For over 25 years, the 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.
As previously, we’ve teamed up with the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards to offer this unrivalled opportunity for unpublished travel writers. And this year we’re pleased to announce the exclusive media partner will be Wanderlust magazine, who will publish the shortlisted entries and commission a paid piece of writing from the winner.
The theme
The theme for this year’s competition is The Kindness of Strangers. Entrants are invited to submit an original piece of writing of between 600 and 800 words that focuses on this topic. It is not compulsory to include the phrase within the body of the piece itself, but the piece must very clearly adhere to this theme. Please note that ‘The Kindness of Strangers’ should NOT be the title of the piece – each entry must have an original title.
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 prizes
The winner will receive an exclusive trip for two to a destination to be determined by Bradt and Wanderlust, and a commission to write about their trip for Wanderlust. Stay tuned for updates…
Four finalists will have their entries published in Wanderlust and receive invitations to the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards in March 2026.
All the shortlisted pieces will also be published on the Bradt website.
For more details, see our terms and conditions page.
The judges
Judges for this year’s competition:
- Hilary Bradt, founder of Bradt Guides
- Adrian Phillips, MD of Bradt Guides
- Jonathan Lorie, travel-writing trainer and author of The Travel Writer’s Way
- Hugh Brune, head of sales and marketing at Bradt Guides
Before you enter
To give yourself the best possible chance of success, have a look at our hints from a previous competition about what the judges are looking for. You can also read all of last year’s shortlisted entries. Still not sure whether to throw your hat into the ring? Read Jonathan Lorie’s article on travel writing competitions.
For more inspiration, take a look at Travel Write, an anthology of the best pieces of writing to pass in front of the judges’ eyes over the past 20 years. Six themed chapters include remarkable places, extraordinary people, encounters with wildlife; real terror; history; and learning and reflection. All in all, 95 stories cover everything from border guard mix-ups, wild animals and dodgy navigation to a day trip to Iceland and being seduced by a goat in a French market.
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: 3rd November 2025.
Full details of how to submit your entry will be sent upon payment of the entry fee.
For full terms and conditions, see this page.