As even the furthest reaches of the planet become increasingly accessible, regional and special interest imprints continue to lead travelers on adventures closer to home.
Globe Pequot has maintained a local-minded focus since 1947 and that makes its offerings “very realistic,” says acquisitions editor Greta Schmitz. “We have a lot of New England–based books, for instance, and it’s definitely possible to visit all the different states over the course of a year or two.”
In July, Jamie Coelho’s Rhode Island Food Crawls joins the flagship imprint’s roster of culinary road trips. ”We have highlights in Providence for brunch, or South County for oysters and ocean views,” says Globe Pequot marketing manager Alyssa Griffin. “There are ideas if you want to go for a night out or on a day trip. It’s one of those series that encourages you to explore.”
The company has several imprints devoted to particular regions or pastimes, including Stackpole, which has a strong line in fishing titles. Alabama’s Best Fly Fishing (Apr.) by conservation geneticist and Native Fish Coalition adviser Matthew R. Lewis, launches what Griffin calls a beginner-friendly series; books on Texas (2026) and Oregon (2027) will follow.
Music-centric Backbeat Books, which Bloomsbury acquired from Rowman & Littlefield in 2024, is releasing The Music Lover’s Guide to North America in June. Authors Josephine Matyas, a travel writer, and Craig Jones, a musician with a background in political economy, also collaborated on 2021’s Chasing the Blues; while that book centered on the Mississippi Delta, the new title, Matyas says, casts a wider net. “It’s about why music came into being in the areas it did, why it flourished there, and the broader context of culture and history.”
The book highlights music museums and other sites of interest across the U.S. and Canada—prestigious institutions run by the Smithsonian, small-town mom-and-pop storefronts, and everything in between. “Even if you don’t like Bob Dylan’s voice,” Matyas says, “the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla., will blow you away because of his influence on music and culture.” The Dylan Center sits steps away from the Woody Guthrie Museum, a nod to Dylan’s admiration for the folk singer and a reason he chose Tulsa to permanently house his archives.
At the travel-oriented imprint Hardie Grant Explore, Walk Her Way New York City (Feb.) celebrates women who made their marks in politics, science, art, and activism. “In a typical New York guide,” authors Jana Mader and Kaitlyn Allen write, “we read about the Brooklyn Bridge and its engineer, but what about the engineer’s wife, Emily W. Roebling, who led the construction crew after her husband fell ill?”
Using this atypical lens, the book leads readers on 10 walking tours through neighborhoods from Harlem to Brooklyn Heights. Hardie Grant may have offices in three Australian cities plus Berkeley, Calif., but the family-owned indie, like Globe Pequot and Backbeat, knows how to think local.
