Tufnell Park Writers: Maps with Philip Parker

Join the Tufnell Park Writers on Wednesday 1 October from 7pm to hear from Philip Parker on why authors shouldn’t be afraid of maps!

For many writers, particularly of non-fiction, maps are an optional extra, a basic geographical map with a few names of “places discussed in the text” being about as far as they, or the publisher will venture. This is a hugely wasted opportunity to enliven and enrich the text with maps that can do so much more, using thematic techniques to illustrate changes in borders, courses of wars, cultural developments, even such things as the spread of the potato!

Maps, too, are cultural artefacts in their own right. Contemporary maps can tell a great deal about the society which produced them, their aspirations and attitudes, and are a wonderful key to unlocking a host of historical tales. And, at an editorial level, knowing how to brief, proof (and maybe even draw) your own maps is a skill publishers will thank you for.

In this talk, Philip hopes to convince you that maps, far from being something to fear, can be one of your authorial best friends.

Philip Parker is an editor, historical consultant and author of over 20 books, many of them about maps or using maps as a way of telling history. These include Atlas of Atlases, History of Cities in Maps and the Sunday Times bestselling The Empire Stops Here: A Journey Around the Frontiers of the Roman World. He worked for over a decade at Times Books as a publisher of historical atlases.

We will meet at The Lord Palmerston, 33 Dartmouth Park Hill, London NW5 1HU.

To join us, click the Going button below and enter your details in the RSVP form so we know how many people to expect. Please contact group organiser Jon-Jon Jones with any questions about the event.