Finding new talent is at the heart of the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Travel Writing Competition and Doug Loynes, the 2020 winner, has proven his credentials with his first online feature for National Geographic Traveller, published on the website this April.

Last November, Doug won the annual competition with a piece on Songkram Festival in Thailand. The judges praised his entry as an “action-packed, well-paced anecdote that really stood out”.

“Winning the National Geographic Traveller (UK) 2020 Travel Writing Competition and seeing my name printed in the magazine gave me the confidence to seek out fresh stories in travel and pitch them around,” said Doug. “One of my ideas was picked up by the title, and I had the opportunity to travel to Salvador, Brazil to write a feature for its website. Winning the competition has opened the door to a real possibility of a career in travel writing.”

His piece, “From my city to yours: capoeira master Gilberto da Silva on the beaches and beats of Salvador, Brazil”, was recently published on nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel.

“I was really happy to commission Doug for this eye-opening interview with a capoeira master from Salvador for our online From My City to Yours series,” said Amelia Duggan, deputy editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK). “He’s great travel writer to have discovered, and surely has a glittering literary future ahead of him.”