List of active Travel Writing Competitions 2020 and Paid Travel Writing gigs


Here’s a list of travel writing competitions with details of the competition host, the deadline date, a few key details and a website link for more information.

If you host (or hear about) a travel writing competition, please send me an email to Jay[at]Birdsoafeatherpress.com, and I’ll add it to the list.

Travel Writing Competitions 2020

Competiton Host Deadline Date Competition Details Website
Matador Network Competitions Ongoing Nearly every month Matador runs some kind of contest – whether writing, photography, and sometimes just good old fashioned giveaways. Please check in with our contest page to see the latest contests we’re running. Click for More Info
Just Back Travel Travel Writing Competition hosted by The Telegraph Weekly Your travel writing could earn you £1,000 as the ‘Just Back’ article of the year. The weekly prize is £200 in currency from the Post Office. Click for More Info
Fifteenth Annual Sola Awards September 21 2020 Award-winning publisher Travelers’ Tales is the sponsor of The Solas Awards, an annual competition to honor excellence in travel writing.

“Extraordinary stories about travel and the human spirit have been the cornerstones of our books since 1993. With the Solas Awards we honor writers whose work inspires others to explore. We’re looking for the best stories about travel and the world funny, illuminating, adventurous, uplifting, scary, inspiring, poignant stories that reflect the unique alchemy that occurs when you enter unfamiliar territory and begin to see the world differently as a result. We hope these awards will be a catalyst for those who love to leave home and tell others about it.”

Stories must be a minimum of 750 words or a maximum of 5,500 words. We recommend, however, shorter pieces in the 1000-3000 word range. To be eligible for the award, all entries and payments must be received by the deadline and must be submitted through this web site. This paragraph represents just a partial description of the rules. Be sure to read the Official Rules before entering the competition.

Entry fees: $25 for the first two optional categories, $5 for each additional category for the same story.

Destination Story
The best story about a place that captures its essence and reveals its attractions, making the reader want to go there

Adventure Travel
The best story of high adventure, danger, or physical challenge

Funny Travel
The funniest account of a misadventure or an essay about how the world can make us laugh at ourselves and those around us

Women’s Travel
The best account by a woman of an encounter or experience on the road

Bad Trip
The best account of when things go wrong, or the shadow side of a culture or individual

Travel and Transformation
The best story about the inner journey or pilgrimage, whether religious, mystical, psychological, or emotional

Travel and Food
The best story where food or drink plays a role in introducing the traveler to a foreign culture or new friends

Doing Good or the Kindness of Strangers
The most inspiring tale of aid, comfort, philanthropy, or caring for others in faraway places, or of being the recipient of a stranger’s largesse

Culture and Ideas
The best story or essay about how art, history, currents events, fashion, or music affected a traveler or a trip

Family Travel
The best story about traveling with family of all generations grandparents, parents, children, cousins, siblings or journeying to discover roots

Love Story: The best account of love or romance on the road

Cruise Story: The best account of a trip on the water in any vessel, from the smallest kayak to the largest ship

Most Unforgettable Character: The story that best captures how one individual or group of people affected a traveler in a meaningful way

Travel and Sports: The best account of a sports activity while traveling, such as climbing, rafting, sailing, trekking, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, skiing, baseball, Frisbee, polo, basketball

Travel and Shopping: The best account of a shopping, bargaining, or haggling experience in a market, bazaar, outlet, or mall, anywhere in the world

Travel and Healing: The best story about visits with shamans, healers, holy men and women, or holy sites in search of a cure for illness or psychological malady

Travel Memoir: The best story that draws heavily on the writer’s past to make a point or reveal the lessons of a lifetime

Elder Travel: The best story from a traveler 65 years of age or older

Animal Encounter: The best account of meeting snakes, elephants, rhinos, gorillas, birds, or other creatures

Men’s Travel: The best account by a man of a testosterone-fueled encounter or experience on the road

Grand Prize for Best Travel Story of the Year:

$1,000 Gold
$750 Silver
$500 Bronze

Bragging rights for Gold, Silver, and Bronze (no cash awards in categories).

