Community College & High School Student Travel Writing Contest — Deadline JAN. 1, 2011

Bay Area Travel Writers (BATW), established in 1984 in San Francisco as a not-for-profit professional organization of travel writers and photographers, announces its fifth biennial high-school and community-college student travel-writing contest.  The contest is open to the first 150 entries from San Francisco Bay Area community-college students who are enrolled in English and Journalism classes as well as 11th and 12th grade high school students.

No entry fee is required.

Travel essays deal with the idea and experience of travel: whether the writer has traveled to the other side of the world, down the block or anywhere in between . . . even for a day.

To enter, submit a 500-word personal essay about:

• A favorite travel destination;
• An inspiring or memorable travel experience; or
• A travel activity you love to do.

A team of BATW judges will evaluate your essays. Judging criteria includes accuracy, originality, creativity, proper use of language, syntax, grammar, and a sense of self or place.

Three prizes will be awarded:
$200 First Prize + Official Awards Certificate
$100 Second Prize + Official Awards Certificate
$ 50 Third Prize + Official Awards Certificate
Honorable Mentions will also be awarded

Rules of Entry:

•Contestants must be current Bay Area high school juniors or seniors or community college English or Journalism students.

•One entry per student.

•Essays must be 500 words (or less) in length. Entries exceeding the 500-word limit will be disqualified.

•Stories must include the author’s full name, address, telephone number and email address. Also include your school’s name, location, and the name of your English or Journalism teacher.

•Please include an affidavit at the end of the story attesting that the entrant is the sole creator of the essay.

•Entries will be accepted by e-mail only, beginning November 1, 2010. All entries must be e-mailed by January 1, 2011, to:
contest@batw.org

Entries may be submitted in the body of the email (note information to include above) or in MS Word.  If submitted in MS Word, entries must be double-spaced with name, address, phone number and email address on the top of the page.

The first 150 entries from Bay Area high school juniors and seniors and community college students are eligible to participate, including those attending public, private and/or parochial high schools. Home-schooled 11th and 12th grade equivalent high school students are also welcome to submit.

The “Bay Area” refers to the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma.

Contest winners will be notified by telephone no later than January 31, 2011 and will be invited to read their essays in person at the awards ceremony at the BATW meeting to be held at Books Inc. at Opera Plaza in San Francisco at the Feb. 19, 2011. BATW may also post winning entries on the BATW website: www.batw.org.

Bay Area Travel Writers (BATW), based in San Francisco, is a non-profit, professional organization of travel writers, editors and photographers with outstanding achievements in travel journalism. These professionals share their unique stories in newspapers, magazines, books, websites and other worldwide travel publications.

Contest Coordinators:
Erin Caslavka: writerin@aol.com
Elisa Southard: ElisaSouthard@gmail.com