Travel Writing World

Benedict Allen is my guest today. He is the author of several books, including most recently Explorer: The Quest for Adventure and the Great Unknown. 

I ask him about his urge to explore, and about what I poorly articulate as his “old school” mode of traveling the world. We chat about about making bonds while traveling, about homecomings, and about family.

Purchase Explorer by Benedict Allen

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!

David Eimer is my guest today. He is the author of two books, The Emperor Far Away: Travels at the Edge of China and A Savage Dreamland: Journeys in Burma, the latter of which we talk about today.

We start off this episode talking about Burma, its politics, and its peoples. But about halfway, we shift gears and chat about travel literature. Specifically, I ask David about travelogues, the role of history and context in the types of travel books he likes, and the future of the genre.

I’ll say here that the audio quality isn’t the best in this episode, which we recorded back in February, but I hope you’ll ignore it as David really has his finger on the pulse of Burma, as you’ll no doubt hear.

Purchase A Savage Dreamland by David Eimer

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 Shafik Meghji, and we’re talking about his new book Crossed Off The Map: Travels in Bolivia (Latin America Bureau 2022), which, as the name implies, treats the author’s many years of travels to and work in Bolivia, a country that is off the tourist radar.

We talk about the indigenous languages spoken in the country, the history of exploitation of the country’s peoples and natural resources, and the tourist appeal of this overlooked country.

Purchase Crossed Off the Map by Shafik Meghji

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 again today is Nicholas Jubber and we’re talking about his newest book The Fairy Tellers, which follows several fairy tales—their origins and evolutions—and explores the people who originally told them. As you’ll hear, fairy tales (like all stories) are rooted deeply in place. 

Of course we talk about some fairy tales themselves, but we also chat about how his experiences traveling, and using the notebooks of travels past, helped him write this book.

Purchase The Fairy Tellers by Nicholas Jubber

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 Marcia DeSanctis. And we’re talking about A Hard Place to Leave, a collection of stories that covers the last decade of her travel writing career. 

In addition to her book, we also talk about finding one’s writing voice, stories vs essays in the travel context, and the difficult task of putting together and pitching a collection of stories. 

Purchase A Hard Place to Leave by Marcia DeSanctis

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 Rebecca Lowe and we’re talking about The Slow Road to Tehran: A Revelatory Bike Ride Through Europe and the Middle East, her debut book. The book documents her 11,000-kilometer bicycle journey through Europe to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, and finally to Iran.

Don’t let the “Slow” in its title fool you. It is a fast-paced book, one that is also full of humor and insight.

In addition to her book, we also talk about western media representations of the Middle East, her thoughts on solo female travel,  and the slow road to her book's publication. 

Purchase Slow Road to Tehran by Rebecca Lowe

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!

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!