Enter one or more categories and you’re automatically entered for the Grand Prize.

Click for more info
Transitions Abroad

13th Annual Expatriate and Work Abroad Writing Contest 2020

September 15, 2020

Professionals and freelancers are encouraged to write non-fiction inspirational and practical articles that describe their experience living, moving, and working abroad. Often your experience is extended and transformed by activities in the host country, so living, working, studying, and traveling abroad are often inextricable — and we are interested in exploring all such organic interconnections.

We are seeking practical and inspiring mini-guides that also provide in-depth descriptions of your experience moving, living, and working abroad (including any form of work such as teaching English, internships, volunteering, short-term jobs, etc.).

Please contact expatriatewritingcontest@transitionsabroad.com should you have any questions. We except one entry per participant.

Cash prizes are as follows:

  • $500 cash prize for the first place winner
  • $150 for the second place winner
  • $100 for the third place winner
  • $50 for all finalists

Submit an original and unpublished essay or mini-guide of between 1,200 and 5,000 words relating to your experience living, moving, or working abroad.

Click for more info
Wanderlust Magazine (ongoing) (Ongoing) Wanderlust run different competitions during the year. Some offer cash, travel or product prizes from their sponsors, or a Wanderlust goodie bag. There are caption competitions as well as travel writing competitions. Visit their Competition page for more details Click for more info
Naturetrek Competition open throughout 2020, and the winner decided on 31st December 2020 Enter our 2020 Writing Competition for the chance to win a Naturetrek holiday in Europe! Judges are looking for a short piece of travel writing (500-800 words) Your entry must describe a Naturetrek holiday that you have travelled on. Click for more info
NatGeo Traveller TBD No Competition currently listed, but you can keep checking their competitions page link for Travel writing or Travel photography competitions: http://www.natgeotraveller.co.uk/competitions/
Nowhere Magazine See dates to the right >>>>
  • January 15, 2020, to February 29, 2020: The Nowhere Emerging Travel Writers’ Prize [NOW OPEN] – We are looking for never-been-published, long-form fiction, short story, narrative nonfiction, essay or poetry—that possess a powerful sense of place.
  • March 1, 2020, to July 15, 2020: The Nowhere Spring Travel Writing Prize
  • July 16, 2020, to September 30, 2020: Open Call: Words
  • October 1, 2020, to November 20, 2020: The Nowhere Fall Travel Writing Prize
  • Year-round: Open Call: Photography
Click for more info
Bradt Travel Guides New Travel Writer of the Year 21st December 2020 The theme for this year’s competition is I’d love to go back. Entrants are invited to submit an original piece of writing of between 600 and 800 words on the destination they most want to return to when travel opens up again, and what it is about that place that draws them back.This could be a particular event that occurred there or person they met. Entry fee is $10.

The piece must be a true story, based on the writer’s personal experience and written as a first-hand account, in the first person and in English.

Click for more info
Globe Soup 12th July 2020 We’re looking for the best SHORT STORY of no more than 5,000 words. Every Globe Soup short story competition features a different country which all participants must set their story in. You only find out which country after you enter! Entries into the short story competition can be written in any genre or style. Click for more info

A Curated list of Writing competitions featured at Reedsy (filter on non-fiction to view competitions that would be relevant to travel writers)


Paid Travel Writing Gigs 2020

As there seems to be a shortage of new travel writing competitions, I’ve decided to add a new section to this page featuring paid travel writing opportunities. If you pay for guest articles on your travel blog or for your travel publication, please send me an email with the relevant information laid out below.

Travel Writing Publication Payment Submission Guidelines Website
Perceptive Travel $100 per article Perceptive Travel started in 2006 by editor Tim Leffel.

