Travel Writing World

CJ Schuler

Joining me today is CJ Schuler, whose most recent book, Along the Amber Route, was nominated for the Stanford Doleman Travel Book of the Year in 2021.

Like last episode, we recorded this one back in early 2021 before the award announcement. We talk about the amber trade routes in Europe and some touch points in the history of amber in Europe. We also talk about editing a travelogue and the difficulties in finding publishers for travel narratives.

CJ's website.

Purchase Along the Amber Route by CJ Schuler

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 & 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 positive review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Lastly, 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. Thanks for your support!

Listen to the episode on YouTube

Listen to the episode on YouTube on the Travel Writing World channel. Remember to subscribe to the channel.

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!

Sophy Roberts and Siberia by Michael Turek

Joining me today is Sophy Roberts, whose most recent book The Lost Pianos of Siberia was nominated for the Stanford Doleman Travel Book of the Year 2021.

We recorded this episode back in March, before the award announcement (sorry for the massive delay, Sophy!), but the conversation is still fresh. We talk about “success narratives” in travel literature, chronology in travel books, and much more.

Sophy's website. The Lost Pianos of Siberia online. Sophy's Instagram.

Purchase The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts

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 & 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 positive review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Lastly, 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. Thanks for your support!

Listen to the episode on YouTube

Listen to the episode on YouTube on the Travel Writing World channel. Remember to subscribe to the channel.

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!

Laurie Lee

Few conversations about Patrick Leigh Fermor’s book A Time of Gifts happen without mentioning As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee. Lee’s book, also an account of a European walk, was published before Paddy’s book. They’re similar, but quite different.

In today’s episode, Jessica Vincent joins me to talk about Laurie Lee and his book. We also talk about gender representations in the book and the book’s enduring appeal.

All this is coming up in the interview, but I want to hear from you — Have you read Laurie Lee’s book? What are your thoughts? Have you read it alongside A Time of Gifts? Which do you prefer? Please leave a comment below. 

Purchase Laurie Lee's book As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning

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 & 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 positive review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Lastly, 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. Thanks for your support!

Listen to the episode on YouTube

Listen to the episode on YouTube on the Travel Writing World channel. Remember to subscribe to the channel.

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!

Patrick Leigh Fermor - Δημήτρης Παπαδήμος, CC BY-SA 3.0

June marked the 10-year anniversary of Patrick Leigh Fermor’s passing, and next month John Murray Press is re-publishing his best-known book A Time of Gifts under a new imprint called “Journeys.”

Joining me today is Artemis Cooper, who speaks about about Patrick Leigh Fermor and his work. Artemis wrote a monumental biography about Paddy called Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure, which is worth a read. I also speak with Nick Hunt again, who also is the series editor of John Murray’s new imprint "Journeys," about A Time of Gifts and the other books they’re re-publishing this month. And Colin Thubron drops in to say a few words about Paddy.

All that is coming up in the interview, but I also want to hear from you — Have you read Patrick Leigh Fermor’s work? What do you find so appealing about it? Please leave a comment below.

Purchase Patrick Leigh Fermor's book A Time of Gifts

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 & 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 positive review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Lastly, 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. Thanks for your support!

Listen to the episode on YouTube

Listen to the episode on YouTube on the Travel Writing World channel. Remember to subscribe to the channel.

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!

Charles Nicholl, Courtesy of the Author

In 1986, Charles Nicholl traveled through Thailand to learn about the spiritual traditions of forest Buddhism. But things are not always so straightforward in Thailand. When Charles meets Harry, an old French Indochina hand, on the night train north with his tales of gem smuggling and opium smoking, it leads to a journey along the banks of the Mekong, into the Golden Triangle, and into Burma.

Charles joins me today to talk about his adventures, story structure in travel writing, and about his book Borderlines: A Journey in Thailand and Burma (Eland 2021). 

Purchase Charles Nicholl's book Borderlines

Support independent publishers and purchase Borderlines directly from Eland.

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 & 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 positive review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Lastly, 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. Thanks for your support!

Listen to the episode on YouTube

Listen to the episode on YouTube on the Travel Writing World channel. Remember to subscribe to the channel.

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!

Nick Hunt, Courtesy of the Author

Nick Hunt takes us across landscapes that should not be there, wildernesses found in Europe yet seemingly belonging to far-off continents: a patch of Arctic tundra in Scotland; the continent's largest surviving remnant of ancient forest in Poland and Belarus; Europe's only true desert in Spain; and the fathomless grassland steppes of Hungary. From snow-capped mountain range to dense green forest, desert ravines to threadbare, yellow open grassland, these oddities transport us to faraway regions of the world. 

