A chance to win a Travel Writing Scholarship

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at travel writing? Do any of you who know me ever get jealous when you hear about the latest trip I've gotten to take? If you answered yes to these questions and you think you've got it in you to be a travel writer, then pay attention to this contest I came across.

WorldNomads.com, in conjunction with Rough Guides, Intrepid Travel and Hotels.com, is offering aspiring travel writers the chance to win a travel writing scholarship and write their way around Tokyo, all-expenses paid.

To apply entrants must write a travel-focused essay of no more than 500 words based on a personal experience and written around one of the following themes: A Journey that Changed Lives, Responsible Travel, Adventure in an Unknown Culture or A Memorable Experience Involving Food in a Foreign Country.

Candidates can be students, emerging and non-professional writers and lovers of travel looking for a career change. The prize is the chance to travel, all-expenses paid, to Tokyo where you will first learn some tricks of the trade from Rough Guides travel writer Simon Richmond, then travel around on your own for seven days researching, reviewing and updating essential travel info (accommodations, bars, restaurants, shopping, tours, transport, etc) for the Tokyo section of The Rough Guide to Japan. After you've completed your research and writing, the winner will get the chance to relax and enjoy a four-day Flavors of Tokyo independent tour with Intrepid travel offering a cuisine-focused insight into Japanese culture.

The application deadline is Dec. 21, 2009. Applicants must be available between Feb. 15-26,2010 to participate in the Rough Guide to Japan writing assignment and Flavors of Tokyo independent tour.

Other requirements: excellent writing skills with a high degree of proficiency in written English, comfortable traveling on your own, 18 years or older, a current passport, and a lust for adventure travel, plus a strong desire to be a travel writer.

The winner, along with the best entries received will be published on the WorldNomads.com Website on Jan. 8, 2010.

For full details and the online entry, visit http://worldnomads.com.

A writing contest for kids

I've noticed lately that a lot of contests out there are for kids, especially the ones that have prizes I would like to be able to win. Since it's been more years than I care to remember since I was a child, I guess I'm going to have to wait until my niece is old enough to participate in these contests. And should she win, I'll also need to figure out how to coax her to choose me over her parents as her guest on the trip she wins.

In the meantime, all the other kids out there pose no competition to me so I see no reason to let others know about cool contests with even cooler prizes.

A new contest is now being offered to budding writers. It's sponsored by Adventures by Disney and HarperCollins and is called "The Search for Flat Stanlety's Next BIG Adventure." Now I've never heard of Flat Stanley and no nothing about any of his adventures but apparently he's pretty well-known among children's literature. So assuming some of you know who he is and have kids who like him, this contest is for them.

Young writers and artists are invited to create their own 150-word Flat Stanley story. Children must be between 7 and 12 to enter and the winner will be awarded an Adventures by Disney vacation. Entries must be recieved by Nov. 30.

Entries will be judged in three age groups: 7- to 8-year olds; 9- to 10-year olds; and 11- to 12-year olds. One winner will be chosen in each age group and each winner can choose one of Adventures by Disney's 19 worldwide vacations for their prize.

Parents, kids and teachers can check out www.FlatStanleyBooks.com/AdventuresbyDisney for Official Rules and complete information on the contest.

Do you know who Flat Stanley is? Have your kids been on an adventure with him? I'd love to hear more about him.