Travel writer Ed Ewing has won an award for excellence from the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild (OWPG) for his audio slideshow published on Guardian.co.uk Travel about Olinda Carnival in Brazil.

His piece, "Brazil's best carnival" scooped the top award in the "words and pictures" category with its colourful account of his couchsurfing stay in the city during carnival, as an alternative to the big tourist events of Rio and Salvador.

Presenting the award, OWPG judge Mike Gerrard said: "The winner stood out by its innovative use of technology, and showed very clearly how the media world is changing."

The awards were for work done in 2009, and were sponsored by outdoor publisher Cicerone. They were presented at the OWPG's annual dinner in Lancaster on Saturday 6 November. A full list of winners is available at owpg.org.uk/awards.html

Ed is the editor of Cross Country magazine and you can catch him speaking at the Free Flight night at the Kendal Mountain Festival later this month. Read more of Ed's work here.