In his late thirties, burned out from 18 years in the corporate world, Phil Thomas was given a chance to walk away and start again. He had always dreamed of being a travel writer. Now, he was going to make it happen.
Phil knew it would take time. He was methodical. He refined his pitching style. He carefully built up a portfolio before putting himself forward for major, well-paying publications.
Not long ago, he received his first clippings in the BBC and Travel & Leisure, the latter going on to win the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association 2025 Excellence in Journalism “Best in Show” award:
- https://www.travelandleisure.com/lofoten-islands-norway-summer-11772065
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20250801-are-the-worlds-most-beautiful-islands-in-danger
In today’s episode of the Travel Writing Podcast, Phil talks about how he got there, step by step. Listen here, or find us on Spotify or iTunes.
(If you notice this episode is a lot more polished than our usual haphazard productions, that’s because it was edited by the wonderful Shebs Alom, @shebsthewanderer, big thanks for helping to lift our game here!)
