Annual award
The Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards celebrate the best travel writing and travel writers in the world. The awards include the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year and the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing .
The Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year was previously called Dolman Best Travel Book Award (2006-2014). The award is named after Edward Stanford and is sponsored by Stanfords , a travel books and map store established in London in 1853. The Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year is one of the two principal annual travel book awards in Britain, and the only one that is open to all writers.[ 1] British Guild of Travel Writers , but that is limited to authors who are members of the Guild.
The first Dolman award was given in 2006, just two years after the only other travel book award - the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award which ran for 25 years - was abandoned by its sponsor.[ 1] Authors' Club and was sponsored by and named after club member William Dolman.[ 1] [ 2]
The Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards consist of the following:
Stanford Travel Book of the Year
Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing
Bradt Travel Guides New Travel Writer of the Year
Children's Travel Book of the Year
Fiction with a Sense of Place
Adventure Travel Book of the Year
Travel Memoir of the Year
Travel Blog of the Year
Photography and Illustrated Travel Book of The Year
Food & Travel Book of the Year
Innovation in Travel Publishing
New Travel Writer of the Year
Stanford Travel Book of the Year [ edit ]
"Stanford Travel Book of the Year":
2025 [ 3]
Noo Saro-Wiwa , Black Ghosts: A Journey Into The Lives Of Africans In China Clare Hammond, On the Shadow Tracks: A Journey through Occupied Myanmar
Tom Chesshyre, Slow Trains to Istanbul: ...And Back: A 4,570-Mile Adventure on 55 Rides
James Rebanks , The Place of Tides Phoebe Smith, Wayfarer
Jeff Young, Wild Twin 2024 [ 4]
Ghaith Abdul-Ahad , A Stranger in Your Own City: Travels in the Middle East’s Long War Alice Albinia , The Britannias: An Archipelago’s Tale Mary Colwell , The Gathering Place: A Winter Pilgrimage Through Changing Times Tim Hannigan, The Granite Kingdom
Leon McCarron , Wounded Tigris Tom Parfitt, High Caucasus: A Mountain Quest in Russia’s Haunted Hinterland 2023 [ 5] [ 6]
Silvia Vasquez-Lavado , In The Shadow of the Mountain Alex Bescoby , The Last Overland: Singapore to London: The Return Journey of the Iconic Land Rover Expedition Erika Fatland , High: A Journey Across the Himalayas Through Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal and China Tobias Jones , The Po: An Elegy for Italy’s Longest River Rebecca Lowe, The Slow Road to Tehran: A Revelatory Bike Ride through Europe and the Middle East
Shafik Meghji, Crossed Off the Map: Travels in Bolivia
Alice Morrison, Walking with Nomads
Mary Novakovich, My Family and Other Enemies: Life and Travels in Croatia’s Hinterland "Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year":
2022 [ 7]
2021 [ 8] [ 9] [ 10]
Paolo Cognetti , Without Ever Reaching the Summit: A Himalayan Journey Erika Fatland , The Border: A Journey Around Russia Through North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, and the Northeast Passage Shadow City: A Woman Walks Kabul Nanjala Nyabola , Traveling While Black: Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move Jini Reddy, Wanderland: A Search for Magic in the Landscape
Sophy Roberts, The Lost Pianos of Siberia
C J Schuler, Along the Amber Route: St Petersburg to Venice
Jonathan C Slaght, Owls of the Eastern Ice: The Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl 2020 [ 11] [ 12]
2019 [ 13] [ 14]
William Atkins , The Immeasurable World: Journeys in Desert Places Ben Coates , The Rhine: Following Europe's Greatest River from Amsterdam to the Alps Damian Le Bas , The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain Alev Scott , Map and Illustration by Jamie Whyte, Ottoman Odyssey: Travels Through a Lost Empire Witold Szablowski , Dancing Bears: True Stories about Longing for the Old Days (translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd Jones)Daniel Trilling , Lights in the Distance: Exile and Refuge at the Borders of Europe 2018 [ 15] [ 16]
2017 no award [ 17]
2016 [ 18] [ 19]
2015 [ 20] [ 21]
Philip Marsden , Rising Ground: A Search for the Spirit of Place Helena Attlee , The Land Where Lemons Grow: The Story of Italy and Its Citrus Fruit Horatio Clare , Down to the Sea in Ships: Of Ageless Oceans and Modern Men Nick Hunt , Walking the Woods and the Water: In Patrick Leigh Fermor's footsteps from the Hook of Holland to the Golden Horn Jens Mühling , A Journey into Russia Elizabeth Pisani , Indonesia Etc: Exploring the Improbable Nation "Dolman Best Travel Book Award":
2014 [ 22]
2013 [ 23]
2012 [ 24]
2011 [ 26]
2010 [ 27]
2009 [ 28]
2008 [citation needed
2007 [citation needed
2006 [citation needed
Edward Stanford Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing award [ edit ] A lifetime achievement award for travel writing.
