Travel Writing World

Today I’m speaking with Sara Wheeler and Jonathan Chatwin about Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s The Worst Journey in the World, a book that is often cited as one of the most important travel books of the 20th century. This year marks the centenary of the book’s publication.

My first guest today, Sara Wheeler, knows a thing or two about Antarctica and Apsley Cherry-Garrard. She spent some time on the continent, which she recounts in her 1996 book Terra Incognita, and she wrote a biography of Aspley Cherry-Garrard, simply called Cherry.

You’ll no doubt recognize the voice of my second guest, Jonathan Chatwin, whom I spoke with before on several occasions, notably when we discussed his book Long Peace Street and again about the life and work of Bruce Chatwin.

Purchase The Worst Journey in the World

If you live in the United States or the United Kingdom, we urge you to purchase your travel books from Bookshop, an online store that supports independent bookstores. Whether you use Bookshop or you decide to purchase your travel books from Amazon, please use our links as. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

More episodes, newsletters, & support

Please consider supporting the show with a few dollars a month, less than a cup of coffee, to help keep our show alive and advertisement-free.

You can also support the show by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Also, consider using our affiliate links to purchase your books. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

Finally, join the Travel Writing World newsletter to receive your free copy of The Travel Writer’s Guidebook. You will also receive quarterly dispatches & reports with podcast interviews, travel writing resources, & book recommendations. Alternatively, you can join the Genius Loci Newsletter to get monthly roundups of travel writing news.

Thanks for your support!

Intro music

Peach by Daantai (Daantai’s Instagram)

Disclaimer

*Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, this website will earn a very small commission if a purchase is made using these links. Also, "as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases" using the Amazon links on this site.

Thank you!

Joining me today is Colleen Kinder. She’s the editor of the online literary journal Off Assignment and she has a new book out. The book is called Letter To A Stranger: Essays To The Ones Who Haunt Us (Algonquin 2022). It is a volume of essays from her journal’s flagship column “Letter to a Stranger.” It's a wonderful anthology packed with 65 essays, 65 letters from writers to strangers.

We talk about the importance of voice in writing, writing prompts, travel media, the book form, and her online journal and how Pico Iyer inspired its creation.

Purchase Letter to a Stranger edited by Colleen Kinder

If you live in the United States or the United Kingdom, we urge you to purchase your travel books from Bookshop, an online store that supports independent bookstores. Whether you use Bookshop or you decide to purchase your travel books from Amazon, please use our links as. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

More episodes, newsletters, & support

Please consider supporting the show with a few dollars a month, less than a cup of coffee, to help keep our show alive and advertisement-free.

You can also support the show by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Also, consider using our affiliate links to purchase your books. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

Finally, join the Travel Writing World newsletter to receive your free copy of The Travel Writer’s Guidebook. You will also receive quarterly dispatches & reports with podcast interviews, travel writing resources, & book recommendations. Alternatively, you can join the Genius Loci Newsletter to get monthly roundups of travel writing news.

Thanks for your support!

Intro music

Peach by Daantai (Daantai’s Instagram)

Disclaimer

*Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, this website will earn a very small commission if a purchase is made using these links. Also, "as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases" using the Amazon links on this site.

Thank you!

Joining me today is Jessica Vincent who, along with Monisha Rajesh, Simon Willmore, and Levison Wood, edited a volume of essays called The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century (Summersdale 2022).

I ask Jess what makes the “best” travel writing, anyway? And we talk about how the pandemic reshaped our approach to travel and how it helped rekindle an interest in travel writing, despite our worst fears. 

Purchase The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century edited by Jessica Vincent

If you live in the United States or the United Kingdom, we urge you to purchase your travel books from Bookshop, an online store that supports independent bookstores. Whether you use Bookshop or you decide to purchase your travel books from Amazon, please use our links as. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

More episodes, newsletters, & support

Please consider supporting the show with a few dollars a month, less than a cup of coffee, to help keep our show alive and advertisement-free.