  • Only accepts articles from published print book authors or anthology editors.
  • Narrative features.
  • This web magazine is published monthly, with four feature articles per issue, plus travel-related book reviews.
  • 1,200 to 2,000 words
  • Supply a range of six or more good and varied digital photos (after the story is accepted)

What is the perfect story for Perceptive Travel? For a start, something that is a square peg for all the round holes out there. Think Travelers’ Tales, not Travel & Leisure. The long-form, gripping articles in Outside or on NPR’s This American Life, not the surface-level fluff in a AAA magazine. We’re not interested in guidebook-type destination rundowns or stories that are very wide in scope. Think small and focused. Tell us a good story or immerse us in a place we haven’t already read about a hundred times. Have a point, a clear angle, and make us want to care enough to keep reading to the end. Be yourself, follow your instincts, tell us the real deal. There’s no set tone you have to follow: write like Hemingway or write like Rushdie—as long as it’s really you that’s talking and you have something unique to say.

Click for submission guidelines
Transitions Abroad $75 to $150
  • 1250+ words
  • We are always looking for experienced published writers to become regular columnists or contributing editors.
  • Freelancers beginning their travel writing career are welcome to send submissions “on spec” after carefully reading some of our featured articles to understand our editorial preferences and ensure you are not writing an article on content previously covered.
  • Practical information and inspiration relating to educational and cultural immersion travel abroad.

They have a very extensive set of guidelines and suggested travel niches they’re looking for relevant content for. So spend time getting to know what they’re looking for, and find a niche that is a good fit for your travel brand and platform, which includes off the beaten path travel, as well as volunteering, working, living, or studying abroad. If you travel, for whatever reason, and have a story to tell, this is an excellent publication to pitch.

Click for submission guidelines
World Nomads $0.50 cents per word (approx. $600/700 per article maximum) World Nomads (a travel insurance company) features a page of articles they’re looking for, so check out their assignments page, to see what you can pitch them. The have a Style Guide that explains what the editors are looking for.

At World Nomads, they like to tell stories that go deeper than the location itself – they’re all about unique local experiences, culture, or people.

Click for submission guidelines
In the Know Traveler $10 Tell them what you would tell your best friend, not what you think a travel article looks like. They want something that teaches their readers something practical about travel and the nuances about a particular destination. They want the details.

  • 500+ words (up to 2500 words
  • ITKT uses 52 featured articles a year
  • They publish 1st person narratives that includes something about culture or positive tourism (sustainable, eco, what makes a destination unique)
Click for submission guidelines

A Curated list of Writing competitions featured at Reedsy (filter on non-fiction to view competitions that would be relevant to travel writers)


Archived Travel Writing Competitions

Competiton Host Deadline Date Competition Details Website
Fourteenth Annual Solas Awards September 21, 2019 Award-winning publisher Travelers’ Tales is the sponsor of The Solas Awards, an annual competition to honor excellence in travel writing. $1,000 Gold,
$750 Silver, $500 BronzeWe’re looking for the best stories about travel and the world funny, illuminating, adventurous, uplifting, scary, inspiring, poignant stories that reflect the unique alchemy that occurs when you enter unfamiliar territory and begin to see the world differently as a result. We hope these awards will be a catalyst for those who love to leave home and tell others about it.
Click for more info 

Transitions Abroad: Expat and Work Abroad September 1, 2019 2019 Expatriate and Work Abroad Writing Contest (Annual)

The 2019 Contest begins October 15, 2018, and all entries must be received by September 1, 2019. Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc. will require first-time North American rights for all submissions which are accepted as contest winners and for publication. In addition, Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc. will reserve the right to reprint the story in a future publication.

Details are at the bottom of the Transitions Abroad page … after all of the entries from previous years.

Click for More Info
Transitions Abroad: Student Travel Writing Contest with Scholarships TBD They didn’t run this competition for 2018, but a note on their website said they’re running it again for 2019. There’s no submission date details yet on their website, but you can click on the link to see if they’ve updated their page, or email webeditor@transitionsabroad.com for more information. Click for More Info
WANDERLUST: Readers’ tips: How to avoid the crowds at iconic landmarks March 13, 2019 That’s why we want to know your best tips for visiting: The Pyramids, Camino de Santiago, Great Wall of China, Inca Trail, Grand Canyon, Banff National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, Petra, Taj Mahal, and Angkor Wat.

