Travel Story Guidelines 2011 Print E-mail

Description of Leap Local Travel Writing Competition (Stories accepted now until Midnight August 31, 2011):

Leap Local will be awarding a $500 USD first prize and two $150 USD second prizes to travellers with hilarious, surprising, culture shocking, passionate, and life changing local travel stories. When we say local, we mean a travel experience which engaged with local individuals and culture unique to the travel location. The story could also be an “ooops” story - an “I was a stupid tourist” story, about a time you were physically lost, or lost in translation, and now realize that you should have employed a local expert, or guide, for that journey.

The three winning stories will also be published in the Leap Local Newsletter which is sent to travellers around the world, and will be displayed on the website. The top ten stories will all be published on the Leap Local website (read below guidelines for more details). Should the quality of stories be as high as it was in 2010. The top 25 stories will be featured in Monday Escape.
The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18. Only one entry accepted per person.
Prizes will be awarded in preferred currency of winners if possible.



Guidelines for Leap Local Travel Writer Competition:

(All entries must made by 12:00 midnight (in your time zone) August 31, 2011. No late entries will be accepted.)



1. Write a 500-650 word story or article about your local travel experience. Please only submit stories about something that happened to you personally. Submit your story in a Word attachment to Kirsten@leaplocal.org using 12 pt font-size preferably Calibri or Arial, single spaced with double space between paragraphs, no indentations, no fancy formatting, please. Indicate in the subject of your email: Leap Local Travel Writing Entry.

Below your story provide a few details for other tourists regarding getting to the location, dining, places to stay, transportation, links, or any insider knowledge that will help your fellow traveller. This information is not included in story word-count.

2. All competitors must post a recommendation or rating (http://www.leaplocal.org/recommend.html) about a local guide or service on the Leap Local website. Provide the name of the local you have reviewed and link to your review when you submit your story. (*Please note your website recommendation or review of the local on the Leap Local website does not have to be connected to the experience that you are writing about for the travel writing competition. Some writers might be writing about a travel incident from years ago and thus do not have up to date information about guides or services in the location of their story. We encourage you then to review a guide or service from your own back yard – something that tourist visiting your home locale might find of interest.) While the reviews are not judged, the quality of review will be taken into consideration. The local that you recommend/rate will automatically be entered into the other competition, the guides and services competition, so your recommendation matters to them.

3. Entrants need to provide their real names, contact details including country of residence, and email addresses.[1]

4. You will receive an email saying that your story was received within one week of submitting. Please do not contact Leap Local to ask about the status of your story. If you have not received an email confirming that your work was received, please contact Kirsten indicating this, and you will be asked to re-submit your story to an alternate email address.

5. The competition will be judged by a group of professional international writers, authors and industry experts. The judging decision will be final. Judges will be announced before competition closure. Please do not contact them.

6. Your story must not have been published anywhere before previously, including online on websites or blogs. Leap Local has the exclusive right to first publication, and non-exclusive right to distribute and syndicate the stories whether in print, in any media, electronic, online, or any other medium, on any website and in any database, archive or library, on or offline. Authors of competition stories will be credited for their work.

Once the winners have been announced, all other competition participants are free to use their stories elsewhere.

http://www.leaplocal.org/
http://www.leaplocal.org/competitions/travel-story-competition/

Click on the link above and go to the contest official site