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Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards change schedule
From next year, the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards (ESTWA) are to be held in February in order to coincide with the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival.
The new timing will also introduce a “more straightforward” eligibility period of one calendar year for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award, run in association with the Authors’ Club.
The Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year celebrates the best books of the previous year. The shortlist for the 2015 award was announced in summer 2015 and the winner presented in September 2015. The move will see the ceremony for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year 2016 take place in February 2017 at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. It will also see a longer eligibility period from January 2015 to November 1st 2016 with the winner presented in February 2016.
As the ceremony for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year 2016 will not take place until 2017, the Authors' Club will hold a “Best of the Decade: ‘Dolman of Dolmans’ in association with Stanfords” award, in celebration of the Standord Dolman Travel Book of the Year's 10th anniversary. The winner will be selected from the winners of the previous prizes and will be announced at a summer event at the National Liberal Club.
Tony Maher, managing director of Edward Stanford Limited, said: “These changes will not only ensure the judges can select from the most current publishing, but they also align the awards with the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival to create a singular highlight of the year for travel writing fans.
“The move means an extended period of eligibility in this first year to maintain continuity for when the 2016 winners are announced at the beginning of next year – we don’t want to miss a gem!”
The Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards people have also added five new prizes to the awards roster for 2016: Young Travel Writer of the Year, Travel Blog of the Year, Adventure Travel Hero of the Year, Food & Travel Book of the Year and Illustrated Travel Book of the Year.
Individual sponsors are being sought for each prize, with news to follow later in the spring.
Maher said: “We are pleased to be able to follow through on our promise to expand the ESTWA with the addition of these exciting new categories, which reflect the breadth of travel related publishing both printed and online. Our determination to continue to fly the flag for travel writing has led us to retain the services of marketing company Agile Ideas. As experts in the field who have build and managed awards such as: The Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing and The Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards, we are jointly confident of a bright future for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards.”
