TravelGumbo Blogger HistoryDigger Wins National Travel Journalism Award

We at TravelGumbo are incredibly proud and pleased to announce that Whitney Stewart, HistoryDigger on Gumbo, has won a Bronze Award from the North American Travel Journalists Association for the 8-part series Finding Reiner, which ran  in 2014.

Finding Reiner tells the bittersweet story of the author’s search for the fate of her husband’s uncle, a young German soldier from an anti-Nazi family, who died on the eastern front during the war. The series combined family history, insights into the effect of war especially on young people, and a fascinating search for the true details of the story. 

If you haven’t read the series, or would like to re-read it, here’s a LINK to it.

Here’s the text of the press release announcing her award:

PASADENA, CA — The North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) today announced that Whitney Stewart won BRONZE place in the 2014 NATJA Awards Competition in the Travel Series-Online category. This awards competition, now in its 23rd year, honors the “best of the best” in travel writing, photography and promotion that cover all aspects of the travel industry worldwide.

NATJA Awards recognize excellence in travel writing, photojournalism, social media, multimedia platforms, advertising, marketing and public relations for the travel and tourism industry. This year, NATJA received over 650 submissions from all over the world.

“NATJA received an overwhelming number of entries in this year’s awards competition. The stories and photographs were so compelling and life-like that they placed the reader in that moment. This made it challenging for the judges to select the winners,” said Helen Hernandez, CEO of the organization. “The award entries this last year were clearly, the best ever in NATJA’s history. We congratulate all of the Grand Prize winners, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners for bringing to life their travel experiences for the general public.”
NATJA is the second largest travel media association in North America. Members include travel media professionals, convention and visitors bureaus, social media, hotels and attractions, and other travel marketing agencies. Members are provided with professional development workshops, peer-to-peer evaluation, web tools and networking opportunities. NATJA also publishes TravelWorld International Magazine (www.travelworldmagazine.com).

For more information about NATJA or a complete list of 2014 award winners and finalists, visit www.natja.org.