Explore the shortlisted titles in the Viking Award for Fiction with a Sense of Place category

Here at Stanfords we get a lot of customers asking for recommendations for fiction set in the place they are planning to go so that they can enjoy some in situ reading. With the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards later on this month, we thought we would take a closer look at the shortlisted titles in the Viking Award for Fiction with a Sense of Place category. Perhaps something on the list will inspire your next trip.

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Celebrate the Emerald Isle

To celebrate St Patrick’s Day, we took a look at our Ireland shelves to pick out some guide books. If you are planning a trip to the Emerald Isle, here are some suggestions to help you on your way:

Lonely Planet Best Road Trips Ireland

£17.99

Discover the freedom of the open road. This trusted travel companion features 34 amazing drives, from 2-day escapes to 2-week adventures.

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Stanfords Event: ‘Cycling the North Coast 500’ with Mike Wells

The bike racks all around Covent Garden were full last night as we welcomed lots of cyclists to hear Mike Wells talk about his Cicerone guide Cycling the North Coast 500: A cyclist-friendly guide to Scotland’s NC500.

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Stanfords Event: ‘All the Wide Border’ with Mike Parker

Last night we hosted an author event with author and map lover (he loves them nearly as much as we do) Mike Parker who came to talk about his book All the Wide Border which is out now in paperback.

There is a line on the map: to one side Wales, small, rugged and stubborn; on the other England, crucible of the most expansionist culture the world has ever seen. It is a line that has been dug, debated, defined and defended for twenty centuries.

All the Wide Border is a personal journey through the places, amongst the people, and across the divides of the border between England and Wales. Taking in some of our loveliest landscapes, and our darkest secrets, this is a region of immeasurable wonder and interest. It is here that the deepest roots and thorniest paradoxes of Britishness lie. The border between the countries, even as a concept, is ragged, jagged and many-layered.

Mike Parker has adored and explored these places his entire life. Born in England but settled in Wales, he finds himself typical of many in being pulled in both directions. His journey is divided into three legs, corresponding with the watersheds of the three great border rivers: the Dee in the north, the Severn in the centre, the Wye in the south. Neither quite England nor Wales, the furzy borderland he uncovers – the March – is another country.

Picking apart the many notions and cliches of Englishness, Welshness and indeed Britishness, Mike Parker plays with the very idea of borders: our fascination with them, our need for them, and our response to their power. In his hands, the England-Wales frontier is revealed to be a border within us all, and it is fraying, fast.

All the Wide Border is available now for £10.99

We have signed copies available while stocks last.

IMIA Map Industry Summit 2024

Yesterday we celebrated the International Map Industry Association (IMIA) Industry Summit sponsored by Harper Collins. Following the Mapping Forum at the Harper Collins offices, we hosted the third annual Industry Social in our Stanfords Covent Garden store.

The IMIA Summit is a fantastic opportunity to network with other members and associates and reflect on industry trends.

We had a great time connecting with industry colleagues over drinks while looking at our extensive map collection and participating in a fun Map Quiz.

If you are interested in joining the IMIA and joining us at events like this you can do so via this link: imiamaps.org/how-to-join

NEW MAP: Women’s History London Map

This new map has conveniently arrived on our shelves just in time for International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day.

Explore London through the lens of women’s history. This Women’s History London Map highlights 50 statues, sculptures, blue plaques, gravestones, buildings and monuments – dedicated to women such as Millicent Garrett Fawcett, ​​Virginia Woolf, Aphra Benn, Ada Lovelace and Phillis Wheatley. 

With an introduction and descriptions by Katie Wignall, author, city history tour guide and Londoner, and original photography by Jo Underhill, the map guide is a companion to begin exploring the lives of some of London’s most impactful women, and to inspire the next generation to continue their work.

Women’s History London Map is available now for £9.95

Book Launch: ‘The Tower’ by Flora Carr

Last night we hosted the launch of debut author Flora Carr’s historical novel The Tower.

Three women cross a loch. It is 1567, one of them is pregnant, two of them fretful. The boat takes them to Lochleven castle in the middle of the water. Awaiting them are courtiers braying for blood, hellbent on keeping one of them under lock and key: Mary Queen of Scots.

In the tower, Mary’s maids Frenchwoman, Cuckoo and watchful Scot, Jane are her only allies, and the chamber their entire world. A new reality sets in where they are at the mercy of not only their keepers, but of raging Scotland itself.

In the outside world, Mary’s kin, Queen Elizabeth claims she can do little but write. Downstairs, the shrewd jailor-courtier Margaret Erskine places her daughter-in-law Agnes in the chamber as her pair of eyes. Hope seems futile until the bewitching Lady Seton arrives. Seton’s power shifts everything in the tower and soon a plan is hatched.

But which of them will risk it all to save their mistress? Which woman loves her queen best? The Tower is a triumphant story of desire, grit, God-given power and wiles from a striking new voice in historical fiction.

The Tower is available now for £16.99

Stanfords Event: ‘The Return of the Grey Partridge’ with Roger Morgan-Grenville

Thank you to everyone who attended our event with Roger Morgan-Grenville last night. It was a really interesting evening hearing all about his new book The Return of the Grey Partridge.

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‘In the Footsteps of Du Fu’ with Michael Wood: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2024

From Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show in London’s Olympia, The Stanfords Travel Writers Festival welcomes the internationally acclaimed historian, film-maker and broadcaster, and the author of several bestselling books, Michael Wood. He talks to Ann Morgan about his new book ‘In the Footsteps of Du Fu’, a beautifully illustrated travelogue, chronicling the life and work of one of the world greatest poets.

Du Fu (712-70) is one of China’s greatest poets. His career coincided with periods of famine, war and huge upheaval, yet his secular philosophical vision, combined with his empathy for the common folk of his nation, ensured that he soon became revered. Like Shakespeare or Dante, his poetry resonates in a timeless manner that ensures it is always relevant and offers something new to the modern generation.

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Map of the Month: The Ultimate UK Cycle Route Planner

‘It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.’- Hemmingway

Our Map of the Month for March is The Ultimate UK Cycle Route Planner.

This best selling UK cycle publication gives an overview of all the main signed UK cycle routes – the only publication that has all these together on one single map.

This map features:

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