Frommer's has added to its trophy cabinet. On October 6, the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) announced the latest round of Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards — widely seen as the top honours in North American travel media — and the publication walked away with three, judged by the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
The winners span the range of what travel journalism actually does. Jane Wooldridge, a former Miami Herald travel editor and regular Frommer's contributor, took bronze in the guidebook category for "Comfort in the Wild: 100+ Idyllic Nature Destinations, No Roughing It Required." The book's premise is a simple one that resonates with plenty of travellers: you can have safaris, jungle treks, island stays and desert nights without sacrificing a decent mattress, an en suite bathroom or a proper cooked meal. Coverage stretches well beyond the United States to Canada, Britain, Central and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Mongolia and across Africa.
Zac Thompson, Frommer's managing editor, won silver in the service-oriented consumer category for a piece many long-haul flyers will appreciate: a hands-on test of travel pillows that crowned a clear winner. Judges liked that it showed exactly how the picks were made and what criteria were used — and that a good pillow is one of the few comfort upgrades genuinely available to every traveller, whatever their budget.
The third nod went to aviation columnist William J. McGee, who earned an honourable mention for investigative reporting on the state of America's air traffic control system. McGee, a longtime aviation authority, argued that the risks facing US air travellers are serious and that currently proposed fixes fall short — a read worth your time if you're booking stateside flights this year.
Why should a holidaymaker care about awards handed out to writers? Because the winning work is directly usable. Wooldridge's guide is effectively a curated shortlist of comfortable nature stays across six continents — handy if you want wildlife and wilderness without the sleeping bag. Thompson's pillow testing answers a question every economy passenger has asked at 3am somewhere over the Atlantic. And McGee's reporting is a candid look at the operational realities behind US air travel, useful context when weighing connections and contingency plans. Award juries tend to reward rigour, and rigour is exactly what you want behind the recommendations you book trips on.