Do you know the best time of day or year to visit? Maybe you know the back way in? Whatever it is, we want to know all of your advice for having a quiet and unique experiences at one of the classic locations above.

Send them your tips in approximately 100–150 words for your chance to win!

Click for More Info
WANDERLUST: The kindness of Strangers tales. March 13, 2019 Your tales of… The kindness of strangers.

We’re on the hunt for stories about the kindness of strangers. Has a taxi driver ever stopped to offer you directions? Did someone go out of their way to return your lost wallet? Maybe a fellow traveller helped you to complete a tricky trek. Whatever your tale, we want to know it.

Share your anecdote with us for the chance to win a travel goody bag.

Click for More Info
Naturetrek Writing Competition 2019

(500-800 words) that may include one or all of the following ingredients: it might elicit the essence of a particular Naturetrek tour or region, present a flavour (amusing or otherwise) of travelling as part of a wildlife tour group, and/or incorporate your tour’s wildlife highlight(s). It must be written in clear, concise prose and convey a vivid sense of place, as well as the excitement and joy of experiencing the natural world.

The winner will receive one place on a European Naturetrek holiday up to the value of £1,500 OR a £1,000 voucher towards any Naturetrek holiday of her/his choice. There will be a second prize of a £500 Naturetrek Voucher, and a third prize of a £250 Naturetrek Voucher.

Entries should ideally be sent by email (to sara@naturetrek.co.uk) though handwritten entries submitted by post will also be considered

Click for More Info
Nat Geo Traveller July 8th No Competition currently listed, but you can keep checking their competitions page link for Travel writing or Travel photography competitions: http://www.natgeotraveller.co.uk/competitions/ Usually announced around April each year.

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2019/03/national-geographic-traveller-uk-travel-writing-competition-2019

Nowhere Magazine (Literary) July 1st, 2019 Nowhere Magazine hosts a Spring and Fall travel writing competition. The Spring 2019 Travel Writing Contest is a 5,000-word piece with a $20 entry fee. The organisers are genuine and the standard is high.

General submissions for written pieces are closed during our fall and spring writing contests. STATUS: OPEN for narrative; OPEN for photo essays. Click the More Information link to submit a general piece between competitions.

Click for More Info
Bradt Travel Guides New Travel Writer of the Year 6th October 2019 The Bradt Travel Guides New Travel Writer of the Year competition is completely free to enter. For this year’s competition, instead of a general theme, entrants must include the phrase ‘and then it happened’ somewhere within their entry. Click for More Info
The Irish Times 4th November 2019

The Irish Times, in association with Travel Department, is inviting aspiring writers to compose a travel story for consideration for publication in The Irish Times Magazine. The author of the best entry, as selected by our judges, will have their article published in The Irish Times Magazine, and will win a holiday in Tenerife next Easter.

Click for More Info
I Must Be Off! 31st December 2019

This year I Must Be Off are considering any form—non-fiction, fiction, or poetry—as long as the subject is travel or has a strong sense of place. The entry fee for the competition is $3. The Grand Prize is $300. The competition will be judged by world traveler, writer and editor Michelle Elvy.

Click for More Info
Bradt Travel Guides New Travel Writer of the Year 2019 The deadline for submission is midnight on the 25th of November 2018. Bradt Travel Guides has one again teamed up with the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards to run what they believe is the world’s best competition for unpublished travel writers. Not only are the prizes fabulous, but the competition offers a unique opportunity for unpublished writers to showcase their talents to the professional travel-writing community. Whether you’re an aspiring travel writer or simply enjoy writing about your travels, this is the competition for you!

To enter the competition, you should write a piece of 600–800 words relating to the theme ‘Out of the Blue‘. The piece must be original, written in the first person and based on personal experience relating to the theme.

Click for more info
Heritage Writing Competition hosted by Senior Travel Expert Wednesday, October 31st, 2018 We are seeking aspiring and established writers to submit original travel articles relating to the competition theme: Heritage. Historical, cultural and natural heritage are all included under this theme.

