Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Dawn Barclay Entry Title: Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover's Travel Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States Entry Credit: Dawn Barclay Judge Comment: While attending a mystery writer’s conference during 2022, author Dawn Barclay joined a tour of true crime sites in Minneapolis and St. Paul. After the tour, she wondered whether any books existed about similar tours around the USA, plus other nations.
Finding no such travel guides, she started researching both well known and relatively obscure sites in New England—Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.
The guide is organized by locales within each state. In Connecticut, for example, Barclay covers crime tourism in 15 cities. She provides a bibliography for each locale, suggested lodging, restaurants, and organized tours.
The writing is clear, the research both broad in scope and admirably detailed.
As part of her SATW entry, Barclay submitted a second book covering New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Avalon Travel Entry Title: Moon USA National Parks Hiking Entry Credit: Jason Frye Judge Comment: So many national parks, and so many distinct trails within those parks.
Raised in the Appalachian foothills of West Virginia, Jason Frye became an inveterate explorer who did a lot of winnowing to write this excellent guide book.
He devotes four pages to each selected trail, offering a start point, directions to arrive, nearby lodging, fees to enter, expected weather by season, the scenery along the trail, important facilities such as toilets.
The writing is straightforward, the page layout user friendly.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Jane Wooldridge Entry Title: Comfort in the Wild: 100+ Idyllic Nature Destinations, No Roughing It Required Entry Credit: Jane Wooldridge Judge Comment: The author, a former Miami Herald travel section editor, understands that not all adventurous travelers want to set up/sleep in a tent, or in the open air while tucked into a sleeping bag.
So she conducted research to find high quality mattresses, en suite bathrooms, and tasty prepared meals.
The types of adventures covered include safaris, desert life, island stays, jungle exploration, and forest habitats.
The book covers adventures not only within the USA, but also Canada, Great Britain, Central America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, the African continent, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Mongolia.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Teresa Bergen Entry Title: Sober Travel Handbook Entry Credit: Teresa Bergen Judge Comment: Sober Travel Handbook: Navigating the World Alcohol-Free
By Teresa Bergen
Microcosm Publishing
Not every adventurous traveler consumes alcohol, even though the customs of a nation make it seem advisable, even though travel companions might pressure the non-drinker.
The author understands the reasons why, using the text of this guide to illuminate those reasons.
At the end of the book, Bergen includes a section titled “I Don’t Drink Alcohol in a Bunch of Different Languages.”
