The BGTW announced the finalists of the BGTW Members’ Excellence Awards 2020 in a special online event, the BGTW Big Reveal, hosted by Guild members Jon Holmes and Sarah Lee with John Carter and Judith Chalmers. See the video here:
The BGTW Members’ Excellence Awards (MEAs) recognise the very best work of members in travel writing, photography, blogging and broadcasting, in a series of 13 awards judged by UK and international travel industry professionals. This year the awards feature several new categories that represent the continuing evolution of travel coverage and the travel landscape.
Congratulations to all the finalists!
Travel Feature of the Year – UK
- Sue Watt, for ‘Lake District: Saddle up and fall for the Fells’, in The Telegraph
- James Stewart, for his piece ‘End of England’, published in Which Travel
- Nigel Tisdall, for ‘Breakfast with Breugel’, in Timeless
- Helen Ochyra, for ‘Over three months, I let Scotland slowly resuscitate me’, in The Telegraph
- Jessica Vincent, for ‘A journey along England’s most picturesque river on a glorified lilo’, in The Telegraph
- Mike Unwin, for ‘How to have a safari holiday in your back garden’, in The Telegraph Online
Travel Feature of the Year – non UK
- Ellie Cobb, for ‘An extraordinary landscape at the edge of the world’, for BBC Travel
- Jessica Vincent, for ‘Indigenous Women Are Publishing the First Maya Works in Over 400 Years’, for Atlas Obscura
- Jon Holmes, for ‘Divine Comedy’, for The Sunday Times Travel
- Adrian Phillips, for ‘Mountains, Myths and Monsters’, for National Geographic Traveller
- James Stewart, for ‘A Highway for a modern Marco Polo’, for The Sunday Telegraph
- Claire Boobbyer, for ‘How to discover the thrilling side of Havana that inspired Graham Greene’, for The Sunday Telegraph
Travel Feature of the Year – Regional and Specialist Media
- Lisa Kjellsson, for ‘Arctic Bath’, published in Sleeper
- Rudolf Abraham, for ‘Montagnes du Jura’, for Outdoor Enthusiast
- Ben Lerwill, for ‘What to do on the Inner Hebrides’ island of Mull’, for Travel Weekly
- Gillian Thornton, for ‘Treasure Island’, for France Today
- Meera Dattani, for ‘Arctic Roll’, for Travel Weekly
- Emma Gregg, for ‘Protecting our Wildlife: Benson Kanyembo’, for Travel Africa
Specialist Travel Feature of the Year – the Bryn Frank Award
- Simon Urwin, for ‘Pig ear sandwich: An iconic dish of the American South’, for BBC Travel
- Ellie Cobb, for ‘A deep dive on the Great Barrier Reef: Can science and tourism save the reef?, for BBC Travel
- Sue Watt, for ‘Pangolins in Peril’, for BBC Wildlife Magazine
- William Gray, for ‘The Green Heart: Trees of Life’, for Travel Africa Magazine
- Michael Unwin, for ‘The most amazing birdwatching in the world’, for The Times
- Mark Andrews, for ‘Here in Shanghai, there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel’, for The Telegraph
Transport Feature of the Year – The Kenneth Westcott-Jones Award
- Jeannine Williamson, for ‘An exhilarating Atlantic crossing on the world’s largest square rigger’, in The Telegraph
- Tristan Rutherford, for ‘From New York to Miami on James Bond’s favourite train’, in The Telegraph
- Michael Howorth, for ‘Lickety Split’, published in On Board, from Plumb Publications
- James Stewart, for ‘Wacky Races from Tbilisi to the Caucasus’, in The Telegraph
- Simon Parker, for ‘Cycling Safari’, in The Saturday Telegraph
- Emma Thomson, for ‘Life on the longest river’, in National Geographic Traveller UK
Travel Book of the Year – The Adele Evans Award
- Emma John, for ‘Wayfaring Stranger: A Musical Journey in the American South’, published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson
- Helen Ochyra, for ‘Scotland Beyond the Bagpipes’, published by The Book Guild
- Lindsay Sutton, for ‘Sands of Time’, published by Great Northern Books.
