2020-21 SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition
105 U.S./Canada Travel ( Newspapers,Travel Magazines,Travel Coverage in General Magazines,Travel Audio-Radio,Travel Audio-Podcasts and Guides)Back
Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Sebastian Modak Entry Title: "I Traveled to 52 Places. Then I Discovered N.Y. on My Bike." Entry Credit: Sebastian Modak Judge Comment: Sebastian Modak shares an intimate story of a restless travel writer who must cope with the boundaries of his invisible prison. Like other inmates, he finds beauty in the small and ephemeral moments as he pushes his bicycle through New York’s deserted streets and beyond. His journey is as much inward as outward as he regains love and appreciation for a home rediscovered. For the reader, it is a glorious verbal journey through the known and lesser-known haunts that hug Manhattan’s streets.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Outside Entry Title: Can the Outdoors Save Guys from Themselves? Entry Credit: Chris Colin Judge Comment: Man and machine – it’s a uniquely masculine bond. Make that machine an all-terrain dune buggy traversing the Grand Canyon desert country for four days and you have the makings of a lifetime memory for a father and his six-year-old son. Chris Colin explores what the concept of manhood really means in this intensely introspective and well-crafted journey of the heart.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Pico Iyer Entry Title: The Wonders Close to Home Entry Credit: Pico Iyer Judge Comment: The pandemic forced us all to don a new pair of glasses, to look closer at what we thought was familiar. Pico Iyer takes us along for the ride in the time of stillness – where a more solitary life allows us to hear the cacophony of the Japanese bush warblers in a bamboo forest or admire the toiling of a now-distant friend in a vegetable patch. Channeling Thoreau, he finds true meaning in the hills of his California home, where memories lead him to discover life’s more simple pleasures.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Travel + Leisure Entry Title: Philly Special Entry Credit: Jennifer Wilson Judge Comment: It’s what most of us are dreading – returning to our favorite haunts to find that the pandemic has claimed the colorful restaurant and shops that define many urban neighborhoods. In Jennifer Wilson’s homage to the diverse and vibrant corners of Philadelphia, she offers a peek at once was, is now, and what can return. Her colorful writing and mouth-watering description make you want to pencil in Philly as your next city destination.
