James Canton is a writer and lecturer who has written widely in creative non-fiction forms and taught on the MA in Wild Writing at the University of Essex since its inception in 2009 – exploring the fascinating ties between the literature and landscape of East Anglia. His first book, From Cairo to Baghdad (2011), explored the writings of British Travellers to Arabia from 1882 to 2003. Out of Essex: Re-Imagining a Literary Landscape (2013) was inspired by rural wanderings in the county. Ancient Wonderings: Journeys into Prehistoric Britain, which was published by William Collins in 2017, tells some remarkable tales of life in ancient Britain. His latest book, The Oak Papers, was published by Canongate in July 2020, and a new book, Grounded: A Journey into Place, is due for publication in March 2023.