Travel Photo Feature of the Year
- Michael Unwin, for ‘Elephants at the sharp end’, published by Travel Africa Magazine
- Peter Ellegard, for ‘Impressions from Cambodia’, published by PlanetGolfReview.com
- William Gray, for ‘Lemur Loving’, published by Wanderlust Magazine
- Simon Urwin, for ‘Another Eden’, published by Sidetracked Magazine
- Nori Jemil, for ‘In Pictures – Turkey’, published by National Geographic Traveller UK
- Bella Falk, for ‘An abandoned British Island reclaimed by nature’, published by BBC Travel
Travel Blog Post of the Year
- Richard Collett, for ‘The Long Read: The Last Cigar Rollers of Suchitoto’, in his blog ‘Travel Tramp’
- Bella Falk, for ‘Visiting the Falkland Islands on an Expedition Cruise’, in her blog ‘Passport & Pixels’
- Tim Bird, for ‘Finns don’t talk much and they don’t like crowds’, in his blog ‘Hands on Helsinki’
- Susan Schwartz, for ‘My Unrequited Love for Harry’s Bar & the Bellini’, in her blog ‘Lush Life’
- Stuart Forster, for ‘A Rhino Walk in Zimbabwe’s Matobo National Park’, in his blog ‘Go Eat Do’
- Paul Healy, for ‘Three Mohammeds and changing life in a Berber village’, in his blog ‘Anywhere We Roam’
Travel Broadcast of the Year
- Jonathan Thompson, for ‘Billionaire’s Guide to Dubai’, for Tatler.com
- Heidi Fuller-Love, for her ‘BA Meet The Locals’ podcast to Malta, broadcast on British Airways inflight and off-board podcast
- Cassam Looch, for ‘How to Take the Perfect Summer Road Trip in Italy’, broadcast for Culture Trip
- Aaron Miller, for ‘Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda with World-Leading Conservationist Praveen Moman’, broadcast on the Armchair Explorer Podcast
- Adrian Phillips, for ‘James Martin’s Saturday Morning travel slot, broadcast on James Martin’s Saturday Morning, on ITV
- Shafik Meghji, for ‘A trip to the South Atlantic’, broadcast on The Rough Guide to Everywhere Podcast
BGTW Travel Blogger of the Year
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- Paul Healy, for ‘Anywhere We Roam’
- Bella Falk, for ‘Passports & Pixels’
- Alastair McKenzie, for ‘Mechtraveller’
- Stuart Forster, for ‘Go Eat Do’
- Richard Collett, for ‘Travel Tramp’
- Claire Robinson, for ‘Weekend Candy’
BGTW Travel Broadcaster of the Year
- Sarah Lee, for broadcasts on LiveShareTravel, RCI and Captivate
- Heidi Fuller-Love, for broadcasts for British Airways
- Susan Schwartz, for her podcast Lush Life
- Simon Parker, for broadcasts on the BBC World Service
- Aaron Miller, for his podcast Armchair Explorer
BGTW Photographer of the Year
- Karoki Lewis, for photography on destinations including Ethiopia, India and Tibet
- James Rushforth, for photography on destinations including Iceland, Italy and Romania
- Simon Urwin, for photography on destinations including Japan, Qatar and South Sudan
- Diana Jarvis, for photography on destinations including France, India and Zambia
- William Gray, for photography on destinations including Botswana, California and Iceland
- Tim Bird, for photography on destinations including India
BGTW Travel Writer of the Year
- Emma Thomson, for articles in National Geographic Traveller UK and The Telegraph
- Jon Holmes, for articles in Sunday Times Travel and The Telegraph Travel
- Tristan Rutherford, for articles in Mojeh Magazine, Camper & Nicholson’s Magazine, The Telegraph, and Boat International
- Adrian Phillips, for articles in National Geographic Traveller, The Telegraph and Kidding Around: Tales of Travelling with Children
- Claire Boobbyer, for articles in Bellhop Magazine, Sunday Telegraph and CubaSí Magazine
- James Stewart, for articles in the Sunday Times, the Saturday Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph
By: Simon Willmore
BGTW Chairman, Digital manager, Writer