Nick joins me today to talk about these spaces, which he document in his new book Outlandish (John Murray Press 2021). We also talk about travel writing’s relationship with nature writing and address a critique of the genres as being too egocentric. 

Connect with Nick Hunt on Twitter and his homepage.

Purchase Nick Hunt's book Outlandish

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 & 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 positive review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Lastly, 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. Thanks for your support!

Listen to the episode on YouTube

Listen to the episode on YouTube on the Travel Writing World channel. Remember to subscribe to the channel.

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!

Tim Hannigan

Where can travel writing go in the twenty-first century? Author and lifelong travel writing aficionado Tim Hannigan sets out in search of this most venerable of genres, hunting down its legendary practitioners and confronting its greatest controversies. Is it ever okay for travel writers to make things up, and just where does the frontier between fact and fiction lie? What actually is travel writing, and is it just a genre dominated by posh white men? And what about travel writing’s queasy colonial connections?

Tim Hannigan joins me on the podcast again to talk about these questions and his new book The Travel Writing Tribe (Hurst 2021). He also gives a coupon code for 25% off the cover price at the end of the episode if the book is purchased directly from the publisher here.

Connect with Tim Hannigan on Twitter and his homepage.

Purchase Tim Hannigan's book The Travel Writing Tribe

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 & 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 positive review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Lastly, 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. Thanks for your support!

Listen to the episode on YouTube

Listen to the episode on YouTube on the Travel Writing World channel. Remember to subscribe to the channel.

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!

Stephen Fabes in Kazakhstan

When Stephen Fabes left his job as an emergency-room doctor and set out to cycle around the world, frontline medicine quickly faded from his mind. But leaving medicine behind was not as easy as it seemed.

As Stephen crossed continents—on a journey that would take six years and cover more than 53,000 miles—he finds people whose health has suffered and others whose lives have been saved through kindness and community.

Stephen joins me today to talk about his new book Signs of Life (Pegasus 2020) and also about narrative pacing and travel blogging as a way to sharping writing skills.

Connect with Stephen Fabes on Instagram, Twitter, or his homepage.

Purchase Stephen Fabes's book Signs of Life

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 & 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 positive review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Lastly, 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. Thanks for your support!

Listen to the episode on YouTube

Listen to the episode on YouTube on the Travel Writing World channel. Remember to subscribe to the channel.

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!

Patti Shales Lefkos at the Summit of Nya-la

At the age of 67 and with her injured husband at home, Patti Shales Lefkos sets off to Nepal on what would her first solo trip. She documents her experiences, which included volunteering at a high altitude school and taking off on a month-long trek in the Himalayas, in her book Nepal One Day at a Time. 

Patti joins me on the podcast today to talk about high-altitude senior trekking, volunteering, and also about the complications of self-publishing and marketing a book during the pandemic.

Connect with Patti on Facebook or her homepage.

Purchase Patti Shales Lefkos' book Nepal One Day at a Time

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 & 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 positive review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Lastly, 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. Thanks for your support!

Listen to the episode on YouTube

Listen to the episode on YouTube on the Travel Writing World channel. Remember to subscribe to the channel.

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!

A product of the California suburbs, Pam Mandel was overlooked and unexceptional. When her father ships her off on a youth group tour of Israel, he inadvertently catapults his seventeen-year-old daughter into a world of European backpackers, seize-the-day Israelis, and the fallout of cold war-era politics. Border violence hadn't been on the birthright tour agenda. But then neither had domestic violence, going broke, getting wasted, or getting lost.

Pam Mandel joins me on the podcast to talk about her new book The Same River Twice (Skyhorse 2020) and the realities of writing proposals for travel memoirs. We also talk about solo female travel and memory in memoir.

Connect with Pam on Twitter, Instagram, and on her blog Nerd's Eye View. Also, check out her newsletter The Statesider.

Purchase Pam Mandel's Book The Same River Twice

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 & 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 positive review on Apple Podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app, subscribing to the show, and following us on Twitter & Instagram.

Lastly, 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. Thanks for your support!

Listen to the Episode on YouTube

Listen to the episode on YouTube on the Travel Writing World channel. Remember to subscribe to the channel.

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!