Fourth Annual Solas Awards Winners

The editors of Travelers’ Tales are proud to announce the winners of the Fourth Annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Story of the Year. Grand Prize winner Tawni Vee Waters collected $1,000 for “The Ashes of San Miguel,” her haunting story about death and its effect on cultures and people. Kevin McCaughey won the silver award and $750 for “We Wait for Spring, Moldova and Me,” his quirky tale of life as a teacher in the post-Soviet state. Gina Briefs-Elgin took the bronze and $500 for “The Train at Night,” her poetic, charming, and sometimes chilling account of a cross-country journey on Amtrak. Read these stories on the Great Stories page.

More than 250 entries in 21 categories kept the judges busy. This year the work entered in the competition was excellent, but as usual not every story that deserved an award received one. Here’s the complete list of winners. Winning stories will be posted on BestTravelWriting.com and many will appear in future Travelers’ Tales books. Here’s a list of stories deserving honorable mention.

Deadline for the Fifth Annual Solas Awards is September 21, 2010. The competition is year-round, however, so submit your stories any time.

See the complete list of winners in the Third Annual Solas Awards.

See the complete list of winners in the Second Annual Solas Awards.

See the complete list of winners in the First Annual Solas Awards.

Travelers’ Tales Sponsors Solas Awards

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.

Dates: You can enter year-round. The current competition closes September 21, 2010.

Win Cash and Publication
Many Categories for True Stories

Grand Prize for Best Travel Story of the Year:

$1,000 Gold
$750 Silver
$500 Bronze

Awards in Categories:

Certificates and bragging rights for Gold, Silver, and Bronze (no cash awards in categories) plus a copy of The Best Travel Writing 2009 or The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2009.

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