Twentieth Annual Solas Awards Winners

Announced March 2, 2026

Grand Prize for Best Travel Story of the Year

Gold ($1000)
Going to Water by Stephen Carr Hampton

Silver ($750)
Truth Is the Timeless One by Gary Singh

Bronze ($500)
Boob Deck by Paulette Perhach
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Category Award Winners

Adventure Travel
The best story of high adventure, danger, or physical challenge
Gold: Libraries Beneath the Sand by James Michael Dorsey
Silver: The Prophecy by Russell Working
Bronze: The Landing Zone by Lance Mason

Animal Encounter
The best account of meeting snakes, elephants, rhinos, gorillas, birds, or other creatures
Gold: Heed the Call by Laine Gonzales
Silver: Now I Can Add “Swam with Mantas” To My List by Lakshmi Balachandra
Bronze: The First Swim by Karen Wertheim

Bad Trip
The best account of when things go wrong, or the shadow side of a culture or individual
Gold: Go To Sleep, You Never Saw Them by Scott Monaco
Silver: No Time for the Lion Park by David Mould
Bronze: The Third Time Around by Lisa VanderVeen

Cruise Story
The best account of a trip on the water in any vessel, from the smallest kayak to the largest ship
Gold: Navigating the Fault Line by Ann Joachim
Silver: In the Wake of Darwin by Jordan Winters
Bronze: From Juba, Southern Sudan, to Gondar, Ethiopia by Pamela Blair

Culture and Ideas
The best story or essay about how art, history, current events, fashion, or music affected a traveler or a trip
Gold: Preserving an Ancient Thread by Margherita Bassi
Silver: Rainy Day in Reykjavík by Robert Klose
Bronze: Finding Cahuilla by Madeleine Adkins

Destination Story
The best story about a place that captures its essence and reveals its attractions, making the reader want to go there
Gold: Giving the Devil His Due by Maxine Schur
Silver: Something in the Water in Mendocino, California by Gillian Kendall
Bronze: Where Faith Blossomed Over Ruin: My Visit to Lithuania’s Kryži? Kalnas by Curvie McMurray

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: Sanctum Sanatorium by Anastasia Austin
Silver: The Board Between Us by Dean Moghadam
Bronze: The Breadmen of Uzbekistan by Craig Collins

Elder Travel 
The best story from a traveler 65 years of age or older
Gold: Getting My Steps in with Waymo: What it Means when they say “The Driver Is in Control” by Gillian Kendall
Silver: An Invitation by Mary Littrell
Bronze: Bouzouki Music by Anne Sigmon

Family Travel
The best story about traveling with family of all generations, including grandparents, parents, children, cousins, siblings or journeying to discover roots
Gold: Mississippi Goddam by Jacqueline St. Joan
Silver: Finally Getting to the Point by Rhena Refsland
Bronze: Iffy About Camping? Here’s How to Dip Your Toes In by Allison Burtka

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: Traveler, Translator, Wingman by Paulette Perhach
Silver: Bonus Day in Brighton by Scott Monaco
Bronze: Road Trip to the Spiritual Assembly by Nancy Davis Kho

Love Story
The best account of love or romance on the road
Gold: Borrowed Time in Wild Places by Heide Brandes
Silver: Clearer Than Before by Lisa Boice
Bronze: Memory and Music: Wicked Game by Michael Raymond

Men’s Travel 
The best account by a man of a testosterone-fueled encounter or experience on the road
Gold: Chasing Buffalo by Lance Mason
Silver: A Taste of the Simple Life with the Naso River People in Panama by Tim Leffel
Bronze: Finding the Wild Side of Baja Near La Paz by Tim Leffel

Most Unforgettable Character 
The story that best captures how one individual or group of people affected a traveler in a meaningful way
Gold: Half Dome the Hard Way by Michael Shapiro
Silver: Up Close and Personal by Lance Mason
Bronze: Mariposa Nueva by Tiffany Sippial

Travel and the Environment
The best story about ecology, development, or environmental issues as they affect travel
Gold: How the Sonian Forest Is Losing Its Voice by Margherita Bassi
Silver: Replanting the Future by Allison Burtka
Bronze: Botswana’s Elephant-Friendly Okavango Craft Brewery Delivers Conservation Solutions in the Heart of Africa by Heide Brandes

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: Tough to Crack by Carrie Honaker
Silver: How Canada’s Smallest Province Became a Culinary Wonderland by Robin Catalano
Bronze: Summer Canning by MJ Pramik

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: A Reckoning by Laine Gonzales
Silver: Land of Wrenching Beauty by Ben Stubenberg
Bronze: Facing the Beast by Katherine Briccetti

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: A Bullfight in Madrid — Pageant or Macabre by Margaret H. Wagner
Silver: Casting a Karmic Spell by Andrew Tarica
Bronze: In Belize, Maya Descendants Are Reviving an Ancient, Sacred Ballgame by Robin Catalano

Travel and Transformation
The best story about the inner journey or pilgrimage, whether religious, mystical, psychological, or emotional
Gold: The Watching That Hurts by Lisa Boice
Silver: Our Lady of Renewal by Erin Byrne
Bronze: More Than a Mission by Joshua Choi

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: My Crazy Idea by Marek Garcia
Silver: What Pleases Durga by Julia Atkinson
Bronze: Idle Hands by Rachel Talen

Women’s Travel
The best account by a woman of an encounter or experience on the road
Gold: Sin City Never Loses by Katherine Jamieson
Silver: Sudan by Pamela Blair
Bronze: Suitcase Full of Grief, Map Full of Stars by Tanya Fraser
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Honorable Mention

Do Not Destroy by Sivani Babu
Woven Together by Choice by Sabine Bergmann
Walking Through Fear by Lisa Boice
How the Forgotten Tourist Homes of the 1930s Predicted Airbnb by Robin Catalano
Kung Fu Tea by Emma Morrell
Saudade for Samba by Ruth Setton
The Healers by Lisa VanderVeen
An Hour at the Salon by Katrina Woznicki