About Us

Travelman was created by the writer and broadcaster Alexander Waugh, grandson of Evelyn Waugh, as the result of a conversation with master short story writer William Trevor. The thing about short stories, Waugh and Trevor agreed, is that although they are written to stand alone, in practice they very seldom do. The reader must approach them through the medium of a collection or anthology, where there is a danger of what Trevor calls 'cancellation' - one story nullifying the effect of the next.

arthue Conan Doyle And so the idea of the Travelman Short Story was born - a library of individual, unabridged short stories, printed on a single broadsheet which concertinas neatly in pocket size. The concept in some ways looks back to the hugely successful two-penny short stories that Rudyard Kipling used to sell on the Indian railways. Travelman's distinctive logo is a pre-war illustration by George Marrow of a man in a tailcoat carrying a stack of books.
Waugh also assembled an illustrious group to preside over the selection of titles: William Trevor, Martin Amis, Beryl Bainbridge, Dame Muriel Spark and Auberon Waugh (Alexander's father) were all founder members of the Travelman Editorial Board. In 2000 Travelman was selected as one of the Millennium Products award-winners for Britain's best and most innovative products and services. http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-us/our-history/millennium-products Millenium Products