Sherborne Travel Writing Festival announces £10k prize for EU and British authors Sherborne Travel Writing Festival announces £10k prize for EU and British authors

A new £10,000 prize for travel writing has just been announced at the Sherborne Travel Writing Festival.

Awarded to a British or European author whose ‘work encourages understanding between peoples and across societies, countering the division and isolation of the present day’, any full-length non-fiction travel book published in English in 2024 or 2025 is eligible. Books translated into English can also be submitted for consideration.

Judged by Colin Thubron, the award-winning author best known for Behind the Wall (1987) and In Siberia (1999), Sara Wheeler, author of Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica (1996), and literary agent Emma Paterson, emphasis will be placed on ‘books that enable readers to cross borders and so to draw together – on the page at least – our divided worlds’.

Entries must be made by the author’s publisher or literary agent, with no more than two entries per publisher’s imprint and only one per literary agent. Entries need to be made by the end of September 2025, with a shortlist announced in January 2026.

The winning author will be announced at the Sherborne Travel Writing Festival in April 2026.

The Sherborne Travel Writing Festival is now in its third year, with a programme that runs over two-and-a-half days, featuring 12 speakers and only 220 seats. Previous speakers have included this year’s judges, plus Victoria Hislop, Noo Saro-Wiwa, Tharik Hussain and Sophy Roberts.

“Travel writers are bridge builders, venturing out into the world to understand different peoples, cultures and times,” said author and festival curator Rory MacLean. “Empathy lies at the heart of our work, and the fundamental belief that through better understanding others we can better know ourselves.”

More information: sherbornetravelwritingprize.com