Writing for BBC Travel and Travel & Leisure After an 18 Year Corporate Career with Phil Thomas

In his late thirties, burned out from 18 years in the corporate world, Phil Thomas was given a chance to walk away and start again. He had always dreamed of being a travel writer. Now, he was going to make it happen. Phil knew it would take time. He was methodical. He refined his pitching style. He carefully built up a portfolio before putting himself forward for major, well-paying publications. Not long ago, he received his first clippings in the BBC and Travel & Leisure, the latter going on to win the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association 2025 Excellence in Journalism "Best in Show" award: https://www.travelandleisure.com/lofoten-islands-norway-summer-11772065 https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20250801-are-the-worlds-most-beautiful-islands-in-danger In today's episode of the Travel Writing Podcast, Phil talks about how he got there, step by step. (If you notice this episode is a lot more polished than our usual haphazard productions, that's because it was edited by the wonderful Shebs Alom, @shebsthewanderer, big thanks for helping to lift our game here!)