Larry Habegger, Author at Travelers' Tales

About Larry Habegger

Larry Habegger, executive editor of Travelers’ Tales, has visited more than fifty countries and six of the seven continents, traveling from the Arctic to equatorial rainforests, the Himalayas to the Dead Sea. In the 1980s he coauthored mystery serials for the San Francisco Examiner with James O’Reilly, and for thirty-one years wrote a syndicated newspaper column, “World Travel Watch.” Habegger regularly teaches travel writing at workshops and writers’ conferences, is a principal of the Prose Doctors (prosedoctors .com), and editor of the Travel Guide to California, an annual magazine (californiatravelguide.travel). He lives with his family on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco.

Twentieth Annual Solas Awards Winners

The Travelers’ Tales editors and this year’s returning judge Scott Dominic Carpenter announced the winners of the Twentieth Annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Story of the Year on March 2. Grand Prize winner Stephen Carr Hampton collected $1000 and the gold award for “Going to Water,” his moving account as a Cherokee man returning to his ancestral home in Tennessee. Gary Singh won the silver award and $750 for “Truth Is the Timeless One,” a reflective essay on the intergenerational effects of immigration. Paulette Perhach took the bronze award and $500 for “Boob Deck,” her hilarious tale of taking charge while under the leering gaze of men.

Scores of entries in 20 categories kept the judges busy. As usual, not every story that deserved an award received one. Here’s the complete list of winners. Winning stories will be posted as Editors’ Choice stories on TravelersTales.com, and may appear in future Travelers’ Tales books.

Note: Participants often wonder about how to make their writing better, and for the first time, our guest judge is willing to provide feedback on your submission. (There’s a small fee to cover his time.) For more information, go to: sdcarpenter.com.

Twentieth Annual Solas Awards WinnersLarry Habegger2026-03-23T11:32:40-07:00

Boob Deck

By Paulette Perhach

Grand Prize Bronze winner in the 20th Annual Solas Awards

Just when she thought she was international enough to tan topless...

From far too close, a man’s voice asked, “Anyone sitting here?”

I turned my head, keeping my parts held down to the towel, to see two guys standing over me, a bucket of beer in hand, blocking out the Caribbean sky. They were older by about a decade, at least in their 30s, and, although they were topless, too, something about their manufactured smiles gave me the impression that they had booked this cruise as part of their search for those coeds they saw in American Pie 5.

The one with the rainbow-tint reflective Oakleys pointed at the two lounge chairs next to me, like right next to me, lounge chairs I had assumed would remain empty or, if needed, dragged away in observance of the unspoken personal space radius that I'd seen as the norm among the women in this sacred sanctuary I’d come to calling the Boob Deck. [Read the whole story]

Boob DeckLarry Habegger2026-03-16T21:03:50-07:00

Truth Is the Timeless One

By Gary Singh

Grand Prize Silver winner in the 20th Annual Solas Awards

A nagging sense of loss, a sudden discovery, and the personal impact of the 1947 Partition of India.

At the Jalandhar train station, dead bodies littered the platform. Inside, hundreds of others hid in waiting rooms with only the clothes on their backs. The rains were late that year, and even from nearby villages, one could see smoke rising from the city.

“It was summer and we slept on the roof, on charpais, and you could see that the city was burning,” recalls Khan Hussan Zia during an interview with the 1947 Partition Archive, an oral history project.

“There was a lot of disturbances, riots, and killings, and Jalandhar City, half of it was burning at that time,” Zia said.

When the British abandoned the remains of their empire, they partitioned the subcontinent into India, Pakistan, and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), geographically dividing the land along widely opposed religious lines. Anywhere from 14 to 20 million people were forcibly displaced from their ancestral neighborhoods and then relocated to the other side of the new border, creating the largest single mass migration event in human history. [Read the whole story]

Truth Is the Timeless OneLarry Habegger2026-03-09T15:29:23-07:00

Going to Water

By Stephen Carr Hampton

Grand Prize Gold winner in the 20th Annual Solas Awards

A Cherokee returns to his ancestors’ homeland in Tennessee.

I went, knowing I was the first in four generations, back to my family’s homeland. Back to where my great-great-grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Parks, was born high up along the Ocoee River, a stone’s throw from where today’s Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia touch each other. When he came into the world in 1821, this was Cherokee Nation.

Thomas was sixteen when he was responsible for driving a wagon on the Trail of Tears. His older brother was with him, as well as many others in his – my – family. This was the 11^th Detachment, led by his uncle – my great-great-grand-uncle – Dick Taylor. Uncle Dick was a member of the Cherokee National Committee. Decades later, in Indian Territory, he became Assistant Chief.

After the Trail of Tears, no one ever went back. Not my dad, nor my grandparents, nor my great-grandparents. They lived and died in Indian Territory, which became Oklahoma, which is now, at least in part, again, Cherokee Nation. [Read the whole story]

Going to WaterLarry Habegger2026-03-01T20:40:27-08:00

Larry Habegger at O’ahu Writers Retreat in April

O'ahu TT Executive Editor Larry Habegger will teach morning sessions in nonfiction at the O'ahu Writers Retreat on O'ahu's north shore April 20–26. He's taught there twice before and is eager to return because he finds the experience so inspiring.

At this annual retreat, two dozen writers gather at a beachfront sanctuary for six days of daily workshops, private coaching, evening readings, and writing in the shade of ironwood trees. The instructors are all acclaimed writers and teachers, with deep experience in the world of books. In addition to Larry, you'll find Faith Adiele, Zoe FitzGerald Carter, Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes, Constance Hale, and Tamara Leiokanoe Moan. Other special faculty includes poets, novelists, and artists from Hawai‘i.

See another side of Polynesia through appearances by star musicians, kumu, (cultural masters), and excursions to sacred sites. Swimming, beachcombing, hiking, turtle watching, lazing and reflecting, and unforgettable sunsets are all part of the experience. For more information and to register (early bird pricing is good through January 31), visit oahuwritersretreat.com.

Larry Habegger at O’ahu Writers Retreat in AprilLarry Habegger2026-01-14T15:30:46-08:00

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