You can also support the show by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Also, consider using our affiliate links to purchase your books. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

Finally, join the Travel Writing World newsletter to receive your free copy of The Travel Writer’s Guidebook. You will also receive quarterly dispatches & reports with podcast interviews, travel writing resources, & book recommendations. Alternatively, you can join the Genius Loci Newsletter to get monthly roundups of travel writing news.

Thanks for your support!

Intro music

Peach by Daantai (Daantai’s Instagram)

Disclaimer

*Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, this website will earn a very small commission if a purchase is made using these links. Also, "as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases" using the Amazon links on this site.

Thank you!

Joining me today is Dave Seminara. His newest book, Mad Travelers: A Tale of Wanderlust, Greed and the Quest to Reach the Ends of the Earth, tells the story of William Baekeland, an alleged con artist who offered to help extreme travelers reach some of the world’s most remote frontiers. Now this book is much more than an exposé on William; it offers insight into wanderlust and asks why some of us are so compelled to travel.

We also talk about writing "footsteps" pieces and how Dave revised and self-published essays he previously wrote for other outlets, as a way to breathe new life into older work.

Purchase Mad Travelers by Dave Seminara

If you live in the United States or the United Kingdom, we urge you to purchase your travel books from Bookshop, an online store that supports independent bookstores. Whether you use Bookshop or you decide to purchase your travel books from Amazon, please use our links as. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

More episodes, newsletters, & support

Please consider supporting the show with a few dollars a month, less than a cup of coffee, to help keep our show alive and advertisement-free.

You can also support the show by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Also, consider using our affiliate links to purchase your books. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

Finally, join the Travel Writing World newsletter to receive your free copy of The Travel Writer’s Guidebook. You will also receive quarterly dispatches & reports with podcast interviews, travel writing resources, & book recommendations. Alternatively, you can join the Genius Loci Newsletter to get monthly roundups of travel writing news.

Thanks for your support!

Intro music

Peach by Daantai (Daantai’s Instagram)

Disclaimer

*Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, this website will earn a very small commission if a purchase is made using these links. Also, "as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases" using the Amazon links on this site.

Thank you!

This is just a quick announcement to say that in celebration of the 2022 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, I’ll be in Stanfords’ London bookstore on March 2 speaking with Colin Thubron and Tharik Hussain about their award-nominated books and about genre of travel writing. We will be also be joined by special guest Monisha Rajesh. After the conversation, there will be an audience Q&A. 

Because of space limitations, the event is ticketed. Like all of Stanfords’ events, a ticket costs £5, which, from what I understand, will be returned to you in the form of store credit for one of the authors’ books and in the liquid currency of a soft drink or a glass of wine. 

To register for the event, or to learn more about it, visit travelwritingworld.com/london2022 (you will be redirected to Stanfords’ event page). 

If you’re in London on March 2, please stop by Stanfords in Covent Garden and say hello. The event starts at 6:30 pm.  

More episodes, newsletters, & support

Please consider supporting the show with a few dollars a month, less than a cup of coffee, to help keep our show alive and advertisement-free.

You can also support the show by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Also, consider using our affiliate links to purchase your books. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

Finally, join the Travel Writing World newsletter to receive your free copy of The Travel Writer’s Guidebook. You will also receive quarterly dispatches & reports with podcast interviews, travel writing resources, & book recommendations. Alternatively, you can join the Genius Loci Newsletter to get monthly roundups of travel writing news.

Thanks for your support!

Intro music

Peach by Daantai (Daantai’s Instagram)

Disclaimer

*Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, this website will earn a very small commission if a purchase is made using these links. Also, "as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases" using the Amazon links on this site.

Thank you!

