Stanfords Blog

Inside Ukraine – discover the hidden treasures of this beautiful country

Seven years ago, a group of intrepid Ukrainians set out to explore their home country with the aim to document its nature, people and customs. And so, the volunteer-led multimedia project Ukraïner was born. The product of several years and 100,000 km of travel is showcased in their newly published book Inside Ukraine: A Portrait of a country and its people.

‘Ukraïner began as an attempt to express what characterized Ukraine to the people I met as I travelled around the world’ explains Bogdan Logvynenko, one of the founding members of Ukraïner. He continues: ‘I found myself describing my country and hometown … After I returned home from my journeys around the world, I wanted to find a description of this modern-day country; a short but eloquent answer to the question, ‘Where are you from?’’

‘In June 2016, a group of other like-minded people and I set off on an adventure, or as we decided to call it, an expedition. We announced our idea to explore Ukraine and unveil it to the world on social media. Within a few days we received hundreds of messages and several thousand subscribers. With this, our multimedia project Ukraïner was launched.’

Children’s Book of the Month: The Song Walker

Our February Children’s Book of the Month is The Song Walker by the 2022 Edward Stanford Children’s Travel Book of the Year winner Zillah Bethell.

The Song Walker is an extraordinary new story of friendship, discovery and courage from Zillah Bethell, author of The Shark Caller which won the Wales Book of the Year and the Edward Stanford Children’s Travel Book of the Year 2022.

Book of the Month: Elixir by Kapka Kassabova

Our Book of the Month for February 2023 is Elixir by the former Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards winning writer Kapka Kassabova.

An exceptional work of narrative non-fiction by a prizewinning writer, Elixir is an exploration of place, people, plants, and a urgent call to rethink how we live. A search for a cure to what ails us in the Anthropocene, from the award-winning author of Border.

Children’s Book of the Month: Lost

Our January Children’s Book of the Month is Lost by the award-winning illustrator Mariajo Illustrajo.

Lost is a visually stunning story showing that there is love, friendship and help to be found even in the loneliest of places.

A powerful story of friendship, with a gentle environmental undertone of taking care of animals in need.

Book of the Month: The Half Known Life by Pico Iyer

Our Book of the Month for January 2023 is The Half Known Life: Finding Paradise in a Divided World by the former Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award winner Pico Iyer.

One of the most perceptive travel writers embarks on an exploration of the world’s holiest places and where we might find paradise on Earth.

“It’s so easy, I thought, to place Paradise in the past or the future – anywhere but here.”

After half a century of travel, from Ethiopia to Tibet, from Belfast to Jerusalem, Pico Iyer asks himself what kind of paradise can ever be found in a world of unceasing conflict. In a spectacular journey, both inward and outward, Iyer roams from crowded mosques in Iran to a film studio in North Korea, from a holy mountain in Japan to the sometimes spooky emptiness of the Australian outback.

Map of the Month: Scottish Whisky Distilleries Map

Calling all whisky enthusiasts. Plan a distillery tour around Scotland.

Our Map of the Month for January is the Scottish Whisky Distilleries Map by Nicholson Digital.

Many distilleries now offer world class visitor experiences and have been able to bring much needed jobs around Scotland. Over 11,000 people are directly employed in the Scotch whisky industry in Scotland and over 60% of these jobs are in rural communities across the Highlands and Islands.

2023 ESTWA Children’s Book of the Year Shortlist Announced

We are so excited to share the shortlisted books for the Children’s Travel Book of the Year. This category celebrated fiction or non-fiction title for pre-teens which inspires a love of travel, exploration and adventure.

The 2023 Children’s Travel Book of the Year Shortlist:

Bradt Guides 2023 New Travel Writer of the Year Longlist Announced

The world’s best competition for unpublished travel writers. In association with the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards.

For over twenty years, the Bradt Guides ‘New Travel Writer of the Year’ competition has been seeking out and championing new writing talent. Previous winners and finalists in the competition have gone on to see their work published in newspapers, travel magazines and books.

Here are the 2023 Longlisted entries:

2023 Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year Shortlist Announced

The Shortlist for the 2023 Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year has been announced. The award, which was open to authors from all across the world, celebrates excellence in literary travel writing.

Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year Shortlist:

Map of the Month: Peters World Map

Our Map of the Month for December 2022 is the Peters World Map Political Wall Map.

The Peters World Map shows countries in proportion to their relative sizes. It is based upon Arno Peters’ 1970s decimal grid which divides the surface of the earth into 100 longitudinal fields of equal width and 100 latitudinal fields of equal height; it treats the rectangles around the equator as squares and builds the other rectangles onto these in proportion to the areas they represent. the zero meridian on this system is combined with a proposed new international date line.