Friday Fix – 3rd Oct

Posted on in Announcements by Sarah Rodrigues

Well, here we are in a brand new membership year – with a brand new logo. I hope everyone is feeling positive, especially given all the news in the mailer from Chris earlier this week. Huge things have been achieved by the Guild and its members over the past year and, with only a month to go until the Gala Dinner and 65th Anniversary celebrations, there’s lots to be excited about.

On which note – you will have seen Stuart’s MEA email yesterday, so big congratulations and best of luck to everyone shortlisted. The finalists’ outlets and publications will be listed on the website later this afternoon.

Also on the subject of the Gala, some of the Board members went to a tasting this week and the consensus was chef’s kiss, so we definitely have a treat in store. Additionally, with blue sapphire the traditional gift for a 65th anniversary (I snaffled mine in my engagement ring – what use is a sapphire – or indeed, a husband haha – to me at the age 97???) we’re encouraging everyone to incorporate a touch of blue into their gala finery.

Eyes and the bloodcurdling effects of the November chill don’t count, sorry.

Have a lovely weekend – I hope you have fun things planned.

Best wishes,

Sarah

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Gala Dinner Tickets

Next week, the big PR push begins, which will spotlight the finalists and hopefully sell the last remaining tickets (under 100) to the travel industry quickly.

If you wish to attend the Gala, please order your tickets here using the password: 202565. We expect the super-discounted tickets to sell out today, but the subsidised £95 member tickets will remain on sale until capacity is met.
This year’s Gala includes a sparkling reception, a delicious three-course dinner (we had the tasting this week, and it’s excellent), and a complimentary wine, beer, and soft drinks package throughout the Gala Dinner, alongside entertainment, a charity raffle, and, of course, the MEA and ITA winner announcements.

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Cheese Tasting with Travel Wisconsin

We have 5 places at a very tasty cheese and wine event for food writers in our BGTW midst and if you would like to sniff out travel stories in Wisconsin with a leading cheese expert, please email charlotte.copeman@bgtw.org and cc renate.ruge@bgtw.org

Date: 16 October at 6pm in Central London

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BGTW Better World Symposium Final Speaker/Moderator Call Out (19 January 2026)

We will soon be releasing details and member tickets for the next edition of the Better World Symposium in London on 19 January 2026, from 10 am to 6 pm, followed by the Guild’s post-Christmas party until 9 pm.

Thank you to everyone who has applied to be a speaker/moderator. We’ll reach out to you with confirmations by Tuesday at the latest. We are still seeking a few more members to participate on panels in either capacity (modest payment). We are especially interested in hearing from members willing to speak on/with personal experience of/can impart educational aspects on the following topics:

  1. How travel writing can be more inclusive of the LGBTQI+ community
  2. Using audio/visual (TV, radio, podcast, photography or social media) to tell stories that make a difference
  3. “Outside the box sustainability angles” – have you crafted your own niche to get publications linked to sustainability, no matter how loosely linked to travel?
  4. Experienced moderators to lead one or two final panels

If this is you or you have another idea, please email daniel.clarke@bgtw.org before 7 October. Thank you.

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BGTW Algarve Trip: 6-10 November

Thank you to all members who have expressed an interest in this trip thus far; Charlotte will be in touch with an update today or Monday. Applications are still open for this walking-themed trip. We should receive the draft itinerary later today. As soon as we do, it will be added to the “expression of interest” form on this link. If you’re interested in joining this group of eight BGTW members in the Algarve, please register your interest using the form; you can add details of confirmed commissions in the coming weeks.

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BGTW 65th Anthology: Contributor Copies

All contributors to Around the World in 65 Years were sent an email on Wednesday with details about author copies. This is a time-sensitive email, so please do read, check your spam folders, or let daniel.clarke@bgtw.org know if you’re a contributor but didn’t receive the email.

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Complimentary invite to Bradt Guide’s Latin America Travel Festival (8 November)

Bradt Guides – in partnership with Wanderlust magazine – is hosting the inaugural Latin America Travel Festival at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington on 8th November (at the end of WTM week). And they are offering BGTW members complimentary tickets! To claim your free member ticket, email marketing@bradtguides.com directly with BGTW in the subject header.