Joining me today is Nori Jemil. Her book, The Travel Photographer’s Way (Bradt 2021), was nominated for the 2022 Edward Stanford Travel Photography Book of the Year. In this conversation, we do talk about her book. But, as you’ll hear, the conversation quickly becomes a deluge of helpful advice about photography. And we only scratch the surface here when it comes to what she covers in the book. We talk about gear, planning and organization, knowing your camera well, pitching, and a lot more.

Purchase The Travel Photographer's Way by Nori Jemil

If you live in the United States or the United Kingdom, we urge you to purchase your travel books from Bookshop, an online store that supports independent bookstores. Whether you use Bookshop or you decide to purchase your travel books from Amazon, please use our links as. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

More episodes, newsletters, & support

Please consider supporting the show with a few dollars a month, less than a cup of coffee, to help keep our show alive and advertisement-free.

You can also support the show by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Also, consider using our affiliate links to purchase your books. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

Finally, join the Travel Writing World newsletter to receive your free copy of The Travel Writer’s Guidebook. You will also receive quarterly dispatches & reports with podcast interviews, travel writing resources, & book recommendations. Alternatively, you can join the Genius Loci Newsletter to get monthly roundups of travel writing news.

Thanks for your support!

Intro music

Peach by Daantai (Daantai’s Instagram)

Disclaimer

*Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, this website will earn a very small commission if a purchase is made using these links. Also, "as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases" using the Amazon links on this site.

Thank you!

Joining me today is Ursula Pike. In the mid 1990s, Ursula boarded a plane to Bolivia and began her term of service in the Peace Corps. A member of the Karuk Tribe, Pike expected to make meaningful connections with other Indigenous people  around the world. But her experiences forced her to question her assumptions about the world.

Ursula wrote about her time in Bolivia in her new book, An Indian Among Los Indígenas: A Native Travel Memoir (Heyday 2021).

So, we talk about identity, the Peace Corps, and neoliberalism in the context of her experiences. We also talk about revisiting old travel journals, truth in writing memoir, and more.

Purchase An Indian Among Los Indigenas by Ursula Pike

If you live in the United States or the United Kingdom, we urge you to purchase your travel books from Bookshop, an online store that supports independent bookstores. Whether you use Bookshop or you decide to purchase your travel books from Amazon, please use our links as. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

More episodes, newsletters, & support

Please consider supporting the show with a few dollars a month, less than a cup of coffee, to help keep our show alive and advertisement-free.

You can also support the show by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Also, consider using our affiliate links to purchase your books. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

Finally, join the Travel Writing World newsletter to receive your free copy of The Travel Writer’s Guidebook. You will also receive quarterly dispatches & reports with podcast interviews, travel writing resources, & book recommendations. Alternatively, you can join the Genius Loci Newsletter to get monthly roundups of travel writing news.

Thanks for your support!

Intro music

Peach by Daantai (Daantai’s Instagram)

Disclaimer

*Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, this website will earn a very small commission if a purchase is made using these links. Also, "as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases" using the Amazon links on this site.

Thank you!

Joining me today are Gary Fisher and David Robinson, two historians who recently edited a new volume of essays called Travel Writing in the Age of Global Quarantine (purchase here). 

Gary and David are historians and this episode touches on some of the academic debates about the genre of travel writing. If this conversation interests you, I recommend that you also go back and listen to episode 57, which is a conversation I had about these topics with Tim Hannigan.

Today’s conversation is a critical one about subjectivity’s fundamental role in travel literature and in academic and scientific discourse, the importance of reading older travel narratives, why personal context enriches literature, and why reading and writing travel writing is important, even in an age of global pandemic, environmental crisis, and geopolitical turmoil.

Anyway, there is a lot here so I hope you enjoy it.

Purchase Travel Writing in the Age of Global Quarantine by Gary Fisher and David Robinson

If you live in the United States or the United Kingdom, we urge you to purchase your travel books from Bookshop, an online store that supports independent bookstores. Whether you use Bookshop or you decide to purchase your travel books from Amazon, please use our links as. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

More episodes, newsletters, & support

Please consider supporting the show with a few dollars a month, less than a cup of coffee, to help keep our show alive and advertisement-free.

