NEW TRAVEL WRITING COMPETITION: THE JUDGES DECIDE

The British Guild of Travel Writers has launched a new travel writing competition for unpublished travel writers in partnership with Traveller magazine as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. Nearly 200 entries were received by the closing date of 31 December 2009. The winners were announced on 25th February.

The background

Launching the competition in the autumn of 2009, BGTW Press & PR Co-ordinator Sarah Monaghan said:

"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. 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 invited writers aged over 18 who have not been published [paid work] in the travel field. to submit an 800-word article with the theme: A Very Special Place.

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 airline 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). Seewww.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 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 - whose guides Michael Palin has described as 'expertly written and longer on local detail than any others'. Seewww.bradt-travelguides.com.

Prize giving

The winners were announced on 25 February at a prize ceremony at London'd latest landmark hotel, the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, 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,www.bgtw.org.

The judges

The competition was 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