Nineteenth Annual Solas Awards Winners

Announced March 1, 2025

Grand Prize for Best Travel Story of the Year

Gold ($1000)
It Can Be Beautiful for Everyone by Katrina Woznicki

Silver ($750)
The Donation by Stephanie Knapp

Bronze ($500)
Everything Is Great on the Bosphorus Strait by Charish Badzinski
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Category Award Winners

Adventure Travel
The best story of high adventure, danger, or physical challenge
Gold: In Antarctic Light by Sivani Babu
Silver: The “African Queen” Swamp Tour by Iona Grosshans
Bronze: Good Omens by Sophia Shidlovsky

Animal Encounter
The best account of meeting snakes, elephants, rhinos, gorillas, birds, or other creatures
Gold: This Horse by Carol Moen Wing
Silver: Surprise Encounter on the Amazon by Laine Gonzales
Bronze: She-Lizards by Laurie McAndish King

Bad Trip
The best account of when things go wrong, or the shadow side of a culture or individual
Gold: Lost Luggage: Facing Fears During 9 Days in the Jungle with One Pair of Panties by Heidemarie Brandes
Silver: The Safari from Hell by Rosie Cohan
Bronze: A Day on the Trip by Douglas Guido

Cruise Story
The best account of a trip on the water in any vessel, from the smallest kayak to the largest ship
Gold: Nile Holiday, Tears, a Marriage Proposal by Ann Joachim
Silver: The Erie Canal: The manmade waterway that transformed the US by Robin Catalano
Bronze: Saving Antarctica by MJ Pramik

Culture and Ideas
The best story or essay about how art, history, currents events, fashion, or music affected a traveler or a trip
Gold: Climbing the Mountain by Nathaniel Murray
Silver: We Are All Here Together by Katherine Jamieson
Bronze: Can Anyone Still Make It as a Country Singer in Nashville? by Adam Szetela

Destination Story
The best story about a place that captures its essence and reveals its attractions, making the reader want to go there
Gold: The Tangled Web We Weave by Dana Zartner
Silver: Bar Calisto by Isabella Cascio
Bronze: Blissed out at the Integratron by Laurie McAndish King

Doing Good or the Kindness of Strangers
The most inspiring tale of aid, comfort, philanthropy, or caring for others in faraway places, or of being the recipient of a stranger’s largesse
Gold: Khamak Feeds Our Family by Mary Littrell
Silver: The Boys of Avele by Angela Hemmeter
Bronze: Pay As You Go by Mardith Louisell

Elder Travel 
The best story from a traveler 65 years of age or older
Gold: A Sacred Ritual by Tania Romanov
Silver: It Could Have Been Me by Tania Romanov
Bronze: One Big Splash by Mary Jo Maguire

Family Travel
The best story about traveling with family of all generations, including grandparents, parents, children, cousins, siblings or journeying to discover roots
Gold: Your Vessel Can Handle More Than You Can by Kurt Ela
Silver: The Goat in the Stairwell by Lisa VanderVeen
Bronze: Luggage Cart Ponzi Scheme by Charity Schlote

Funny Travel
The funniest account of a misadventure or an essay about how the world can make us laugh at ourselves and those around us
Gold: It’s Not Greek to Me by Dan Wake
Silver: A Watchtower in the Desert by Nathaniel Murray
Bronze: Members Only: The Iceland Phallological Museum by Carrie Kirby

Love Story
The best account of love or romance on the road
Gold: Why to Climb a Volcano Twice by Marcia DeSanctis
Silver: Spark Bird by Lisa Boice
Bronze: To the Cute One by Jillian Schedneck

Men’s Travel 
The best account by a man of a testosterone-fueled encounter or experience on the road
Gold: The Tango of Death by Lance Mason
Silver: Amongst The Giants by Mark Hendricks
Bronze: Euskadi by Dan Wake

Most Unforgettable Character 
The story that best captures how one individual or group of people affected a traveler in a meaningful way
Gold: Dervla Murphy: Trailblazing Author Traveled at a Human Pace by Michael Shapiro
Silver: The Wizard of East Jesus by Laurie McAndish King
Bronze: To The Woman in the Santiago Bus Terminal by Emma Morrell

Travel and the Environment
The best story about ecology, development, or environmental issues as they affect travel
Gold: Radioactive Memory: What I Didn’t Say About Fukushima by Theresa Lin
Silver: Desert Pas de Deux by Cyndi Goddard
Bronze: Orders of Magnitude by Anne Sigmon

Travel and Food
The best story where food or drink plays a role in introducing the traveler to a foreign culture or new friends
Gold: The Quest to Save the World’s Most Coveted Chocolate by Heidemarie Brandes
Silver: Starbucks in Paris by Emma Morrell
Bronze: Future City Foodways in Rural Japan by Tami Fairweather

Travel and Healing
The best story about visits with shamans, healers, holy men and women, or holy sites in search of a cure for illness or psychological malady
Gold: Honoring the Dead by Mike Bernhardt
Silver: Getting Onboard by Lisa VanderVeen
Bronze: Ljós by Gretchen Ayoub

Travel and Shopping 
The best account of a shopping, bargaining, or haggling experience in a market, bazaar, outlet, or mall, anywhere in the world
Gold: Gold-Plated Magic by Kevin Dimetres
Silver: The Candy Cruise by Parker G. Emerson

Travel and Sports
The best account of a sports activity while traveling, such as climbing, rafting, sailing, trekking, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, skiing, baseball, Frisbee, polo, basketball
Gold: Of Paunch and Punches by Paul Shields
Silver: A Runner Finds a Sense of Belonging on an Alaskan Retreat for People of Color by Allison Torres Burtka
Bronze: The Magnificent Mother of Sea Country by Jayme Moye

Travel and Transformation
The best story about the inner journey or pilgrimage, whether religious, mystical, psychological, or emotional
Gold: Bear Heart by Linda Ballou
Silver: The Shaman’s Cave by MJ Pramik
Bronze: To Go Within: Two Weeks at Bali Silent Retreat by Charish Badzinski

Travel Memoir
The best story that draws heavily on the writer’s past to make a point or reveal the lessons of a lifetime
Gold: The Birth of Wanderlust by Erin Byrne
Silver: Sailing Through Egypt Towards Home by Marcia DeSanctis
Bronze: To the Man With Shark Teeth and a Machete Scar by Heidemarie Brandes

Women’s Travel
The best account by a woman of an encounter or experience on the road
Gold: Risk Management by Marianne Rogoff
Silver: The Only Way Out Is In by Anne Giordano
Bronze: Lessons Learned from a Vodoun Oracle in Benin by Piia Mustamaki
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Honorable Mention

Tenderheaded by Faith Adiele
A Tsunami Could Wipe This Norwegian Town off the Map. Why Isn’t Everyone Leaving? by Anna Fiorentino
Hiking Between the Mancomunadas Villages of the Sierra Norte, Oaxaca by Tim Leffel
The Big Apple by Kimberley Lovato
Finding Inspiration in Chaos by Gary Singh