TransitionsAbroad.com invites you to enter its 2008 Narrative Travel Writing Contest with a new $500 first-place prize.

“Tourists are those who bring their homes with them wherever they go, and apply them to whatever they see… Travelers leave home at home, bringing only themselves and a desire to see and hear and feel and take in and grow and learn.” Gary Langer, Transitions Abroad, Vol. 1, #1 (1977) Professionals, freelancers and other talented travel writers are invited to write a travel narrative relating to the intrinsic educational aspects of meaningful travel. We are looking for evocative and engaging writing in which sensitive immersion in the country, the people, the food, the land, the art, the rituals, and the culture in general play the leading role in the writer’s self-discovery and enlightenment. We are absolutely not looking for self-involved travelogues or diaries, but rather for a well-crafted and inspirational story which should appeal to those who have traveled independently overseas with open minds, sensitive souls, and empathetic imaginations. The aesthetic and intellectual pleasures of discovery are of more interest to us in this year’s travel writing contest than the sense of personal or cultural guilt over the many horrific situations to be found worldwide and covered in-depth in other areas of TransitionsAbroad.com. Accompanying photos which enhance the narrative are a plus, and we are open to photojournalistic approaches to the subject outlined above for this year’s Narrative Travel Writing Contest. TransitionsAbroad.com will publish the top three winners’ entries as well as those of the selected runner-ups. Contest Prizes In this year’s Narrative Travel Writing Contest, the first-place winner’s entry will receive $500 (USD), the second-place winning entry $150, and the third-place winner $100. Any other articles selected as runner-ups will receive a $50 payment.

Who is Eligible
The Contest is open to professional, freelance and aspiring travel writers from any location around the globe.

How to Enter
Submit an original essay from 1,000 to 3,000 words. Supporting photos in .jpg or .gif format are welcome to illustrate the experience and are considered part of the essay submission.

To enter the Contest, attach your essay in Word format or copy and paste it into an e-mail. Please include your full name, complete postal address and phone number. Please type “Narrative Travel Writing Essay Entry” in the subject description of the e-mail and send the e-mail to narrativewritingcontest@transitionsabroad.com

The Contest begins March 15, 2007, and all entries must be received by October 15, 2007. Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc. will require first-time North American rights for all submissions which are accepted as contest winners and for publication. In addition, Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc. will reserve the right to reprint the story in a future publication. The writer may republish the unedited submission as desired after initial publication on TransitionsAbroad.com. Editors of TransitionsAbroad.com will judge entries based upon the following criteria:
Literary quality
Sensitivity to the people and culture being described
Ability to engage the reader
Winners will be chosen on or about November 15, 2007 and notified by phone, mail, or e-mail by December 1, 2007 for publication on January 5, 2008.

Contest Terms
There is no entry fee required for submissions.
Decisions of the judges are final.
Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc. is not responsible for late, lost, misdirected, incomplete, or illegible e-mail or for any computer-related, online, or technical malfunctions that may occur in the submission process.
Submissions are considered void if illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error, or obtained through fraud or theft.
Submissions will be considered made by an authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry.
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners along with any others accepted for publication will be paid by Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc. either by check or Paypal as preferred by the author.
All federal, state, and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the Contest winners.