Intrepid Times hosts regular travel writing competitions, which come with monetary prizes as well as publication opportunities. Like our standard submissions, entry is free and open to both new and established writers from around the world.
Please join our newsletter and follow our channels to be the first to know when a new competition is open. You can read the winning stories from recent competitions below.
CLOSED
The Soundtrack of Travel – Travel Writing Competition
For our latest writing competition, Intrepid Times invited travelers and writers from all countries, at all levels of writing experience, to incorporate music into a travel story. Submissions are now closed. The winner and shortlisted stories will be announced in September and October.

Recent Travel Writing Competitions:
Romance on the Road (March 2023)
Theme: In any travel experience, there are opportunities for love, romance, and connection.
Finalist: Romancing the Ice by Jana Dietrich
Finalist: Here With Me in Mexico City by Stu O’Brien
Finalist: Milagro del Mar by India Worstell
Winner: The Dead’s Mailbox by Khrystelle Francheska
Wrong Turns (April 2022)
Theme: Travel may take us in unintended directions, but our new destination can provide meaningful experiences and memories.
Finalist: On the Banks of the Perfume River by Ian C Douglas
Finalist: One Wrong Turn in Mexico by Timothy Mathis
Finalist: Parables and Archetypes by W Goodwin
Winner: Your Roots Are Showing by Amie McGraham
Unexpected Adventures (August 2021)
Theme: The best travel experiences are the ones we do not plan.
Finalist: The Nowhere Man by Steve Wade
Finalist: Seekat by Tanya Lottridge
Finalist: A Watershed Vacation by Joe Novara
Winner: Wildes Volk by Joe Aultman-Moore
Reunions (December 2020)
Theme: Stories about a time you have reconnected with a person, a place, or a part of yourself.
Finalist: Al Dente by Callum Brockett
Finalist: Davy Jones and the Cape by Jane Copland
Finalist: Through the Beholder’s Eyes by Annointing Ogbewekon
Finalist: Brave as Hatice by Katherine Belliel
Winner: The Jeweled Lotus by E. E. Rhodes
Chance Encounters (April 2020)
Theme: Stories about an interesting conversation, quirky character, or unexpected encounter that occurred during your travels.
Finalist: Knights on the Mountain by Joe Aultman-Moore
Finalist: For the Love of a Dugong by Imogen Lepere
Finalist: The Last Days of Communism by Rachael Rowe
Winner: Coffee in Kigali by Emma Dredge
Fearless Footsteps (October 2019)
Theme: Overcoming fear while on the road can lead to meaningful travel experiences.
For this writing competition, we partnered with Exisle Publishing to release an anthology of selected entries. After some delays due to the disruptions of last year, the book was finally released worldwide in November 2020 – learn more here: Fearless Footsteps book
A couple of entries were also published on IntrepidTimes.com, including:
Everything is Going to be Okay… by J.D. Martens
On the Road to Panic by Megan Dwyer
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