About

Photo by Esther May Campbell


I am the author of three travel books about walking in different parts of Europe – Outlandish, Where the Wild Winds Are and Walking the Woods and the Water – as well as a work of ‘gonzo ornithology’, The Parakeeting of London. Loss Soup and Other Stories is my first short fiction collection. Red Smoking Mirror is my debut novel.

My books have twice been finalists for the Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year, and translated into five languages. My writing has also been included in The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century.

My articles have appeared in The Guardian, The Irish Times, The Economist, Aeon, New Internationalist, Emergence, Literary Review, Perspective, Resurgence & Ecologist, Caught By the River, Slightly Foxed, The Passenger, Narratively, Alexander, Ernest, Political InsightGeographical, Dark Mountain and other publications.

I am an occasional contributor to BBC Radio 4’s ‘From Our Own Correspondent’, and a recipient of the Royal Geographical Society Journey of a Lifetime Award – producing this BBC Radio 4 programme about South Asian migrant workers in the UAE.

As well as writing, I work as an editor, mentor, tutor and storyteller. I am a co-director of the Dark Mountain Project.

My agent is Jessica Woollard at David Higham Associates.


Media

Conversation with Dominic Colenso about a career in writing


Interview about outlandish landscapes with Nicholas Allen


Collaboration with TED’s Far Flung podcast on Europe’s wild winds


My TEDx presentation about walking from Holland to Istanbul