OPEN FOR ENTRIES
2024-25 Lowell Thomas Competition
RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE IN TRAVEL JOURNALISM SINCE 1984
SATW FOUNDATION
LOWELL THOMAS TRAVEL JOURNALISM COMPETITION
Rewarding Journalists for Outstanding Work in the Field for 40 Years
The SATW Foundation sponsors the annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. The first contest honored work done in 1984. Today the Foundation awards more than $25,000 annually in prize money for outstanding print, digital, multimedia and broadcast work. It is the premier competition in North America in the field of travel journalism. It has gained its stature for several reasons, most notably:
• it does not promote any particular destination or travel product,
• it does not have any membership requirements for journalists to enter, and
• it is judged independently by the faculty at a top U.S. school of journalism.
2024-25 Lowell Thomas Competition
Entries for the 2024-25 Lowell Thomas Competition are now being accepted. Winners will be announced in September at the SATW Convention in Detroit, Michigan.
Who We Are
A board of directors from the travel journalism field governs the Foundation, serving as volunteers. Directors provide guidance for the annual competition to keep it up-to-date with the changing media scene.
Supporters and Donors
Through donations, the Foundation has awarded more than $575,000 in prizes to journalists over 38 years. A generous contribution by Gold Supporter Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise company, makes the sustainability of the annual competition possible.
2024 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards
Choosing among 1,371 entries, the 27 judges at the University of Missouri School of Journalism conferred 120 awards on editors, writers, photographers, podcasters, social media experts and videographers in the 2024 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. The awards were announced on November 13, 2024 at the SATW annual convention in Istanbul, Turkey.
Professor Jennifer Rowe and Carol J. Loomis, faculty fellow, along with Professor Heather Isherwood and newsroom coordinator Ellie Newberry-Wortham, of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, oversaw the judging. “The work produced by travel writers this year reverberated with the joy and surprise of traveling,” she said, “while remaining grounded in current times. Entries were, in turn, ‘playful’ or ‘captivating,’ yet also reflective of the demands of socially conscious travelers.” Human connection was a theme throughout the entries. One judge noted that the stories are a “ “reminder of why we travel.”
The Gold Award for the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year went to Natalie Compton from The Washington Post. “This entry is a tribute to the power of imagination in finding unique stories around the globe and in our own backyard,” the judges said. Amanda Finnegan, editor of By the Way and the travel editorial team at The Washington Post won gold for Newspaper Travel Coverage. AFAR Magazine, led by editor-in-chief, Julia Cosgrove, won Gold for Travel Magazines. Outside Magazine with Mary Turner, director of travel coverage, won the Gold for Travel Coverage in General Magazines.
SATW members showed their writing muscles, receiving a total of 30 prizes, including Silver Awards in Short Narrative, Service-Oriented Consumer Work and Instagram Storytelling and Gold in Travel Video of Less than Two Minutes, Travel Blog and Guidebook categories. The Silver and Honorable Mention awards for the Travel Journalist of the Year went to SATW members Jill Robinson and Larry Bleiberg, respectively.
The first Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition celebrated travel works completed in 1984. Since then, the Foundation has awarded more than $630,000 to winners in the contest, the most vaunted honor in North American travel journalism.
“The Lowell Thomas Awards have no agenda except to support, celebrate and sustain excellence in travel journalism,” said Catharine Hamm, president of the SATW Foundation. It does not promote any particular destination or travel product; it does not have any membership requirements for journalists to enter; and it is judged independently by the faculty at a top U.S. school of journalism. We are also grateful to the support from our Board of Directors and to the donations that help fund these awards.”
The awards are named for Lowell Thomas, acclaimed broadcast journalist, prolific author and world explorer during five decades in travel journalism.
The sustainability of the annual competition is made possible by a generous contribution from Gold Supporter Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise company with a portfolio of brands. Its contribution helps make the prizes possible and supports the future of high-quality travel media.
The Society of American Travel Writers Foundation was founded in 1981 to honor outstanding work in travel journalism. Through its Lowell Thomas Competition, the Foundation supports and helps sustain high-quality travel media.
SATW (the Society of American Travel Writers) is the pre-eminent professional association of travel journalists and communicators. Learn more about SATW by visiting its website, www.satw.org.
2020-21 Lowell Thomas Contest Opens
The 2020-21 SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition is open for entries. The deadline is April 1. Work must have been published/posted/broadcast in English between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, except as noted in book categories.
Yes, it has been a difficult year, with travel at a near full stop, but we are here again, stronger than ever and ready to celebrate your good work. We have even more awards and prize money for journalists this year.
We’re excited to announce a new category, the Robert Haru Fisher Award for Travel Health/Safety Coverage — certainly a timely one. Fisher, a distinguished editor, writer and former president of the SATW Foundation, helped start the Lowell Thomas competition. He died in March 2020 at age 90 and left a bequest to fund this award. We are grateful for his generosity in continuing to contribute to the craft he loved.
The contest invites work in all types of media, including online, audio and video, not just print. All entries must be made through the BetterBNC Media Awards Platform. Electronic entries are required in all but a few categories.
If you have not entered in the past, then you must sign up at the contest website and create an account. (It’s a simple process).
Judges will be faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism with Emeritus Prof. John Fennell, Prof. Jennifer Rowe and administrative assistant Kim Townlain coordinating.
Click here for details about the contest, including rules, eligibility, categories and how to enter.
Information also is at the BetterBNC website.
If you have questions and/or want more information, email us at awards@satwf.com.