Entries should be no more than 750 words in length and should be written in English. We expect most entries will be factual travel writing, however we are happy to accept entertaining fictional articles which fit with the competition theme. Tick the box when submitting to indicate a fictional entry.

This Travel Writing Competition is Free To Enter and offers £200 in prizes. The author of the best entry will receive a cash prize of £100. Ten runners-up will each receive £10 Amazon UK Vouchers.

Click for More Info
Bradt Travel Guides Travelling with Kids Anthology Competition 14th January 2019 For family travel tales between 1,000 and 2,000 words, for inclusion in a forthcoming book.

Bradt Travel Guides is on the hunt for entertaining, out-of-the-ordinary true stories of family travel for inclusion in a new book – provisionally titled Travelling with Kids – due for publication in autumn 2019. The book will be the latest in Bradt’s series of travel anthologies (To Oldly Go, Roam Alone and Beastly Journeys). If you have a story that’s inspiring, amusing, quirky, thrilling or even downright frightening (albeit with a happy ending) this is your chance to see it immortalised in print.

Click for More Info
Fred’s Blog – 4th Annual Travel Stories Competition October 1st until November 30th 2018. This year’s Travel Highlights competition for entries of 50-100 words.  There will be cash prizes for the Top 3. Click for More Info
Thirteenth Annual Solas Awards September 21, 2018 Award-winning publisher Travelers’ Tales is the sponsor of The Solas Awards, an annual competition to honor excellence in travel writing. $1,000 Gold,
$750 Silver, $500 Bronze
Click for more info 
Fred’s Blog – 4th Annual Travel Stories Competition March, April, May, June and July 2018 The 4th Annual Travel Stories Competition will be launched mid-February on Robert’s blog fd81.net.

As before, entries must be 500-1000 words and entrants are limited to one entry per monthly competition (March, April, May, June and July). Each monthly winner will win $50/£40.

The overall winner’s prizes:

  1. $300/£240
  2. $200/£160
  3. $100/£80.

These overall winners will be chosen by an independent panel of judges and announced early in September. 

Click for More Info
Beastly Journeys Travel Anthology hosted by Bradt Travel Guides October 31st 2017 Bradt is looking for inspirational stories about your own beastly story, which can range from hilarious holidays with pets to journeys on which wild animals somehow came along for the ride (whether their presence was welcome or not). Those travellers whose tales are selected for publication will receive a small fee and two complimentary copies of the book.

Length: Stories should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words long, and written in the first person.

Click for More Info
National Geographic Traveller UK 15 May 2018 at 11.59pm GMT Write 500 words on an inspirational travel experience. Be sure to keep your piece focused, capture the essence of the destination you’re writing about and ensure you consider National Geographic Traveller (UK)’s defining features: immersive travel coupled with authentic storytelling.

If you think you’ve got what it takes to write for us, enter our annual Travel Writing Competition. Your work could appear in National Geographic Traveller (UK) and you could win a place on a two-week hiking, biking and kayaking trip to Thailand with G Adventures.

The prize: A two-week Thailand Hike, Bike and Kayak Adventure will give you a completely different perspective on the destination. Join a small group of like-minded travellers to hike through forests and rice paddies, cycle through remote community villages, and experience Thailand’s intriguing combination of culture and the great outdoors.

http://www.natgeotraveller.co.uk/travel-writing-competition/

Click for more info 
Fred’s Blog July 31st 2017 Our third annual Travel Story Competition is now open for entries and will run until July 31st 2017.

There will be five monthly prizes of $50 (£40) for the best stories entered in February/March, April, May, June and July.

In addition there will be overall prizes awarded to the Top 3 stories as decided by a panel of independent judges. Prizes will be: 1st – $150 (£120), 2nd – $100 (£80) and 3rd – $50 (£40).

If selected, your story will also appear in the 2018 Edition of Travel Stories and Highlights.

