Travel Story Competition Results 2011
Announcements of Winning Travel Stories:
The travel stories are just 500-650 words long, which is where the challenge for the writers begins. It takes skill to be able to give the demanding panel of judges everything they want in so few words. The judges are professionals in the writing and publishing industry (authors, editors, journalists, a poet, travel writers) and they were looking for strong story lines with a sense of purpose, descriptions that utilize as many senses as possible and also paint a destination, heart, tension, drama and humour, characterization, creativity, uniqueness, and all within an incredibly short non-fiction travel piece.
The stories were narrowed down to a top ten for a final live (Skype) conference and it's a good thing that the judges had oceans and continents separating them. Just like last year, a story that was one judge's number one, was another's number ten. This is a highly subjective field. Pre-conference the judges' individual scores and comments are shared with all, so they can prepare their rebuttals. A series of shocked emails were bantered back and forth, with a little (no, a lot) of name calling and grand standing. But during the debate, the experience, knowledge and insight of the panel, replaced the jokes, and judges defended the honour of their favourites and acknowledged their flaws as well. A point system was used to help reach the decision.
There was a $500.00 first prize and the runners-up received $150.00 each.
The winning story for 2011: Tuk Tuk - a tooth clenching tale set in the Ukraine - by Krys C, a former travelling tattooist and current full time vagabond, from Newfoundland, Canada.
In no particular order Runners-up:
I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Kramer... - East Londoners on a quest for one of the holy grails of New York - by Amy Butterworth, a comedian and violinist, from London, England
Captive in Cuba - this story is not about Guantanamo Bay - by Jacqueline Dupuis, a travel consultant in Ontario, Canada.
Guiding Light - love and heartbreak at the Taj Mahal - by Sriparna Saha, an architect in India.