Hugely looking forward to the Travellers’ Tales Festival, taking place at the historic headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society in London later this month. I think it’s the only festival in the world dedicated to travel writing and photography, so it’s probably a must for anyone interested in either or both – and probably for anyone passionate about travelling.
Intrepid explorer Benedict Allen is due to open the festival with what promises to be a riveting account of his extraordinary journeys around the world, which should provide a suitably inspiring start to a weekend’s worth of talks by equally well travelled photographers and writers.
And closing the festival is Don McCullin, arguably the greatest war photojournalist who I understand is making a very rare appearance.
The weekend stars numerous travel photographers including greats such as Frans Lanting who is one of National Geographic’s in-house-contributors and Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher, well known for their striking African portraits.
Writing-wise, there are two rare appearances: the grand dame of travel writing Jan Morris and Irish writer Dervla Murphy who wrote From Ireland to India with a Bicycle will both be there. Other speakers are the inspiring and wildly witty Chris Stewart and the acclaimed BBC special correspondent Fergal Keane, who is as poetic as he is hard-hitting.
In addition, the festival will run workshops and solo spots by emerging new talents dotted about the building’s many rooms and halls so punters can pick up a few hints and tips from the experts.
I’m sure it’ll be an interesting and pretty inspiring weekend. It runs from the
19-21 February in London and should provide a refreshing pause from the rather rotten winter.
Visit the website for tickets… www.travellerstalesfestival.com
Pictures by Paul Harris from Travellers’ Tales Festival 2009
Duncan Mills is the Deputy Editor of Traveler magazine, one of
the UK’s leading travel titles, and a founder and Director of a London-based contract publishing company, which is also involved in organizing the Travelers’ Tales Festival, an annual celebration of the very best travel writing and photography. An award-winning journalist, talented photographer and avid traveler, Duncan has visited more than fifty countries on six continents.