You can also support the show by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Also, consider using our affiliate links to purchase your books. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

Finally, join the Travel Writing World newsletter to receive your free copy of The Travel Writer’s Guidebook. You will also receive quarterly dispatches & reports with podcast interviews, travel writing resources, & book recommendations. Alternatively, you can join the Genius Loci Newsletter to get monthly roundups of travel writing news.

Thanks for your support!

Intro music

Peach by Daantai (Daantai’s Instagram)

Disclaimer

*Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, this website will earn a very small commission if a purchase is made using these links. Also, "as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases" using the Amazon links on this site.

Thank you!

Cal Flyn. Photo by Rebecca Marr.

Cal Flyn joins me today to talk about her newest book, Islands of Abandonment: Nature Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape (Viking 2021), which is one of my top books of the year.

In addition to talking about her book, Cal and I chat about genre, form, and the first person in nature and travel writing. 

Connect with Cal Flyn on her website or on Twitter and Instagram.

Purchase Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn

If you live in the United States or the United Kingdom, we urge you to purchase your travel books from Bookshop, an online store that supports independent bookstores. Whether you use Bookshop or you decide to purchase your travel books from Amazon, please use our links as. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

More episodes, newsletters, & support

Please consider supporting the show with a few dollars a month, less than a cup of coffee, to help keep our show alive and advertisement-free.

You can also support the show by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Also, consider using our affiliate links to purchase your books. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

Finally, join the Travel Writing World newsletter to receive your free copy of The Travel Writer’s Guidebook. You will also receive quarterly dispatches & reports with podcast interviews, travel writing resources, & book recommendations. Alternatively, you can join the Genius Loci Newsletter to get monthly roundups of travel writing news.

Thanks for your support!

Intro music

Peach by Daantai (Daantai’s Instagram)

Disclaimer

*Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, this website will earn a very small commission if a purchase is made using these links. Also, "as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases" using the Amazon links on this site.

Thank you!

Graydon Hazenberg (right) and his cycling companions.

Joining me today is Graydon Hazenberg. In 1998, Graydon, his twin sisters, and a friend rode bicycles for nearly four months from Islamabad to Mount Kailash in Tibet. He wrote about his adventure in his new travelogue, Pedalling to Kailash: Cycling Adventures and Misadventures Across the Roof of the World (2021). 

Now, Graydon’s book is special not just because of the challenging nature of his adventure, but because he — as you’ll hear him mention — embarked on different type of challenge in self-publishing the book after nearly 25 years.

We also talk about what traveling to Tibet was like in the late 1990s, how plotting waypoints on maps helped him reconstruct the journey and write, and his path to to self-publishing. 

Connect with Graydon Hazenberg on his website or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Purchase Pedalling to Kailash by Graydon Hazenberg

If you live in the United States or the United Kingdom, we urge you to purchase your travel books from Bookshop, an online store that supports independent bookstores. Whether you use Bookshop or you decide to purchase your travel books from Amazon, please use our links. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

More episodes, newsletters, & support

Please consider supporting the show with a few dollars a month, less than a cup of coffee, to help keep our show alive and advertisement-free.

You can also support the show by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Also, consider using our affiliate links to purchase your books. If you use our links to make a purchase, we will receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help keep the podcast alive and ad-free.

Finally, join the Travel Writing World newsletter to receive your free copy of The Travel Writer’s Guidebook. You will also receive quarterly dispatches & reports with podcast interviews, travel writing resources, & book recommendations. Alternatively, you can join the Genius Loci Newsletter to get monthly roundups of travel writing news.

Thanks for your support!

Intro music

Peach by Daantai (Daantai’s Instagram)

Disclaimer

*Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, this website will earn a very small commission if a purchase is made using these links. Also, "as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases" using the Amazon links on this site.

Thank you!