London Travel Editor Wins Writing Mentorship In International Writing Contest

London Travel Editor Wins International Writing Contest

Travel editor, Zara Sekhavati from London, was announced as the Writing Mentorship Award winner in the Page Turner Awards. This was announced at a glittering online ceremony, where Paul Michael Glaser, from Starsky and Hutch fame, was a special guest to announce the winners.

The Page Turner Awards, sponsored by ProWritingAid and Campfire, offers authors, writers, and screenwriters the chance to enter the first 10 pages of their writing project, where a judging panel of literary experts and film producers will read the work.

Sekhavati's memoir, Another Iran is a book about her travels around Iran with a female cousin who lives in Iran. It's about the places they see and people they meet, interspersed with Iranian history, culture and childhood memories of holidaying in Iran every summer.

The point of Sekhavati’s book is to show another side to Iran, a side that readers may not be familiar with, and it’s about giving Iran a voice. She wants to share the everyday Iran, its culture, and its people.

The writer describes Iran as one of the friendliest places in the world. It shows that people need to look deep inside a place to find its people and its genuine, authentic character, and to find the real stories from everyday people.

Sekhavati believes that if we look beyond its media image, we’ll find the real Iran and its stories. She is half-Iranian, speaks Farsi and has been writing about Iran for many years. She brings an authentic voice to the story as she knows the country exceptionally well.

Having been brought up mostly in the West, she is thankful for being able to experience and reflect on the culture of the countries she experiences through her travels.

Sekhavati has created her own website about Iran, Another Iran, in which she shows an alternative side to the country, away from the headlines, through travel and cultural articles. It has been featured in National Geographic Traveller, The Sunday Times, Wanderlust, the Financial Times, and Rough Guides.

Sekhavati was selected by writing mentor, Marni Seneker who will mentor the writer for the next year.

Sekhavati said: “I'm so thrilled to have won. I can't thank you enough for believing in my writing, and my story, and for opening readers' minds and perceptions of Iran. Thank you to Marni Seneker for wanting to mentor me and my writing.”

This year, aspiring writers walked off the red carpet with life-changing prizes. One new unpublished writer won literary agency representation, while a screenwriter won literary management. Another new writer won a publishing deal, seven independent authors won an audiobook production from Spectrum Audiobooks, plus one other won a publishing package (including an edit, book cover and book trailer), and another author won a book adaptation.

The Page Turner Awards winners can be found here: https://pageturnerawards.com/2021-winners 

Submissions for the 2022 Awards will open in January 2022. Find out how you too can enter your writing into The Page Turner Awards: https://pageturnerawards.com.