Fiction with a Sense of Place [ edit ]
[ edit ]
Photographic Travel Book of the Year [ edit ] 2024 no award [ 4]
2023 no award [ 6]
2022 Stuart Dunn, Only Us [ 7]
2021 no award [ 10]
2020 Sam Landers (Editor), Tom Maday (Editor) , Trope London [ 12]
Illustrated Travel Book of the Year [ edit ] 2024 no award [ 4]
2023 no award [ 6]
2022 Matt Brown, Rhys B. Davies, illustrated by Mike Hall, Atlas of Imagined Places: From Lilliput to Gotham City [ 7]
2021 no award [ 10]
2020 Travis Elborough , Atlas of Vanishing Places: The lost worlds as they were and as they are today [ 12]
[ edit ]
New Travel Writer of the Year [ edit ]
[ edit ]
Innovation in Travel Publishing [ edit ] discontinued 2016 James Cheshire & Oliver Uberti, Where the Animals Go [ 19]
Travel Memoir of the Year [ edit ]
Adventure Travel Book of the Year [ edit ]
Travel Blog of the Year [ edit ]
^ a b c Michael Kerr (7 July 2008). "Dolman Best Travel Book Award 2008" . The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 15 July 2008. ^ " . haringey.gov.uk . 13 December 2007. Archived from the original on January 25, 2009.^ "Shortlists for the 2025 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards presented by Viking" . Stanfords . 8 April 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025 .^ a b c d e f g Bassetti, Jeremy (31 March 2024). "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2024 Shortlists & Winners" . Travel Writing World . Retrieved 2025-02-01 . ^ @NatGeoUK (2023-03-02). "What to read: the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2023 winner and shortlist" . National Geographic . Retrieved 2023-03-23 . ^ a b c d e f g h i "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2023" . Travel Writing World . 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-03-23 .^ a b c d e f g h "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2022" . Travel Writing World . 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2023-03-23 .^ "Shortlist revealed for Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year | The Bookseller" . www.thebookseller.com . Retrieved 2022-01-09 .^ "Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year in Association with the Authors' Club" . edwardstanfordawards . Retrieved 2022-01-09 .^ a b c d e f g h "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2021 Shortlists & Winners" . Travel Writing World . 25 March 2021. Retrieved 2025-02-01 .^ "Stanford Dolman Travel Book o..." edwardstanfordawards . Archived from the original on 2020-12-05. Retrieved 2020-12-30 .^ a b c d e f g h i "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2020 Shortlist & Winners" . Travel Writing World . 2020. Retrieved 2025-02-01 .^ a b c d e f g h i j "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2018 winners" . Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. February 28, 2019. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019 .^ a b c d e f g h "World-Class Shortlist Announced for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2019" . Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. January 10, 2019. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019 .^ a b c d e f g h i "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2018 winners" . Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. February 1, 2018. Archived from the original on August 12, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018 .^ a b c d e f g h "The Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards Announces 2018 Shortlist" . Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. January 10, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018 .^ a b c d e f g h i Award year shifted from being the year the books were published to the year the award was presented.
^ Katherine Cowdrey (3 February 2017). "Julian Sayarer's Interstate named Travel Book of the Year" . The Bookseller . Retrieved April 6, 2017 . ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2016" . Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2018 .^ Michael Kerr (2 July 2015). "Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award: shortlist announced" . The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 30 November 2015 . ^ a b Michael Kerr (28 September 2015). "Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year award 2015 winner announced" . The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 30 November 2015 . ^ "2014 winner" . authorsclub.co.uk . Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014 .^ "2013 winner" . authorsclub.co.uk . Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014 .^ "Dolman Travel Book of the Year 2012" . Author's Club . 9 June 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2025-02-01 .^ "Telegraph Travel writer wins Dolman award" . The Daily Telegraph . 6 Sep 2012. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014.^ "Dolman Travel Book of the Year 2011" . Author's Club . 14 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-11-26. Retrieved 2025-02-01 .^ "Ian Thomson wins 2010 Dolman Travel Book of the Year" . dolmanprize.wordpress.com . 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012.^ Blake Friedmann. "Street Without a Name shortlisted for Authors' Club Dolman Best Travel Book Award 2009" . blakefriedmann.co.uk . Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. ^ "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2020" . Travel Writing World . 26 February 2020. 
= winner
