2023-24 SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition
101 Grand Award - Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year ( All)Back
Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: The Washington Post Entry Title: Natalie Compton Entry Credit: Natalie Compton Judge Comment: Travel audiences will eat up these kinds of stories, but so will anyone who passes by. This entry is a tribute to the power of finding unique stories around the globe and in our backyard. Natalie Compton uses strong declarative sentences, mixing the long and the short, and knows how to mine a phrase (“We seemed to have boarded an extended booze cruise run by Spirit Airlines”). A first-person point of view is used in advancing the story, not showing off. There’s smart but sparingly used dialogue. In short, this entry offers a lot of lessons for terrific storytelling.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Jill Robinson Entry Title: Portfolio of work Entry Credit: Jill Robinson Judge Comment: This entry contains a great variety of stories about journeys and the self-discovery within those trips. Jill Robinson shows her range as well in a ghost-written book, complete with recipes. As to the writing, how is this for a four-word lead: “I hate Las Vegas.” And this writer worries about endings; they aren’t afterthoughts but purposeful destinations. (Read how she loops back to a Hawai’i burial site. Then, read it again. It’s that good.) Stories include context and history to the places and themes she writes about. All in all, this is an entry with consistently good reporting, writing, and story selection.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Adam Erace Entry Title: various Entry Credit: Adam Erace Judge Comment: Adam Erace’s articles are as lavishly written as some of the sites visited (Paris Ritz, anyone?). The writer has a keen eye for what’s going on around him and creates characters and scenes throughout his stories. These aren’t just interactions; he’s quietly observing when he describes the “four maybe-witches” in a haunted Venice. His expertise in food and wine shines through, but the writer also has range in traditional travel writing. He isn’t afraid to play with short sentences and pithy lines: “You can take the ferry across to drink Evian from its source, but I don’t recommend it. You have your whole life to drink water.”
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: LARRY BLEIBERG Entry Title: Portfolio of work Entry Credit: Larry Bleiberg Judge Comment: Larry Bleiberg’s pieces have great breadth and nice, clean writing that has just enough description but doesn’t get bogged down. The writer sets the right tone for each article, whether more playful, like the contest of crab spices, or serious. There’s precious little “me, me, me” in these pieces, evidence that you can be a travel writer and still dwell in third-person land. He spends time in crafting inviting leads. He took an oft-repeated issue — tourists acting like children — and offered a road lesser traveled in showing the history of bad actors abroad. Favorite travel line: “It’s like driving across Nebraska, and suddenly finding yourself in Hawaii.”
