Fearless Footsteps Travel Writing Challenge

by Nathan James Thomas

Fearless Footsteps Travel Writing Challenge

Intrepid Times has partnered with Exisle Publishing to give both new and established travel writers a chance to get their work published.

Update October 2020: Fearless Footsteps is Coming Out!! Check This Page to find the best order link in your country.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Fearless Footsteps travel writing challenge! The competition was a huge success, attracting hundreds of entries from dozens of countries around the world. The resulting book proves that real travel writing is alive and well, and makes a powerful case for overcoming your fears and seeing the world, no matter what frightens you.

Published by the prestigious global publishing house, Exisle, the Fearless Footsteps book is a gorgeous example of travel writing at its most exhilarating and introspective. Whether you participated in the writing challenge or not, we cannot wait to hear what you think!


Dear writer,

Sometimes travel is scary. You are out of your comfort zone, unable to speak or even read the local language, faced with uncertainty, the unknown. Sometimes we have to face danger to get to the story. Sometimes the danger is only in our minds, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t real.

The fears and anxieties of travel are different for all of us. But no matter if you’re a veteran war correspondent chasing a scoop or a first-time adventurer setting out on the road alone and missing friends, family, and familiarity, the best and most meaningful travel experiences are to be found in overcoming this fear and seeing the world in spite of it.

Intrepid Times has partnered with Exisle Publishing to offer both new and established travel writers a chance to have their work published and read around the world. The top stories will be collected in the “Fearless Footsteps” travel book, published by Exisle Publishing, an established, mainstream publishing house whose books are available in bookstores across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Selected writers will also be given the opportunity to have their work published on IntrepidTimes.com, for which you will be paid.

Criteria for Entering the 2019 Fearless Footsteps Writing Challenge:

  • Send in a factual, non-fiction travel story that describes overcoming fear. You are free to interpret this in whatever way is most meaningful to you. (For inspiration, see the latest stories published on IntrepidTimes.com and take note of the style and structure of writing that Intrepid Times favors.)
  • All writers are welcome to submit their work – there are no restrictions on age, location, or experience.
  • All work submitted must be 100% unique and original to you and must not be published anywhere else.
  • Your story should be between 1000 and 1500 words in length and be written in English.
  • Entries close October 15, 2019. Winners will be announced in November.
  • Winning writers whose work is included in the resulting anthology will receive two free copies of the published book. Writers whose work is also selected for publication on IntrepidTimes.com will be paid for their stories.

How to Enter

Submissions Are Now Closed! Thank you to everyone who sent a story in. If you missed out, you can signup to our newsletter with the form below and follow us on Facebook / Twitter to be notified of the next writing challenge. For standard submissions, visit our Get Published page.

Winners will be announced in November!


Competition entry is free of charge and subject to Exisle Publishing’s Competition Terms & Conditions. Entry into the competition gives permission for Exisle Publishing to produce and sell the work without payment in book forms and to reproduce part of the work for promotional purposes.

Terms/Policies

Contact Info

editor@intrepidtimes.com