My inbox has been busy recently with announcements for various travel-writing contests. I don’t have a lot of insider information on these, but I’ll share what I know:
Gather.com Travel Writing Contest
- Rules: Submit an original, first person, previously unpublished, non-fiction travel story. Supporting photos (in jpeg format) are encouraged (but not required) to illustrate the story and increase the impact of the entry. Entries should not exceed 3,000 words. Only U.S. residents are eligible, and submissions are welcome from professionals, freelancers, aspiring writers, and any adventurer with a travel tale to tell. Stories will be judged based on the following criteria: Quality of writing; ability to engage the reader; originality of the author’s voice; inclusion of details of specific destinations visited; unique destination and/or travel circumstance.
- Deadline: Monday, April 17, 2006
- Prize: The Grand Prize Winner will embark on a 7-night journey from Barcelona to Lisbon, courtesy of Priceline Cruises, aboard Windstar’s Wind Spirit ship ($7500 approx. retail value). The story will be published on the Gather.com homepage. Winner will be announced in a press release and on Gather.com on Monday, May 1, 2006.
- More information: Travelwriting.gather.com
Travel and Transitions Story Contest
- Rules: Submit your own travel experiences, in story or in diary form: travelogues and regional travel experiences; your experiences living, working, studying, volunteering abroad; stories about expatriate life, adjusting to a new culture, culture shock; humorous or inspirational travel stories; stories of how travel changed your life, and so on. Stories should be between 500 and 2000 words in length. Please send your stories as an MS Word attachment or as part of the email. Digital pictures illustrating your travel experience are welcome. You can send more than one story; each contest entry will be judged on its own merit. Full rules here.
- Deadline: August 31, 2006
- Prize: The grand prize is an Amazon Expedition Cruise aboard the famous M/S Explorer expedition cruise ship, owned and operated by G.A.P Adventures.
- More information: www.travelandtransitions.com/contests