Several members of the Guild are participating in the festival. Nori Jemil will be giving a photography masterclass; Shafik Meghji will be speaking about his new book, Small Earthquakes; and Mary Anne Evans will be interviewing some of the contributors of Latin America tales to the Guild’s very own anthology, which is publishing that same week. Come along and give them your support!

Others on the festival line-up include TV director Rory Jackson, who will describe what it was like living with the Waimaha community for an episode of Bruce Parry’s Tribe, and Mary Ellen Moriarty, contestant in the celebrity series of Race Across the World. Hilary Bradt, Lyn Hughes and many others will also be speaking. It promises to be a colourful and entertaining day. For more info, see the website here.

As well as providing complimentary tickets for BGTW members, Bradt is also making available some discounted tickets for BGTW friends and associates – these give access to the festival for £15 (70% off the standard price of £50). If you know anyone who might like to attend, please ask them to book tickets here and enter the code BGTW15 at checkout. Feel free to circulate the offer via social media feeds too – it would be great to drum up support for the festival, given the Guild’s involvement!

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Member Congratulations

Warm congratulations to Simon Heathcote, whose poem The Contender has been shortlisted in the Wells Festival of Literature, an international competition. Winners will be announced on October 20.

Congratulations also to Tim Bird, who has been nominated in the Traverse Creator Awards, for the Best Storytelling category

Best of luck from all of us!

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Book talk with author Shafik Meghji

On Friday 10 October, Shafik Meghji will be discussing the stories, characters and places that inspired his book Small Earthquakes: A Journey Through Lost British History in South America at the Book Elephant bookshop in Elephant and Castle, South London. He’ll be in conversation with the travel writer and author Karen Edwards.

Tickets are available here

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Member Paul Brummell

Paul Brummell is now British High Commissioner to Mauritius and would be happy to meet up with any BGTW members visiting, or planning a visit. He can be contacted here.

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Tree planting in Ambleside – a message from Richard Villar

If there are any members who have a spare day in November/ December and might be happy to help plant some trees in Ambleside, I am bringing together some volunteers at the moment. It would be my pleasure to welcome Guild members if there are any in the vicinity. The key to whether or not they would be sufficiently fit – most folks’ worry – is to find a treadmill in the gym and use the following settings: 6 km/hr, 9% incline, 30 minutes. Holding on is permitted. If they can handle that, they can handle a Lakeland fell! Previous experience with tree-planting is not required, but a sense of humour definitely is.

Please contact Richard to join in.

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Applicants to be gazetted

The below applicants are in the member ‘gazetting’ stage. Please see their details below.

‘Gazetting’ means you, as current members, have 28 days to review new applicants and advise Membership Director, Sarah Rodrigues, or BGTW Administrator, Charlotte, if there are reasons why the Guild should not approve them for membership.

Phil Thomas

My name is Phil Thomas, I’m from Cambridge UK. I’m a freelance writer specialising in cultural, outdoors/adventure and LGBTQ+ travel. My work, both articles and photography, has appeared in BBC Travel, The Independent, Travel & Leisure and Food, Wine & Travel amongst others. I also produce content (written and social media) for tourist boards to highlight the lesser known of attractions of a region, with my most recent partnerships including Visit Tucson (US) and Visit Certaldo (Italy).

My blog, where I record my own travel musings and guidance is called Someone Else’s Country (http://www.someoneelsescountry…). I write primarily for busy people who are low on time but high on wanderlust. Features include ‘Go Where Others Don’t’ – practical guidance for traveling independently to hard-to-reach destinations and ‘Second Time In’ – suggested itineraries for return visits to familiar cities that allow you to veer away from the ‘must do’ attractions and focus on lesser known but far more intriguing attractions.

I’m a passionate traveller and have been fortunate to visit 112 countries, which inspired my career change into full-time travel writing. I am applying to the BGTW to learn from the remarkable journalists who contribute to the network and to share my own experiences which I hope will be of value.

Melanie Kaidan

I’m a lifestyle journalist and copywriter with over 10 years’ experience in food and travel writing. My features, news stories and reviews have been published by most national news outlets (The Mirror, Daily Express, The Sun, The Times and others), as well as independent websites and print media. I also help luxury brands in the culinary and travel industries find their voice and communicate with the right audiences as a copywriter and media and PR consultant.

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Sarah Rodrigues
By: Sarah Rodrigues Freelance Travel Writer