Hocking Hills Tourism Association
Hocking Hills: Press Room
Hocking Hills: Press Room

Travel Writing Contest


The Hocking Hills Tourism Association has announced the 6th Annual Hocking Hills Travel Writing Contest. A Grand Prize of $1,000 and an award will be presented to the writer who most successfully captures the spirit and beauty of the Hocking Hills area. Second and third prize awards will be acknowledged with $500 and $250 cash prizes, respectively, and an award. Deadline for submissions is December 31, 2008. 

The contest invites travel jhournalists to submit destination feature stories published in magazines, newspapers and online, or broadcast on TV. The contest will be juried by an independent panel of judges from professional and academic fields of journalism. Winners will be announced in January, 2009 and will be notified by phone. 

"The Hocking Hills Tourism Association Travel Writing Contest is designed to recognize excellence in travel writing," said HHTA Executive Director Karen Raymore. "We respect the important role that quality travel journalism plays in the tourism industry and wish to acknowledge those journalists who have featured the Hocking Hills as part of their body of work."

Located in southeast Ohio, the Hocking Hills region is marked by breathtaking natural scenery that features gorges, waterfalls, cliffs and forests. Its unique lodging, hiking, canoeing, rappelling, horseback riding and other outdoor experiences are coupled with a seerene setting that's a natural for adventure, couples, romance, family and related travel journalism specialities.

Entries must run between November 1, 2007 and December 31, 2008 and writers must be professional journalists. Entries must be travel-related destination feature stories of no less than 850 words or broadcast stories of no less than one minute in length. Submissions must include the Hocking Hills Tourism Association phone number and website (1-800-HOCKING and www.1800Hocking.com) as traveler information resources. Stories must accurately represent the Hocking Hills visitor experience and winning entries will go “beyond the ordinary” in capturing the sense of place that is unique to Ohio's Hocking Hills.

Eligibility

  1. All entries must follow the rules below.
  2. Entries that do not follow these rules will be disqualified.
  3. All articles must be published or run between November 1, 2007 and December 31, 2008.
  4. All entries must be travel-related feature stories which accurately capture the essence of the Hocking Hills area.
  5. In order to be considered, articles must include the Hocking Hills Tourism Association phone number and website (1-800-HOCKING and www.1800Hocking.com) as traveler information resources.
  6. No more than three (3) entries per publication, author or producer will be considered.
  7. All publication types will be judged together for prizes by a panel of independent judges from professional and academic journalism fields.
  8. Complete a separate entry form for each entry and attach it to the submitted article or story.
  9. FOR EACH ENTRY: Original tear sheets or color copies of print articles, VHS dubs of television stories or color printouts of screen captures of online articles must be submitted with Official Entry Form (or photocopy thereof) attached.
  10. Entries may be mailed/shipped together, but each must include a separate entry form and one copy of each submission.
  11. All entries must be postmarked no later than the December 31, 2008 deadline.

Areas of Publication

Newspaper articles must:
Be travel-related destination features
Be more than 850 words in length
Be circulated more than 45 miles from Hocking County
Have an audited circulation of more than 15,000
Online entries must:
Be travel destination features
Be more than 850 words in length
Be featured on travel-related websites with trackable hits of 10,000+ per month
Magazine articles must:
Be more than 850 words in length
Be circulated more than 45 miles from Hocking County
Be a travel-related destination feature
Reach a circulation of 18,000+
Television stories must:
Be a travel-related destination feature 
Originate in DMA markets more than 45 miles from Hocking County
Be no less than one minute in length

Prizes and Awards

  1. A Grand Prize of $1,000 and an award will be presented to the writer who most successfully captures the spirit and beauty of the Hocking Hills area.
  2. A Second Prize of $500 will be awarded, based on the same criteria.
  3. A $250 cash prize will be awarded to the third-place winner.
  4. All three winners will also receive an award plaque.
  5. Winning Grand Prize, Second and Third Prize entries will be announced in January 2009.
  6. In the event that the winning publication or writer is not permitted to accept cash prizes, the Hocking Hills Tourism Association will make a donation in that award amount to a charity or scholarship program of the writer’s/publication’s choosing, or they may elect to accept no cash prize.

For information contact:
Amy Weirick
Phone (614) 848-8380
Email amy@WeirickCommunications.com

Mail or Ship Entries to:
Amy Weirick
President
Weirick Communications, Inc.
7792 Olentangy River Road, Suite F-1
Columbus, Ohio 43235
(614) 848-8380