. Bruce Berger won the silver award and $750 for “Discalced,” his charming tale of the life of shoes in Spain and Baja California. Kathleen Spivack took the bronze and $500 for “The Empty Rocker,” her poignant memory of a friendship in Paris and Amsterdam. Read these stories on the Great Stories page.

So get to it. If you think you have a compelling story to tell, read through the submission guidelines on the Best Travel Writing website and submit your best travel story.