Click for More Info 
Lonely Planet Kids: writing competition 2017 February 3, 2017 Using between 100 and 200 words, tell us about a recent trip you took and why it was memorable for you. Your blog could be about a faraway place, or somewhere closer to home – so long as it was an adventure! We’d also love you to illustrate your writing, using either a drawing or a photograph. Click for More Info
Fall 2016 Travel Writing Contest hosted by Nowhere January 1, 2017 Award-winning literary travel magazine, Nowhere, is accepting submissions for the 2016 Fall Travel Writing Contest. The winner will receive $1,000 and publication in Nowhere Magazine.

** $20 entry fee **

(They also host a Spring competition each year)

Click for More Info
Twelfth Annual Solas Awards September 21, 2017 Award-winning publisher Travelers’ Tales is the sponsor of The Solas Awards, an annual competition to honor excellence in travel writing. $1,000 Gold,
$750 Silver, $500 BronzeWinners of the Twelfth Annual Solas Awards will be announced on or about March 1, 2018.
Click for More Info
Expatriate and Work Abroad Writing Contest hosted by Transitions Abroad Contest begins July 15, 2016, and ends May 15, 2017 Win $500/$150/$100/$50. Submit An original and unpublished essay of between 1,000 and 5,000 words relating to your experience living, moving, or working abroad. Click for More Info
Roam Alone Travel Anthology hosted by Bradt Travel Guides October 31st 2016 Bradt is looking for inspirational stories about travelling alone to include in a new collection of true-life tales publishing in 2017. Those travellers whose tales are selected for publication will receive a small fee and two complimentary copies of the book. Click for More Info
Share Your Outrageous Travel Horror Story! Hosted by CheapOAir October 25th 2016 You could win one of the three $200 CheapOair gift cards. Your frightful tale could turn your frown upside down! They are choosing the best of the worst stories to share on our blog and give gift cards to the top three submissions that made us laugh, cringe, and/or cry the most. Click for More Info
The Irish Times travel writing competition 2016 October 8th, 2016  Want to win a travel-writing assignment abroad for The Irish Times Magazine? Enter our annual competition, in association with Travel Department Click for More Info
Off the Beaten Track Writing Competition hosted by Senior Travel Expert September 30, 2016 Free To Enter and offers a prize of £100 to the author of the best entry. We are seeking aspiring or established travel writers to send us interesting, original writing relating to the competition theme: Off the Beaten Track. Entrants must be 55+ Click for More Info
Expatriate and Work Abroad Writing Contest hosted by Transitions Abroad May 31, 2016 Win $500/$150/$100/$50 for Sharing Your Living and/or Work Abroad Experience Click for More Info
 National Geographic Travel Writing Competition2016 30 April 2016 The winner will see their piece published in the National Geographic magazine and on natgeotraveller.co.uk. Plus, they’ll enjoy an epic 17-day expedition to Madagascar, courtesy of Natural World Safaris, worth almost £6,000! Click for More Info
2016 Travel Writing Competition hosted by I Must Be Off July 31st 2016 Type up those travel articles, travel anecdotes and travel reflections. The Top essays will be published at I Must Be Off! (Authors retain copyright.) Click for More Info
2016 Rough Guides Travel Writing Competition 1 May 2016 The winner will get a £2000 (or local currency equivalent) travel voucher to spend on planning an unforgettable trip with GapYear.com, a bundle of Rough Guides books, and their winning work will be featured on RoughGuides.com. Click for More Info
Fall 2017 Travel Writing Contest hosted by Nowhere

@NowhereMag

January 1, 2018

Spring Competition: May 31, 2018

Award-winning literary travel magazine, Nowhere, is accepting submissions for the 2017 Fall Travel Writing Contest and 2018 Spring Travel Writing Contest. The winners will receive $1,000 and publication in Nowhere Magazine.

Stories can be fiction, nonfiction or essay, but please indicate which genre at the top of your manuscript. Entries should be between eight hundred and five thousand words.

** $20 entry fee **

Click for more info 
Narrative Travel Writing Contest hosted by Transitions Abroad Febuary 22, 2016 Writers are invited to submit an article that describes how traveling in a slower manner and attempting to adapt to the space and time of locals, their culture, and land has deepened the experience of both the people and the destination.$500 Click for More Info