Your travel story could win you...

A holiday for two in Abruzzo, Italy
The chance to have your travel story published in The Independent on Sunday
A commission from The Independent on Sunday for an article based on your prize trip

Once again Bradt has teamed up with The Independent on Sunday with the support of Stanfords and with prizes donated by Railbookers and Travellers' Tales.

The main prize, donated by Railbookers, is a

holiday for two to Abruzzo, Italy, and publication of the winning entry in the travel section of The Independent on Sunday. In addition, the winner will earn a commission from the newspaper to write a piece about their prize visit to Abruzzo. This prize can be won by either a previously published or unpublished writer. A special prize will also be awarded to an unpublished writer. This is a place on a travel-writing weekend run by Travellers’ Tales, the UK’s leading training agency for travel writing. Every entry to the competition will be entered for the first prize; only unpublished writers will be eligible for the special prize.

How to enter

The competition is open to all writers resident in the UK, published or unpublished. The theme this year is ‘A Close Encounter...’ and entries must be based on personal experience relating to the theme. Minimum length is 600 words, maximum length is 800 words.

The competition opens on 15th April 2012 and the closing date for entries to reach us is noon on Friday 15 June 2012.

To register for the competition click here

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For full competition rules, click here

The Prizes

The main prize, open to both previously published and unpublished entrants, is two places on a holiday to Abruzzo, donated by Railbookers, departing before the end of September 2013. Abruzzo is located in central Italy and stretches from the heart of the Apennines to the Adriatic Sea, allowing visitors the chance to explore both coastal gems and mountain hideaways. Railbookers specialise in tailor-made holidays and city breaks throughout Europe and beyond. Their portfolio of holidays combines hotels with rail travel and offers complete freedom to choose where to go and when. Their list of Italian destinations includes principal cities as well as places that are more off the beaten track.

The itinerary for the prize holiday includes one night at the 4-star Hotel Internazionale Bologna followed by 5 nights at the 4-star Castello Chiola – a stately castle on top of a hill nestled within the medieval town of Loreto Aprutino. The prize includes breakfast, Avis group B car hire for 5 days, return flights from London to Bologna with British Airways and a return train from Bologna to Pescara.

There is also a prize just for unpublished writers. This is a place on any travel-writing weekend in 2012 or 2013 run by Travellers' Tales, www.travellerstales.org. The prize does not include transport to the destination.

The Judges

The competition judges will include Hilary Bradt, Donald Greig and Adrian Phillips of Bradt Travel Guides, Jonathan Lorie of Travellers’ Tales and Ben Ross, Head of Travel, The Independent on Sunday. The final winners will be announced at an event held at Stanfords, the UK’s leading travel bookshop.

The winners in 2011 were...

Simon Duncan and Dawn Curtis. The Disappearing Beach was voted best entry overall. Simon won a trip to Turkey courtesy of Anatolian Sky Holidays and the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office. He also won a commission from the Independent on Sunday. Unpublished entrant, Dawn Curtis, wrote The Art of Stillness. Dawn won a place on an overseas travel-writing course through Travellers’ Tales.

Travel Writing Competition - btwc-winners-2011.jpg

Awards night 2011, left to right: Jonathan Lorie, Hilary Bradt, Dawn Curtis, Simon Duncan, Matthew Parris.

Simon Duncan has been commissioned by the Independent on Sunday to write an article for publication shortly and he has since written an article for Bradt that you can read here.