The Travelers’ Tales editors and this year’s returning judge Scott Dominic Carpenter announced the winners of the Nineteenth Annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Story of the Year on March 1, 2025. Grand Prize winner Katrina Woznicki collected $1000 and the gold award for “It Can Be Beautiful for Everyone,” her moving and lyrical tribute to the majestic messiness of Los Angeles. Stephanie Knapp won the silver award and $750 for “The Donation,” her account of being a mother at the end of her rope in “Nowheresville,” France. Charish Badzinski took the bronze award and $500 for “Everything Is Great on the Bosphorus Strait,” her kaleidoscopic tale of discovery in the broad Middle East.
Scores of entries in 21 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.