Narrative Travel Writing Contest

TransitionsAbroad.com invites you to enter its Narrative Travel Writing Contest with a $500 first-place prize and no fee for entry.

Please read our contest guidelines below very carefully, as understanding and following our yearly theme is one of the most important factors in our final decision.

Professionals, freelancers, and aspiring travel 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 your experience of both the people and the destination. One of the results of a slower form of immersion travel is the experience of epiphanies through the senses and spirit that change one's perceptions of others, of oneself, of the interrelationship, and of the world as a whole. We urge you to translate one or more such transformative moments into a narrative.

Transitions Abroad has always observed that more experienced travelers and travel writers seek to engage deeply in a destination by staying for a longer period and thereby immerse themselves in the culture and homes they are fortunate enough to visit as guests. Learning to attempt to communicate by any means, ask questions, share stories sad and humorous, cook, work on the land, volunteer, and participate in other daily activities or sacred rituals and festivals is one way to deepen the travel experience and transform it into a two-way street in the process. The Slow Food movement born in Italy and the aesthetic and ethical spirit of the Slow Travel Movement are now part of an important trend now finally taken seriously by more and more travelers to participate in the daily lives of the host community and not simply as consumers of their culture and land. The pandemic will or should result in positive changes in travel behavior, we believe.

We are not looking for destination pieces that describe in flowery "amazing" terms your experience, moralistic essays on the pros and cons of a postmodernist view of travel, nor are we looking for travelogues or blog-like posts that are often too overly personal and self-involved to resonate with others on their own paths of discovery. We are looking for evergreen well-written inspirational pieces that will lead others to experience the sense of engagement as a global citizen.

Accompanying photos that enhance the narrative are highly preferred, as strong visuals often adds a substantial component to a travel narrative on the Web. Photojournalistic essays or accompanying videos will also be considered, and gentle (self)irony or humor is always appreciated.

Please include an optional bio of 1-3 sentences that reference your websites, blogs, books, and contact information in the body of the submission. We can include 1 link in the final winning version. A headshot is optional.

TransitionsAbroad.com will publish the top three winners' entries as well as those of the selected Finalists. See past contests for examples.

Notification of your participation in the contest via Twitter, Facebook, or other social networking sites would be appreciated (see our links/buttons at the top and bottom of this page).

In this year's Narrative Travel Writing Contest, the first-place winner’s entry will receive $500 (USD), the second-place winning entry $150, and the third-place winner $100.

Any other articles selected as Finalists will receive a $50 payment.

The Contest is open to professional, freelance and aspiring travel writers from any location around the globe and of any nationality.

• Submit an original and previously unpublished essay from 1,000 to 5,000 words. Supporting photos in .jpg or .gif format are welcome to illustrate the experience and are considered part of the essay submission. Please do not embed the photos for the travel essay in the .doc files.
• To enter the Contest, attach your essay in Microsoft Word format or copy and paste it into an email as a last resort. Please include your the essay title, full name and demail address in both the email and Word document and add a brief bio if you so choose. Please type "2016 Narrative Travel Writing Essay Entry" in the subject description of the email and send the email to narrativewritingcontest@transitionsabroad.com.
• The Contest begins April 1, 2015, and all entries must be received by January 15, 2016. Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc. will require first-time Worldwide Electronic rights for all submissions that 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. The writer may republish the unedited submission as desired six months after initial publication on TransitionsAbroad.com.
• Editors of TransitionsAbroad.com will judge entries based upon the following criteria:
• Engage and inspire the reader
• Follow the thematic guidelines
• Be sensitive to the people and culture being described
• Enhance with rich photographic and/or video illustrations
• Winners will be notified by phone, mail, or email by 11:59 p.m. E.S.T. Febuary 22, 2016.

• There is no entry fee required for submissions.
• Decisions of the judges are final.
• Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc. is not responsible for late, lost, misdirected, incomplete, or illegible email or for any computer-related, online, or technical malfunctions that may occur in the submission process.
• Submissions are considered void if illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error, or obtained through fraud or theft.
• Submissions should be previously unpublished, either in print or on the Web.
• Submissions will be considered made by an authorized account holder of the email address submitted at time of entry.
• The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners — along with any others accepted for publication — will be paid by Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc. either by check or Paypal as preferred by the author.
• All federal, state, and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the Contest winners.