Ooh, ooh! I am very excited! It’s not often that I enter any competitions so I don’t win many prizes (obviously!) but this week I found out I am runner up in a travel writing contest. The Travel Articles of the Year writing competition was organised by ATOUT FRANCE, the France Tourism Development Agency. I submitted a travel article that appeared in The Herald about my cycling trip to the Pyrenees – and it has gained me the runner-up prize in the “Most Entertaining”category. That’s a lovely surprise!

I missed the awards dinner and ceremony because of a babysitting cancellation but it’s still nice to have my writing recognised. Well, it’s ok to boast occasionally, isn’t it?

Here are the full results:

Most Entertaining Article:

Winner: Peter Cox: The Grape Escape, 10/07/10 The Scottish Sun on wine tasting in Gironde.

The runners up – Chitra Ramaswamy: Comté Cheese is the Pride of Jura – and with good reason, 29/11/10 The Scotsman.

Fiona Russell (Me!): Cycling a Stretch of the Famous Tour de France 19/07/10 The Herald.

Best General Information:

Winner: Deborah Anderson: The Art of Good Living, 10/11/09 The Herald Magazine about Nice and the inland Riviera.

The runners up – Norman Wilson: Sun-Enchanted Island Serves Up Tasty Time, 1/11/10 Evening Times.
Cameron Melville: From Water Into Wine, 14/11/10 Sunday Herald.

Best Article Targeted at Scottish Readers:

Winner: Stephen Houston: You’ve Never Been to France!? 01/08/10 Scottish Mail on Sunday. Travelling to Provence by train from Glasgow.

The runners up – Alistair Murray: Let’s Go Driving in France, 2/10/10 Scottish Daily Express.

Jackie Kemp: It’s Camping, But Not as We Know it, 25/07/10 The Herald.

Special Prize ATOUT FRANCE: Stephen McGinty of The Scotsman was awarded a special prize separate from the competition for his editorial on France Meets The Media 2010 “Raise a Glass to the Scot Who Invented Holidays in France.”