The jury for the 2025 Michael Jacobs Travel Writing Grant, comprising Jon Lee Anderson (United States), Mar Abad (Spain), Teresita Goyeneche (Colombia), Sabrina Duque (Ecuador), and Miguel Velárdez (Argentina), convened on January 31, 2025, to select a winning proposal from 350 book and travel article projects focused on Hispanic America and Spain.
After careful deliberation, the jury unanimously awarded the grant to Peruvian writer Joseph Zárate for his proposal, Todo nace en el agua y muere en ella. Un viaje por el río Amazonas del siglo XXI. In this ambitious project, Zárate intertwines narrative journalism, documentary poetry, and Indigenous oral tradition to explore the deep connection between Amazonian communities and the river that sustains them. His proposal aims to shed light on pressing challenges such as the expansion of industry, the encroachment of criminal networks, and deforestation while also celebrating the resilience and wisdom of those who have lived in the rainforest for centuries, offering valuable lessons for confronting the climate crisis.
For his preliminary research, Zárate spent three months traveling the Amazon, gathering over 300 testimonies from Indigenous people, scientists, activists, and artists. The grant will enable him to continue his journey, revisiting key cities along the river and expanding his research in archives in London, Madrid, and Paris. There, he will trace the legacy of explorers and colonizers who five centuries ago began writing—and erasing—the history of the rainforest.
The jury praised the strength of his proposal, the depth of his research, and the originality of his approach in bridging past and present. They also emphasized that Zárate’s perspective is not that of an outsider but of someone with personal ties to the history he tells. As a Peruvian of Indigenous Amazonian descent, he brings a unique sensitivity and narrative force to his work, elevating it beyond conventional travel writing. The jury believes his project has the potential to become a landmark contribution to understanding the complexities of the Amazon in the 21st century.
In addition to the winning project, the jury awarded honorable mentions to two works of significant narrative and journalistic merit:
- Paul Brito (Colombia) – For his project exploring the historical migration of Canarians and their cultural ties to the Caribbean and Latin America. Through the story of his father, Brito reflects on language, identity, and the enduring connections between these regions. His stylistic clarity, poetic resonance, and deep-rooted connection to the Caribbean were particularly commended.
- Fernando Krapp (Argentina) – For En la puna, a series of chronicles set in the Argentine highlands that examine the tensions between mining, international tourism, and Indigenous communities. With immersive and evocative prose, Krapp captures the mystique of the region, the worldview of its inhabitants, and their ongoing struggles to preserve their traditions.
The jury also recognized the need to further diversify the voices represented in this grant and to encourage greater participation from women and English-speaking writers. The Michael Jacobs Grant, inspired by the legacy of a British writer passionate about Ibero-American travel literature, is not limited to Spanish-language authors. The jury reaffirms its global scope and urges broader outreach to ensure a more inclusive pool of applicants.
While the grant has had outstanding female finalists and jurors, the absence of women winners since 2018 remains a concern. This gap does not reflect the quality or quantity of female writers currently excelling in travel journalism and nonfiction, particularly in the English-speaking world, where they are redefining the genre with bold and innovative works. In response, the jury has committed to strengthening the grant’s visibility in more diverse literary circles, in order to foster a travel journalism landscape that is plural, inclusive, and of the highest caliber.