2025 Paris Writing Workshop Beginner students Marek Garcia and Julia Atkinson swept the top two prizes in the “Travel Memoir” category of the 2026 Solas Awards.
The Solas Awards, now in their 21st year, honor excellence in travel writing. Garcia’s Namibia essay “My Crazy Idea” won Gold in the Travel Memoir category, and Atkinson’s Nepal essay “What Pleases Durga” took Silver.
Margaret H. Wagner, a Paris Writing Workshop Advanced student in 2022, won Gold in the Travel and Sports category for her essay “A Bullfight in Madrid.”
Sponsored by Travelers’ Tales, the Solas Awards annually honor long-form travel essays in 20 different categories.