Travel Writer of the Year Award
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Posted by Donna Dailey Nov 17, 2007 |
It has been an exciting week. On Sunday night, at the British Guild of Travel Writers' annual awards dinner at London's Savoy Hotel, I was awarded the runner-up prize in the Travel Writer of the Year 2007 competition.
It was a great surprise and a great honor. My colleagues in the BGTW are among the best travel writers in the world. Competition is strong, and the winners are chosen anonymously on the strength of their writing alone. Not even the judges know the identity of the writers or the publications in which their work appeared until they've chosen the winners.
To hear your name announced on stage to a roomful of top journalists, editors and travel industry professionals is thrilling indeed. But it's not just the glory or the nice cash prize. Two things made this award extra special for me.
It was the first time a woman writer has won in the top award category. And my portfolio included several short, light-hearted pieces for specialist publications, rather than the big adventure travel articles that often have the edge. It's lovely to be recognized for your work, and for these publications to be in the spotlight as well.
Three of my entries were written for Suite101. It shows that writing for the web is now taken every bit as seriously as traditional print journalism. In 2002, when my article on London's Brick Lane won the BGTW award for Best UK Feature Under 850 Words, it was the first time a web article had won a writing award. Now web articles are routinely entered in most journalism competitions.
I chose my winning Suite101 pieces simply because I enjoyed them. I hope you do, too. The articles are:
Rockmount: Denver's Hippest Store