The competition

Enter the world’s best competition for unpublished travel writers!

For over 25 years, Bradt Guides’ New Travel Writer of the Year competition has been seeking out and championing new writing talent. Previous winners and finalists in the competition have gone on to see their work published in newspapers, travel magazines and books.

Once again part of the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, the leading book trade awards for travel writers,  this is an unrivalled opportunity for unpublished travel writers.

The theme

The theme for this year’s competition is An Animal Encounter. Entrants are invited to submit an original piece of writing of between 600 and 800 words which either includes this phrase or clearly touches on the theme.

The piece must be a true story, based on the writer’s personal experience and written as a first-hand account, in the first person and in English.

The prize

Three finalists will also receive invitations to the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards in London in March 2027.

The overall winner will receive a five-night trip for two to South Africa, courtesy of Safari.com – three nights at a luxury lodge in a private reserve in the Sabi Sands or Greater Kruger, followed by two nights in Cape Town. The prize includes return flights from London, internal flights, all game drives, meals on safari, all transfers and travel insurance. They will also receive a commission from Wanderlust to write about their trip.

Safari.com has spent twenty years crafting tailor-made African safaris – more than 60,500 travellers since 2006 – and was named Africa’s Leading Safari Company at the World Travel Awards in 2024, 2025 and 2026. What sets the team apart is a belief in human responsibility: every traveller has two named points of contact – the safari specialist who designs the trip, and a dedicated member of the concierge team – reachable whenever you need them, before, during and after the safari. No call centres, no bouncing between departments – just people who know your trip personally and have stayed in the lodges and driven the routes themselves. Every booking includes complimentary travel insurance, and because lodges pay Safari.com’s commission, travellers pay the same as booking direct.

You can find the full terms and conditions here.

The judges

Judges for this year’s competition:

• Hilary Bradt, founder of Bradt Guides
• Lyn Hughes, Founding Editor of Wanderlust magazine
• Jonathan Lorie, travel-writing trainer and author of The Travel Writer’s Way.
• Adrian Phillips, MD of Bradt Guides
• Hugh Brune, Commercial Director of Bradt Guides

Before you enter

To give yourself the best possible chance of success, have a look at our article about what the judges are looking for. And read Jonathan Lorie’s article on travel writing competitions.

Am I eligible?

The competition is open to unpublished writers only. We define this as someone who has not previously been paid for a travel-related piece of writing published either in print or online. There are always grey areas with this, so for further clarification please see the competition rules here, and if you’re still not sure get in touch.

The small print

Entry fee: £15.

Deadline for entries: 1 November 2026.

Full details of how to submit your entry will be sent upon payment of the entry fee.

For full rules, terms and conditions, see this page.