Back by popular demand following his 2018 appearance, Michael Portillo returns to the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival. Since leaving politics we have watched him travel all around the world in his television documentaries. Championing the Bradshaw’s Handbook, Michael has looked in depth at the history of rail travel and how it opened up the world for people to travel. Hear him talk to Julia Wheeler about his vast travels and what he has learned along the way.
Continue reading Michael Portillo in Conversation: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020Tag: Julia Wheeler
Sara Wheeler: Travels Through Russia: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
At a time of deteriorating relations between Russia and the West, Sara Wheeler talks to Julia Wheeler about a Russia not in the news – a Russia of humanity and daily struggles. Taking us across eight time zones, from rinsed north-western beetroot fields and far-eastern Arctic tundra to the cauldron of ethnic soup that is the Caucasus. She gives voice to the ‘ordinary’ people of Russia, and discovers how the writers of the Golden Age continue to represent their country today.
Continue reading Sara Wheeler: Travels Through Russia: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Dom Joly: A Short Walk Across the Lebanon: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Dom Joly talks to Julia Wheeler about his book The Hezbollah Hiking Club, in which he writes about hiking across Lebanon, from the Israeli border in the south, along the spine of the country’s mountain range, all the way to the Syrian border in the north. It is a big-hearted, witty and affectionate love letter to Lebanon and its rich history with a meditation on family and homeland at its heart. With Dom’s trademark humour, it is a paean to both the simple joys of friendship and to growing old disgracefully.
The Hezbollah Hiking Club by Dom Joly
Philip Parker: History of Maps in Britain: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
From Mappa Mundi to modern election maps, the United Kingdom has evolved rapidly, along with the ways in which it has been mapped. During this time, cartography has not only kept pace with these changes, but has often driven them. In his beautiful book, Philip Parker talks to Julia Wheeler about some of these maps that give a visual representation of the history of Britain.
History of Britain in Mapsby Philip Parker
Jung Chang: Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Jung Chang reveals the lives of three extraordinary women who helped shape twentieth-century China. As the country battled through a hundred years of wars, revolutions and seismic transformations, the three Soong sisters from Shanghai were at the centre of power, and each of them left an indelible mark on history. Their story takes us on a sweeping journey from Canton to Hawaii to New York, from exiles’ quarters in Japan and Berlin to secret meeting rooms in Moscow, and from the compounds of the Communist elite in Beijing to the corridors of power in democratic Taiwan. Followed by a Q&A with Julia Wheeler.
Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister by Jung Chang
Ned Palmer: A Cheesemonger’s Tour of the British Isles: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Cheesemonger Ned Palmer takes us on a delicious journey across Britain and Ireland and through time to uncover the histories of beloved old favourites like Cheddar and Wensleydale and fresh innovations like the Irish Cashel Blue or the rambunctious Renegade Monk. Along the way we learn the craft and culture of cheesemaking and we get to know the major cheese styles – the blues, washed rinds, semi-softs and, unique to the British Isles, the territorials. Chaired by Julia Wheeler.
A Cheesemonger’s History of The British Isles by Ned Palmer is available now.
William Atkins: Journeys in Desert Places: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Winner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year at the 2019 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, William Atkins talks to Julia Wheeler about his experiences in eight deserts: the Empty Quarter of Oman, the Gobi Desert and Taklamakan deserts of northwest China, the Great Victoria Desert of Australia, the man-made desert of the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan, the Black Rock and Sonoran Deserts of the American Southwest, and Egypt’s Eastern Desert. Hear all about the timeless allure of these remote and forbidding places.
The Immeasurable World: Journeys in Desert Places by William Atkins.
Ainsley Harriott: Tales from a Caribbean Kitchen: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
In his recent ITV series, Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen, Ainsley Harriott went back to his roots to uncover the best-kept secrets and simple dishes of Caribbean home cooking. Join us as he talks to Julia Wheeler about the diverse culture and the rich food heritage of these much-loved islands. His tales of traditional recipes and local ingredients will inspire dishes that will transport you to the real Caribbean from your own kitchen.
Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen by Ainsley Harriott.
Levison Wood in Conversation with Julia Wheeler: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2019
Levison Wood talks to Julia Wheeler about his life as an adventurer and his latest book Arabia. Continue reading Levison Wood in Conversation with Julia Wheeler: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2019
Simon Reeve, in conversation // Stanfords Travel Writers Festival Day 4
TV presenter and author Simon Reeve talks to Julia Wheeler and shares tales from more than 110 countries he has travelled to making programmes for the BBC, including his new series on Turkey, due to air this spring. Continue reading Simon Reeve, in conversation // Stanfords Travel Writers Festival Day 4