The Travel Writer’s Way

Bradt guides have always been about much more than practical details of what time the bus leaves and where to find the nearest loo. Our authors are travel experts, of course, but they are also travel writers, and we encourage them to express themselves and use their books to entertain as well as inform. 

We’ve therefore long had a commitment to promoting the art and craft of travel writing, whether that’s in guidebooks, magazine articles or works of travel literature. The Travel Writer’s Way is a book we’ve been dying to publish. Jonathan Lorie has decades of experience in training people how to get the most from their travels and their writing, whether they want to be professional writers or simply to improve their blog. His approach in The Travel Writer’s Way is unique, focusing as it does on practical writing exercises as well as offering advice on how to break into the field. Hug this book close to you. There is absolutely no better text out there. 

Once you’ve digested Jonathan’s advice, you might consider entering Bradt’s annual travel-writing competition. We’ve run it for over 20 years and it offers a fabulous opportunity not only to win a holiday but a commission to write about it. Several competition winners have gone on to become leading travel writers, and it can provide a genuine foot in the door. If you are an unpublished writer with aspirations to see your work in print, you really should have a crack. 

Another important resource is our annual travel-writing seminar. This one-day event features a panel of professional writers and editors, including Jonathan himself and the travel editor of The Telegraph, and is your chance to get your questions answered directly and to wring every drop of advice from industry insiders. 

If you’d like feedback on your writing, Jonathan is offering a personal critique service. He’s just one man, of course, and cannot spread himself too thinly, so critiques are only available on pieces written specifically in response to the exercises in his book. 

Finally, Bradt occasionally publishes collections of true travel tales on different subjects, and – when we do – we invite entries from the public that we might include. 

Below is fuller information about all of these resources. And if you want to be sure not to miss details about forthcoming writing seminars or competitions, do sign up to our newsletter. 

Ways to get involved

Critique service

Tailored, detailed feedback from Jonathan Lorie himself on a piece of your writing based on the assignments in The Travel Writer’s Way. Each critique costs £30. Please note that the service is strictly restricted to pieces related to the exercises in the book. For more information, please contact marketing@bradtguides.com.

New Travel Writer of the Year competition

Bradt has run an annual travel-writing competition for over 20 years. Now part of the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, this is the foremost competition for unpublished travel writers. The prize includes a holiday for two and a commission to write about the trip. You can read 2022’s winning entry here. Sign up to the Bradt newsletter here to be the first to hear about next year’s comeptition and entry details.

Contribute to a Bradt anthology

Bradt runs occasional competitions to find entries for publication in its anthologies of true travel tales. Past books include To Oldly Go and Beastly Journeys. These anthologies are part of Bradt’s broader series of travel literature, which is also well worth a look.