Writer's Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands

Maps can transport us, they are filled with wonder, the possibility of real adventure and travels of the mind. This is an atlas of the journeys that writers make, encompassing not only the maps that actually appear in their books, but also the many maps that have inspired them and the sketches that they use in writing. For some, making a map is absolutely central to the craft of shaping and telling their tale. A writer s map might mean also the geographies they describe, the worlds inside books that rise from the page, mapped or unmapped, and the realms that authors inhabit as they write. Philip Pullman recounts a map he drew for an early novel; Robert Macfarlane reflects on his cartophilia, set off by Robert Louis Stevenson and his map of Treasure Island; Joanne Harris tells of her fascination with Norse maps of the universe; Reif Larsen writes about our dependence on GPS and the impulse to map our experience; Daniel Reeve describes drawing maps and charts for The Hobbit trilogy of films; Miraphora Mina recalls creating The Marauder s Map for the Harry Potter films; David Mitchell leads us to the Mappa Mundi by way of Cloud Atlas and his own sketch maps. And there s much more besides.

Amidst a cornucopia of images, there are maps of the world as envisaged in medieval times, as well as maps of adventure, sci-fi and fantasy, maps from nursery stories, literary classics, collectible comics a vast range of genres.


Glorious … This exquisitely crafted atlas is a must for any passionate reader. --Woman & Home

Fantastic. --Atlas Obscura

Book of the year for 2018. It gathers intelligently charming meditations from writers and festoons them with map after map after map after map of imaginary, and sometimes non-imaginary, lands. --Weekly Standard

Lavish. --Choice

I'm in love ... this book is genius --Jen Campbell, Christmas Gift Guide

Charts the landscape of literary imagination with passion and care --NPR Books of the Year

A gorgeously illustrated collection --Map Room blog

A Writer s love letter to the map --Tor.com

The book is stellar. The maps are gorgeously recreated and cover a wide spectrum of type, style, time period, and intent. --Fantasy Literature

This delightful, engrossing exploration is for every reader who's ever admired a book or a map, let alone both. -- Shelf Awareness

Fascinating -- Financial Times, Books of the Year

That strange alchemy of words into cartography and sometimes vice versa how wonderful it is to travel within the bounds of a book -- Daily Telegraph

Bursting with fascinating essays and maps, this is a feast for the eyes and the mind s eye --Cumbria Life

An enchanting collection of fictional cartographies ... spellbinding --Geographical

Beautifully produced ... A reminder that a map is far more than a means of plotting a route. Like a book, it can transport you. It can work magic --Telegraph Travel Book of the Year

Treasure to pore over on Christmas Day --Mainstreet Books

The ideal gift for the family bookworm --York Press

The quintessential coffee-table book --Chicago Tribune

An incredible love letter to invention, place, and the art of the map --Zocalo Public Square

Absolutely gorgeous --independent