The Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild was established in 1980 as the Outdoor Writers Guild - a professional group for writers specialising in the outdoors. In 2006 the Guild changed its name to Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild to recognise that members had professional skills in other areas to writing, with an informal strapline ‘Words and Pictures from the Outdoors’. Today’s membership includes writers, journalists, photographers, illustrators, broadcasters, film-makers, artists, web designers, publishers and editors, but all with the common bond of a passionate interest in the outdoors.
Most members are based in the UK although membership extends internationally. It has over 150 members and is run by a committee of members. The current chair is the prolific writer and journalist Stan Abbott. His predecessor, whom he succeeded in October 2021, was the mountaineering writer and Boardman Tasker winner,
Peter Gillman
Peter Gillman (born 1942) is a British writer and journalist specializing (but not exclusively) in mountaineering topics. His book, ''Direttissima; the Eiger Assault'' (1967), also published under the title ''Direttissima'', co-authored with Douga ...
, who was chair for five years, and is now the guild's vice-chair.
Each year, the Guild hosts an AGM and Awards weekend, at various locations across the UK and Channel Islands. Previous destinations have included Isle of Wight, Snowdonia, Jersey, Shropshire and Northumberland. The weekend is an opportunity for members to come together for learning workshops, the awards ceremony, the Annual General Meeting as well as social events.
Awards
The Guild annually presents Awards for Excellence, which are open to members only, as well as a number of other awards to confirm its links with the outdoor trade.
Awards which members can enter include Outdoor Article/Feature, Technical Article/Feature, Guidebook, Photography, Digital, Outdoor Book
Recent winners can be found on th OWPG website under "Awards".
These include the prestigious Derryck Draper Award for Innovation, and the Golden Eagle Award, presented annually people who have 'rendered distinguished or meritorious service to the outdoors generally'.
Golden Eagle Award
The Golden Eagle Award, an original watercolour painting by Guild member, David Bellamy, is presented to a person who has rendered distinguished or meritorious service to the outdoors generally. Past recipients have been:
2015–16: no award
2014: John Grimshaw
2013: No award
2012: Dr Adam Watson
2011:
Bill Bryson
William McGuire Bryson (; born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has b ...
2010: Jonathan Williams
2009:
Marion Shoard
Marion Shoard (born 6 April 1949) is a British writer and campaigner. She is best known for her work concerning access to the countryside and land use conflicts. In 2002 she became the first person to give a name to the "edgelands" between town ...
2008: Sir
Chris Bonington
Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer.
His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest.
Early life and expeditions
Bonington's father, w ...
CBE
2007: W. R. 'Bill' Mitchell MBE
2006: Kate Ashbrook and Robin and Sue Harvey
2005:
Doug Scott
Douglas Keith Scott (29 May 19417 December 2020) was an English mountaineer, noted for being on the team that made the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. In receiving one of mountaineering's highest hon ...
CBE
2004: Sir
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...
2003:
Alan Blackshaw
Alan Blackshaw OBE (7 April 1933 – 4 August 2011) was an English mountaineer, skier and civil servant who was President of the Alpine Club from 2001 to 2004 and President of the Ski Club of Great Britain from 1997 to 2003.
Early life
Blacksh ...
and
Cedric Robinson
Cedric James Robinson (November 5, 1940 – June 5, 2016) was an American professor in the Department of Black Studies and the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He headed the Department of Blac ...
MBE
2002: John Cleare
2001:
Tom Weir
Thomas Weir MBE (29 December 1914 – 6 July 2006) was a Scottish climber, author and broadcaster. He was best known for his long-running television series ''Weir's Way''.
Early life and career
Weir was born in Springburn, Glasgow, and the ...
2000:
Irvine Butterfield
Irvine Butterfield (1936–2009) was an environmentalist, hillwalker and author of several books about mountains and the outdoor environment who took a significant role in the running of organisations with such interests in Scotland. He was a go ...
1999:
Chris Brasher
Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British track and field athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.
Early life and education
Born in Georgetown, British Guiana, Brasher went to ...
