John Hudson talks to Paul Blezard about how strategies for life or death situations can help us excel in our everyday lives. Through gripping first-hand accounts of survival stories from across the extreme world you can develop the skills that allow you to make better decisions under pressure, which are as equally applicable to your interactions with colleagues or family, job interviews and public speaking, as to tackling Mount Everest.
Continue reading John Hudson: How to Survive: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020Tag: #STWF
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
Matt Dickinson: The Death Zone: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Matt Dickinson talks to Phoebe Smith about his first-hand experience of living through one of the most devastating storms ever to hit Mount Everest, a storm in which many lost their lives. Tackling issues at the very heart of mountaineering, Matt tells an extraordinary story of human triumph, folly and disaster.
The Death Zone by Matt Dickinson
Develop your Travel Writing: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Develop your travel writing with a panel of top writers and editors. Learn how to write travel articles and pitch to editors, set up and monetise a travel blog, or just write about your travels for your own pleasure. With Jonathan Lorie (author of The Travel Writer’s Way and director of Travellers’ Tales), Lyn Hughes (editor-in-chief and founder of Wanderlust) and Sarah Lee (award-winning blogger for LiveShareTravel). Suitable for all levels from beginner to semi-professional.
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
David Barrie: Exploring the Wonders of Animal Navigation: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
David Barrie talks to Paul Blezard about the navigational tools that animals (including humans) use, whether it is celestial, solar, magnetic fields, landmarks or even scent, and the difference between map and non- map-based navigation. He also presents the evidence of map-like representations of the world in animals’ brains. While humans increasingly rely on technology for navigation, how will that that impact on the relationship we have with the world around us?
Incredible Journeys by David Barrie
Walking in the Footsteps Of… : Stanfords Travel Writers Festival
How often have you read a travel book and thought about how you would love to recreate that journey? Well these three authors did just that and even turned those journeys into books of their own. Join us as Paul Blezard talks to Jacki Hill-Murphy who has followed the footsteps of a number of early female explorers and adventurers, Alastair Humphreys who busked his way around Spain with a violin he could barely play inspired by Laurie Lee’s As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and Ben Aitken who retraced Bill Bryson’s journey from Notes from a Small Island.
The authors also read extracts from their books.
The Extraordinary Tale of Kate Marsden and my Journey Across Siberia in her Footsteps by Jacki Hill-Murphy
Adventuresses Rediscovering Daring Voyages into the Unknown by Jacki Hill-Murphy
My Midsummer Morning by Alastair Humphreys
Dear Bill Bryson by Ben Aitken
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.
