Great holiday prizes for would-be travel writers/competition worth entering

sarahmon

GOT A GREAT travel tale to tell or think you have a way with words? The British Guild of Travel Writers has just launched a new travel-writing competition as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. The competition is open to anyone over 18 who has not yet been published in the field of travel; entrants should submit an 800-word article on the topic of 'A Very Special Place' by 31 December. First prize is a four-day travel-writing holiday in Istanbul with Travellers Tales whose expert tutors include William Dalrymple, Anthony Sattin and Colin Thubron; second prize is a trip to Berlin, and third prize is ten Bradt guides. See the British Guild of Travel Writers' website for the rules.

Details also available from the website of travel writer Sarah Monaghan


SO YOU WANT TO BE A TRAVEL WRITER?
Could you write a winning travel article that brings a destination alive and earn yourself the chance to see the exotic sights of Istanbul with Anthony Sattin?

The British Guild of Travel Writers has announced that as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, it is launching a new travel writing competition for unpublished travel writers.

The Guild, founded in 1960, is the premier professional association for bona-fide journalists, editors, photographers, and radio and film broadcasters working in the travel field.

"The Guild has supported excellence in travel writing for half a century now and we want to celebrate our special year by championing new travel writing talent," says BGTW Press & PR Co-ordinator Sarah Monaghan: "The winning entry will be a beautifully written piece that is a celebration of a world destination, be it an exotic location or one closer to home."

The competition

The competition is open to all writers aged over 18 who have not been published in the travel field. Entrants should submit an 800-word article with the theme: A Very Special Place. Closing date is 31 December 2009.

The prizes

First prize comes courtesy of Travellers' Tales, the training agency for travel writing and travel photography, and the winner will enjoy a four-day travel writing holiday in the intoxicating city of Istanbul, with return flights from Pegasus.

You will discover the city while practising your writing skills with a small group of fellow writers under the expert tuition of tutors such as Anthony Sattin, the distinguished Middle East expert, and Jonathan Lorie, former editor of Traveller and founder of the Travellers' Tales Festival (the next one takes place in London on 19-21 February 2010).

Second prize is a trip to Berlin courtesy of WEXAS, The Traveller's Club, in association with Hotel Berlin and Lufthansa. The prizewinner will enjoy a two-night stay in a double or twin room at the Hotel Berlin on a B&B basis, plus two return economy flights from the UK with Lufthansa.

Third prize is the winner's selection of 10 travel guides from award-winning publisher Bradt.

Prize giving

The winners will be announced in February at a prize ceremony at a leading London hotel, during the launch of the British Guild of Travel Writers' Yearbook 2010 attended by hundreds of the UK's top travel writers, photographers and travel industry representatives. The winning entry will be published in the Spring 2010 issue of Traveller and on the Guild website.

Traveller is recognised as the UK's most literary travel magazine and editor Amy Sohanpaul has this advice for entrants: "Good travel writing shows a strong sense of place. We are looking for a first-person narrative written in article form, in which the writing sings and the reader is both transported and transformed by the writing."

The judges

The competition will be judged by:

* Sarah Monaghan editor of Gabon Magazine and winner of the British Guild of Travel Writers' Trade and Tourism Award 2007
* Amy Sohanpaul editor of Traveller and The Traveller's Handbook, and a judge of the prestigious Thomas Cook Travel Book Awards
* Jonathan Lorie director of Travellers' Tales and the Travellers' Tales Festival, and editor of The Traveller's Handbook
* Peter Hughes founding editor of ITV's Wish You Were Here? and the British Guild of Travel Writers' Travel Writer of the Year 2008


How to enter

Entries may be posted or emailed. To preserve anonymity when judging, you must not write your name on the article itself. Please follow these instructions:

* Email entries should be sent to the secretariat address given on the Guild's website. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject line 'Guild Travel Writing Competition'. Your entry should be a Word document attachment, with a two-word tagline but without your name and address. A separate Word document should be attached giving the two-word tagline and your contact details, including email address and telephone number.
* Postal entries should be sent to BGTW Secretariat, 26 Needwood House, Woodberry Down, London, N4 2TN. Do not put your name and address on the article, but give it a two-word tagline. On a separate piece of paper, write this two-word tagline and your contact details, including email address and telephone number.

Terms and conditions

1. The competition is open to all writers over 18, both UK and non-UK residents, other than current employees, or regular contributors, or their immediate families, of the BGTW, Traveller, Bradt Travel Guides, Travellers' Tales and Stanfords. No purchase is necessary. By entering the competition, participants agree that their name and place of residence may be released if they win a prize; that should they win the competition, their name and likeness may be used by the sponsors for pre-arranged promotional purposes.
2. Writers must be unpublished in the field of travel writing. This means never having been paid for any piece of travel writing that has appeared in print or on the internet.
3. One entry per person. Entries cannot be acknowledged or returned.
4. The article must be 800 words and submitted with single-line spacing in 12-point font. If submitted on paper, it should be printed on one side only, on A4 paper.
5. Entries may be posted or emailed. To preserve anonymity when judging, you must not write your name on the article itself. Please follow these instructions:

* Email entries should be sent to the secretariat address given on the Guild's website This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject line 'Guild Travel Writing Competition'. Your entry should be a Word document attachment, with a two-word tagline but without your name and address. A separate Word document should be attached giving the two-word tagline and your contact details, including email address and telephone number.
* Postal entries should be sent to BGTW Secretariat, 26 Needwood House, Woodberry Down, London, N4 2TN. Do not put your name and address on the article, but give it a two-word tagline. On a separate piece of paper, write this two-word tagline and your contact details, including email address and telephone number.
6. Your details may be shared with the competition partners unless otherwise requested by you on the sheet of paper or email containing your contact details.
7. All entries must be received by the closing date of 31 December 2009.
8. Your entry must not have been entered in any other competition or have previously been published either in whole or in part.
9. The article must be the original work of the entrant who must be the sole copyright holder.
10. The writers of the winning entries agree, by entering the competition, that Traveller and BGTW shall have the exclusive right to first publication in print and online format.
11. There is no cash alternative and prizes will not be transferable.
12. Once the winners are announced in February 2010, entrants other than the winners may use their pieces in whatever way they choose.
13. The judges' opinion is final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Incapuppy

sarahmon wrote: »

First prize comes courtesy of Travellers' Tales, the training agency for travel writing and travel photography, and the winner will enjoy a four-day travel writing holiday in the intoxicating city of Istanbul, with return flights from Pegasus.


11. There is no cash alternative and prizes will not be transferable. For the first prize, flights to and from Istanbul are at the winner's expense.

So which is it - a four day holiday with flights, or buy your own flights? Did no-one check this for errors before it was published?

duchy

.
2. Writers must be unpublished in the field of travel writing. This means never having been paid for any piece of travel writing that has appeared in print or on the internet.

Hmm so if you've reviewed a hotel on Dooyoo you're not eligible ?

sarahmon

Incapuppy wrote: »

So which is it - a four day holiday with flights, or buy your own flights? Did no-one check this for errors before it was published?

The return flights to Istanbul are included as part of the prize.

dmg24

sarahmon, did you not bother to read the forum FAQ's before posting? If you had, you would know that you cannot post this without permission. Please contact the Forum Team before posting on behalf of your employer, you can do this by clicking on the red triangle in your post.

Incapuppy

sarahmon wrote: »

The return flights to Istanbul are included as part of the prize.

I see you have amended your original post accordingly - it may have been polite of you to thank me for pointing this glaring error out?