In 2005, the Crystal award was renamed in memory of one of the Guild’s founder members and a past Chairman, Derryck Draper.
Award winners
2016: Pertex CS10 Technology fabric
2015: Osprey’s suspended AntiGravity™ backsystem
2014:
Primaloft
PrimaLoft® is a brand of patented synthetic microfiber thermal insulation material that was developed for the United States Army in the 1980s. PrimaLoft is a registered trademark of PrimaLoft, Inc., the brand's parent company.
PrimaLoft synt ...
Down Blend Insulation
2013: Brunton Hydrogen Reactor
2012: Biolite Campstove
2011: Neoshell Fabric by Polartec
2010: Laser Photon tent by TerraNova
2009: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mattress by Cascade Designs
2008: Teko socks system
2007:
Satmap
Satmap Systems Limited is a United Kingdom company founded on 19 October 2005 and based in Leatherhead, Surrey.Pertex)
2000: Brasher Boot Company
2001: Nextec (Encapsulated Fabrics)
2002: GoLite
2003: Not awarded
2004: Lyon Equipment
Golden Boot Award
The Golden Boot Award was presented annually to a person or company exhibiting at the Camping and Outdoor Leisure Association (COLA) Show in Harrogate, who Guild members felt had made an outstanding contribution to the outdoors.
Award Winners
1982: Phoenix Mountaineering
1983:
Berghaus
Berghaus Limited is a British outdoor clothing and equipment brand founded in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, and now headquartered in nearby Sunderland. It was founded in 1966 by climbers and mountaineers Peter Lockey and Gordon ...
1984: Carrington Performance Fabrics
1985: Robert Saunders
1986: Buffalo
1987: Conway Trailers Ltd
1988: Nick Brown ( Nikwax)
1989: Captain Harrison
1990:
Chris Brasher
Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British track and field athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.
Early life and education
Born in Georgetown, British Guiana, Brasher went to ...
(Brasher Boot Company)
1991: Mike Parsons (
Karrimor
Karrimor is a British brand of backpacks, outdoor and sports equipment, and clothing.
The company was founded as the Karrimor Bag Company in 1946.
Financial difficulties beginning in the late 1990s led to the company entering receivership in ...
)
1992: Gordon Conyers
1993: Gordon Davison/Peter Lockey
1994: Ben Lyon
1995: Harvey Maps
1996: Nick Brown (
Páramo
Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...
)
1997: Bill Wilkins
1998: Not awarded
Lifetime Achievement Award
The Guild presents a Lifetime Achievement Award "on an occasional basis to one of our own members for outstanding work in our professional field of outdoor writing, photography, or related fields".
it has been awarded twice:
2014:
Kev Reynolds
Kev Reynolds (7 December 1943 – 10 December 2021) was an English outdoor writer, known for his guidebooks for climbing and walking in the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Himalayas and southern England.
Personal life
Reynolds was born on 7 December 1943 ...
2015:
Hamish Brown
Hamish Brown M.B.E. FRSGS is a professional writer, lecturer and photographer specialising in mountain and outdoor topics. He is best known for his walking exploits in the Scottish Highlands, having completed multiple rounds of the Munros and be ...
Sponsors
The OWPG is proud to work with various sponsors and Associate Members who support the Guild and are for the benefit of users, suppliers, the environment, OWPG members and the outdoors community generally. Currently, the OWPG closely works with Aquapac,
Cicerone Press
Cicerone Press is an English publisher, founded in 1969, specialising in guidebooks for walkers, climbers, trekkers and cyclists.
The company's first publication was a climbing guide to the English Lake District, and over the past 50 years they ...
,
Conway Publishing
Conway Publishing, formerly Conway Maritime Press, is an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It is best known for its publications dealing with nautical subjects.
History
Conway Maritime Press was founded in 1972 as an independent publisher. Its or ...
, Cordee,
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...
, Pathfinder Guides and Viewranger.{{Cite news, url=https://www.owpg.org.uk/links/, title=Sponsors and Supporting Links, date=2012-09-03, work=Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild, access-date=2017-08-14, language=en