The Bradt/Independent on Sunday
Travel-Writing Competition 2010

And the Winner is...

Congratulations to our winner, Marie Kreft, whose entry Rumia: a love story has secured her the top prize of a holiday to Malta, the chance have her piece published in The Independent on Sunday, and a commission from the newspaper.

The runner-up is Catriona Rainsford who gets the prize for the best entry by an unpublished writer for her piece, Far from time.
 

Left to right: Catriona Rainsford, Hilary Bradt, Marie Kreft & Matthew Parris

Shortlist

Hilary Bradt, 7 July

On Monday 5 July all the judges met, appropriately, at the café of the National Geographic Store on Regent Street to decide the short list for the Bradt/Independent on Sunday Travel-writing Competition.
 
The judging process started back in May when I began the preliminary sifting of the 433 entries to decide which should go forward to the next round. Many of the entries stood out for the ability of their writers to ‘show, not tell’ or for the originality of their approach to the theme or for the unusual or arresting nature of their stories. The longlist of 40 was then whittled down by the Bradt judges to the ‘long short list’, and it was from these 28 top entries that the four of us picked the final shortlist. Although there were some spirited discussions, we were unanimous in our choice of entries to go forward to the deciding judge, Matthew Parris.
 
The short-listed writers are, in alphabetical order:
(click on the title to read their entry and to see a judge's comments)

· Lucy Clark - A Question of Perspective
· Elizabeth Gowing -  The world at my feet
· Marie Kreft - Rumia: a love story
· Catriona Rainsford - Far from time
· Michelle Wu - Vanishing Islands

Commended

The other entrants who made it into the top 28 are:

Mhairi Aitken, Beebe Bahrami, Helen Billiald, Tom Bird, Sophie Coulombeau, Niamh Delaney, Simon Duncan, Anna Foden, Liz Gooster, Sarah Hunt, Neil Matthews, Susie Mowers, Sarah Neate, Roanne O'Neil, Keith Roberts, Ailsa Ross, Shampa Sinha, Clare Spruce, JC Sullivan, Jaime Tung, Eleanor Updegraff, Iain Wallace and Sharon Watson.
 
Well done to all of you!

Competition Judges

The competition judges are Hilary Bradt, Donald Greig and Adrian Phillips of Bradt Travel Guides, Jonathan Lorie of Travellers' Tales, and Kate Simon, travel editor of The Independent on Sunday. The final winners will be selected by journalist Matthew Parris and announced at a prize-giving ceremony at Stanfords in London on 21 July.

Prizes

The first prize is an exciting holiday for two to Malta and Gozo, the chance to get your winning travel article published in The Independent on Sunday's travel pages, and a commission from the newspaper for a later article from your prize trip.
 
The first prize has been generously sponsored by Visit Malta, the five-star hotels Kempinski San Lawrenz Resort in Gozo, and The Palace in Malta. Tucked away in the idyllic countryside of Gozo, the Kempinski San Lawrenz Resort is an enchanting hideaway in a traditional Gozitan building set in beautiful gardens with four swimming pools and an award-winning spa featuring an authentic Ayurveda centre. The Palace is a charming contemporary boutique hotel located in a historic setting in Sliema, offering three restaurants and a spa.
 
To encourage new writers, the competition also includes a prize specifically for those who have not been published before – a place on a writing weekend provided by Travellers' Tales.
 
In addition to the official competition judging, all entries were posted on the www.GeckoGo.com travel-planning website to allow users the chance to make a separate People's Choice vote, with the most popular winning the priviledge of being featured on the GeckoGo and Bradt Travel Guide websites.
 
 

Special Offer

To celebrate the launch of the competition, we're offering entrants a special offer code for a fantastic 35% off your next Bradt order.
 
The offer applies to any order from the Bradt website. Simply enter voucher code TW2010 at  checkout to apply the discount.
 
Offer expires end of July 2010.

People's Choice Award

The winner of the People's Choice Award, as voted for by readers of the Bradt and GeckoGo websites, has been announced... Congratulations to Anna H for her piece entitled Walking with predators in the Okavango Delta, which is showcased here.