The winners of the third annual Solas Awards, honoring the best travel stories of the year, have been announced — and a few Matador members are in the mix!

Congrats to all the winners, but special shout-outs go to Matador Goods editor Lola Akinmade, who took the bronze in the “Travel and Shopping” category (and also landed a couple of honorable mentions), Matador member Darrin DuFord, who received second place in the “Travel and Food” category, and Matador member Dana Hill, who also received an honorable mention.

The Solas Awards are put on every year by Travelers’ Tales, a San Francisco-based publishing house dedicated to literary travel writing and travel storytelling at its best. If you’re an aspiring travel writer, consider sending in your best stories for next year’s Solas Awards, and check out the submissions page for the latest Travelers’ Tales anthologies, too.

To learn more about what Travelers’ Tales is looking for (and to read some great writing — one of the best ways to keep learning!) give The Best Travel Writing 2009 or The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2009 a read.

Congratulations again to Lola, Darrin, Dana, and everyone else! And if we missed your name on the winners’ list, because we only know you by a Matador nickname, please let us know!

Keep writing, everybody.

Photo by tnarik (Creative Commons)