2020-21 SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition
113 Environmental and Sustainable Tourism ( Newspapers,Travel Magazines,Travel Coverage in General Magazines,Travel Audio-Radio,Travel Audio-Podcasts and Guides)Back
Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Outside Entry Title: Sudden Solitude on One of the World's Busiest Mountains Entry Credit: Oliver Smith Judge Comment: The best stories about people and nature explore the ancient, everlasting complexities of that relationship—and the innate bent of the human soul toward oneness with its surroundings. Oliver Smith’s work is brilliant at the sentence level, crafting lines that are alternately exquisite and sardonic. As fits the title and subject, the writing is deeply personal yet feels the tug of other people and a world greater than oneself. This story leaves an impression with its writing and its implications.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Sandy Lang Entry Title: A Walk with the Woods Entry Credit: Sandy Lang, Peter Frank Edwards, Joel Kuschke, Paul Koenig Judge Comment: Every journalist dreams of a subject like Raymond Reitze. Sandy Lang embraces that subject, then strikes a nimble balance, knowing when to observe and analyze—and when to get out of the way to allow Reitze to spill forth ancient wisdom unabated. People and places are inextricably connected, and this piece makes that connection clear and beautiful.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Jeff MacGregor Entry Title: It Is Here. And It Is Hungry Entry Credit: Jeff MacGregor Judge Comment: Jeff MacGregor parses out the Biblical proportions of one insect species’ activity in an article that is thorough and terrifying. The writing here is rhythmic and varied, uniting masterful scene-setting with factual explanation, short and devastating sentences with a fluid sense of travel not unlike the flight patterns of the story’s subject: the spotted lanternfly. Impressive storytelling and depth of knowledge combine here in powerful ways.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: The Statesider Entry Title: The Losing Coast Entry Credit: Elizabeth Miller Judge Comment: Elizabeth Miller’s work chronicles a slow but sure ecological crisis in real time. The writer is creative and crystal clear in describing the loss of Louisiana’s coast, staggering readers with the gravity of the situation, then graciously ushering them through the how, what and what now of the issue. Miller invests short, declarative sentences and longer descriptions with the same urgency and thoughtfulness, making this a pleasant read about a deeply unpleasant topic.
