There were about 225 stories submitted this year for the 5th annual WanderWomen Write Travel Writing Contest.
Each story had to fit into one of four categories: Passion, Food & Drink, Adventure or Spiritual.
Some stories made me cry, some made me laugh and many just made me wish I was a better writer so I could match the work of these talented ladies.
Before I announce the winners, thanks are due to Nancy Mueller who, for the second year running, absolutely made this contest happen. She is the one who read through every single story and pre-sorted them for the judges. It’s a long and, I’m sure, eye-crossing, experience. But she rose to the challenge and did a great job once again this year.
The top stories were then sent off to the five judges who scored them in each category, producing the winners. The five judges (thank you, thank you!) were:
- Harriet Baskas, Travel Writer
- Rosalind Cummings-Yeates, Travel and Culture Writer
- Angela Nickerson, Writer, Photographer, Traveler
- Lauren Van Mullem, Travel Writer, Photographer and Wanderlust Website Manager
Note that all stories are sent to Nancy and the judges without the author’s name attached assuring total anonymity as they read through the stories.
Also, huge huge thanks to our sponsor: Expedia. They, too, were instrumental in making this contest happen because they supplied us with the prizes! Grand Prize this year is a seven-night stay for two at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Value is $4,359. WOOT!
In addition, each of the category winners will receive a $300 voucher from Expedia. WOOT WOOT!
So, now that you know who’s doing what behind the scenes… here are the winners:
Grand Prize, Judith Campbell for Indian Ocean Commotion, about a sea-voyage-gone-wrong-but-everything-turns-out-OK.
And the four category winners, each of whom will receive a $300 voucher from Expedia, are:
Adventure: Sarah Katin for The Shway Shway of the Vibrating Sisterhood
Food & Drink: Bonnie Etherington for Fish Tale
Passion: Madeline Felix for The Love Person
Spiritual: Bonnie Etherington for Mariposa in Sunlight
Congrats to all the winners (and double YAY for Bonnie) and THANK YOU to everyone who submitted a story. Trust me when I say it was very difficult for all involved to choose a winner.
If you weren’t among the winners, don’t give up! Please, keep writing and, more importantly, keep traveling. I believe that learning about the world at large helps us to build our tolerance, compassion and understanding about the world just beyond our front door. And we could all use a bit more of that!
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Travel Well!
Beth
Photo credit: I Won by Search Engine People Blog
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