At 25, Scottish journalist Jamie Lafferty got a job with an in-flight magazine in the Middle East, which turned out to be his first proper introduction to the world of travel writing. Since then, he’s traveled to over 100 countries on all seven continents, received recognition as 2020 Consumer Travel Writer of the Year, and had a photo essay published in The New York Times.
In this conversation with Nathan James Thomas of Intrepid Times, Jamie discusses why travel writing is anything but “leisurely” work, how coming from a working-class background shaped the trajectory of his career and the stories he chooses to write, why he loves to interview “upper class” people, and how a trip to cover every prefecture in Japan after the 2011 tsunami shifted the way he thought about his work and the impact it could have.
Listen to the full conversation here:
(You can also listen on Spotify or iTunes.)
You can find the link to “First Class, Business Class, Working Class,” discussed during the episode, here.
You can discover more about Jamie’s writing and photography on his website or follow him on Instagram here.
Cover photo: Jamie Lafferty
