Could you write a winning travel article that brings a destination alive?

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has announced that as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, it is launching a new travel writing competition for unpublished travel writers in partnership with Traveller magazine.

"The Guild has supported excellence in travel writing for half a century now and we want to celebrate our special year by championing fresh travel writing talent," says BGTW Press & PR Co-ordinator Sarah Monaghan.

Competition open to all unpublished writers

The competition is open to anyone aged over 18 who has not been published in the travel field. Entrants should submit an 800-word article with the theme A Very Special Place.

"The winning entry will be a beautifully written piece that is a celebration of a world destination. It is your choice – it could be an exotic location or one much closer to home," added Sarah Monaghan.

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."

Great prizes up for grabs

First prize comes courtesy of Travellers’ Tales, the training agency for travel writing and travel photography, and is a four-day writing holiday in Istanbul 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 annual Travellers’ Tales Festival (19-21 February 2010). See www.travellerstales.org

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 return flights from the UK with Lufthansa.

Third prize is the winner’s selection of 10 travel guides from award-winning publisher Bradt. See www.bradt-travelguides.com.

Prize ceremony in glittering company

The winners will be announced in February at the 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 both in the Spring 2010 issue of Traveller and on the Guild website, www.bgtw.org.
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. Full terms and conditions available from: www.bgtw.org/2010/index.php

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