Rockland Author Wins Travel Journalism Award

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Judges in the 39th annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition handed out 117 awards at their 2023 conference, and one of the gold medals went to Rockland County author Dawn M. Barclay for her book, "Traveling Different: Vacation Strategies for Parents of the Anxious, the Inflexible, and the Neurodiverse."

The judges wrote of the parenting/special needs/travel book, published by Rowman & Littlefield in August of 2022: "This book fills a significant gap in travel guidebook literature. Awareness of autism, along with numerous other previously unrecognized childhood conditions, has outpaced well-researched assistance in book form by authors who have developed both expertise and empathy. Based on this book, Dawn Barclay has stepped up in ways that lessen the gap considerably."

Barclay understood that gap firsthand.

"When I needed a book like this in the early 2000s, there was nothing on the market," she told Patch. "I started researching by speaking to some autism and ADHD experts but then set the book aside because I wasn’t sure where to go with it. Once IBCCES established the Certified Autism Travel Professional designation in 2017, I knew how to write it (I’d also been published in fiction several times by then and knew more about the industry) and thanks to the pandemic, I finally had the time to finish it."

The Lowell Thomas Awards are to travel journalism what the Academy Awards are to filmmaking. Past recipients include famed travel journalist Rick Steves, as well as renowned travel publications such as National Geographic Traveler, Travel & Leisure, Fodor’s Travel, and Lonely Planet.

Awards went to editors, writers, photographers, podcasters, social media experts and videographers for outstanding work in helping to make the world of travel accessible, understandable and achievable.

"Not only is the Lowell Thomas Award an unbelievable honor, but it’s also a dream come true," Barclay said. "It’s estimated that 78 percent of families with autism don’t travel but 94% would if they knew the best strategies to tackle this challenge. I hope this book helps them do just that. I owe so much, not only to my agent, Rita Rosenkranz, and my publishers at Rowman & Littlefield for believing in this book, but also to the 100+ people I interviewed, mostly special-needs parents and advocates who poured out their hearts to help me create what I hope is an important resource."

More about Traveling Different can be seen at Barclay’s website, www.travelingdifferent.com. The book is available in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook. A paperback version is slated for release in May 2024.

Barclay, who is a member of SATW, ASJA, and several fiction writing organizations, has lived in Rockland since 1999, first in West Nyack and then in New City. A travel trade journalist for 35 years, she is also an associate broker with Century21 Full Service Realty and a fiction author, with several psychological and domestic suspense novels published as D.M. Barr (www.dmbarr.com).

Each of the entries in this year's Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition reflected the heart of the craft: serving readers as journalistic guardians who take seriously the job of advising people how to spend their time and money, SATW officials said.

And it's a lot of money. "Travel accounted for $1.2 trillion in direct spending in 2022," the U.S. Travel Association said in an April 26, 2023, statement, with an "economic footprint" of $2.6 trillion.

This year the SATW Foundation awarded $25,250 to winning journalists.

"I thought it would be difficult to top last year, but these entries and winners have," said Catharine Hamm, president of the SATW Foundation, the nonprofit whose mission is to support, celebrate and sustain excellence in travel journalism. "Each year brings surprises and new levels of achievement that not only delight readers but also make the judging task for the University of Missouri even tougher."

Stephanie Pearson, a freelance writer from Duluth, Minnesota, received a Gold Award as the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year. “Whether kayaking among the rugged Apostle Islands in Lake Superior or providing first-hand knowledge for those interested in road-tripping through the American Southwest, Stephanie Pearson takes the reader along for the adventure,” the judges said. “Her work reminds readers that all who travel should respect and help preserve the parks and other places they visit.”

Afar won the Gold for Travel Magazines, one of six awards it received, including a second gold for Bonnie Tsui’s Cultural Tourism article. “Afar makes travel feel accessible and attainable for all,” judges said.

The awards are named for Lowell Thomas, acclaimed broadcast journalist, prolific author and world explorer during five decades in travel journalism.

Editor's Note: Rita Rosenkranz's name was misspelled in the original version of this article.