Papers from the 2019 Borders and Crossings conference

Abstract

ABSTRACT This introduction outlines the background and contexts of this special issue of Studies in Travel Writing, which emerged from the Borders and Crossings 2019 conference held at the University of Leicester on 4–6 July 2019. The introduction details the history of this long-running conference series, and its previous role as a source of travel writing studies publications. As the conference organisers, the authors explain the rationales which guided their development of the 2019 conference, in particular an emphasis on bringing critical and creative approaches into the same space, and encouraging presenters and attendees from a wide range of backgrounds. The introduction briefly considers the likely significance for travel writing practice and scholarship – as well as for the Borders and Crossings series itself – of the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides a brief summary of the selection of articles, based on papers originally presented at the conference, included in this issue.