How Often Do Maps Appear in Literature?
How many novels include maps? For his 2013 monograph on fantasy maps and settings, Here Be Dragons, Stefan Ekman surveyed a random sample of 200 fantasy novels and found that about a third of them… https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/how-often-do-maps-appear-in-literature/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/how-often-do-maps-appear-in-literature/
A Book Roundup
In a Guardian piece last month, Laura Spinney briefly touches on three books and the ways in which they subvert our understanding of what’s on the map and how we use them to see the… https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/a-book-roundup-3/
A Global View of Wildfires
The Guardian maps the devastation wrought by wildfires across the globe. “Brazil, Bolivia, Russia, Australia and Canada have all endured some of their worst fire seasons in recent years, as heatwaves stoked by fossil fuel… https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/a-global-view-of-wildfires/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/a-global-view-of-wildfires/
Miscellaneous Maps on Silk
The British comedy/panel show QI had this short bit about silk escape maps being made into underthings after World War II. (This is from episode 6 of series U, which aired in February 2024.) The… https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/miscellaneous-maps-on-silk/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/miscellaneous-maps-on-silk/
Some Canadian Homeowners Are Pushing Back Against Flood Maps
The Narwhal reports that flood map updates are getting pushback in Canada too: As provinces and municipalities amend decades-old flood maps and strengthen flood preparedness measures in the face of inclement climate change, a vocal… https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/some-canadian-homeowners-are-pushing-back-against-flood-maps/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/some-canadian-homeowners-are-pushing-back-against-flood-maps/
Monsters and Maps
Surekha Davies writes about on how monsters on maps led to her first book and then, in her second, to a consideration of why monsters exist as a category. By taking images of monstrous peoples… https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/monsters-and-maps/
Londonist Asks ChatGPT to Draw Maps
“The shortcomings and possibilities of generative AI are, of course, well chronicled across a million op-eds. I could write at length about the dangers or opportunities the technology presents,” writes Matt at Londonist. “But this… https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/londonist-asks-chatgpt-to-draw-maps/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/londonist-asks-chatgpt-to-draw-maps/
The State of The Map Room, Plus New Pages
The State of The Map Room in 2025: On my Patreon, I look back on how this site did in terms of traffic and income over the past year. Map Books of 2026: Already live,… https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/the-state-of-the-map-room-plus-new-pages/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2026/01/the-state-of-the-map-room-plus-new-pages/
The Onion on the New York Subway
The Onion: MTA Admits to Fabricating Large Parts of Subway Map. “‘Frankly, no one I know has ever ridden farther than the Carroll Street Station in Brooklyn. We’re not really sure what’s out there, but… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/the-onion-on-the-new-york-subway/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/the-onion-on-the-new-york-subway/
Canada Map Sales to Close
The Canadian Press reports on the closure of Canada Map Sales, a map store owned by the Manitoba government that sells topo maps, nautical charts, and other maps, posters and imagery, at the end of… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/canada-map-sales-to-close/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/canada-map-sales-to-close/
Flyover City Tours Discontinued in Apple Maps
MacRumors reports that Flyover city tours in Apple Maps appear to have been discontinued as of iOS 26. The Flyover imagery itself remains; this is about the feature that led the user from landmark to… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/flyover-city-tours-discontinued-in-apple-maps/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/flyover-city-tours-discontinued-in-apple-maps/
The Apollo Transforming Printer
On the Library of Congress’s Worlds Revealed blog, a fascinating piece on a fascinating piece of hardware used by NASA to process lunar photographs taken for and by the Apollo program into orthorectified imagery useful… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/the-apollo-transforming-printer/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/the-apollo-transforming-printer/
Luke Jerram’s Mirror Moon
Installation artist Luke Jerram’s past work includes large reproductions of the Earth, Moon, Sun and Mars. His latest is Mirror Moon, a touchable stainless steel globe of the Moon created with NASA topographic data. A… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/luke-jerrams-mirror-moon/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/luke-jerrams-mirror-moon/
More on Le Guin’s Maps
The exhibition of Ursula K. Le Guin’s maps at the Architectural Association Gallery in London (previously, previously) wrapped up last Saturday. The Library of America has an interview with Sarah Shin, who co-curated the exhibit… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/more-on-le-guins-maps/
NPR on the Osher Map Library
NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday had a segment on the Osher Map Library last Sunday.
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/npr-on-the-osher-map-library/
Alabama’s New Election Map Was Drawn by a Teenager
Alabama’s state senate elections will now use a map drawn by an 18-year-old student. The judge chose the map over options put forward by the court’s special master because it changed the existing map less… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/alabamas-new-election-map-was-drawn-by-a-teenager/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/alabamas-new-election-map-was-drawn-by-a-teenager/
National Rail’s All Stations Interactive Route Map
National Rail’s All Stations Interactive Route Map is only nominally interactive, in that you can pan and zoom, but clicking on lines or stations doesn’t actually do anything. That said, it shows every operator, route… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/national-rails-all-stations-interactive-route-map/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/12/national-rails-all-stations-interactive-route-map/
Map Books of 2025 Updated, Plus Some Gift Suggestions
It’s the end of November and I’m still finding titles to add to the Map Books of 2025 page. More to the point, I’m only now finding out about books that came out last January.… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/11/map-books-of-2025-updated-plus-some-gift-suggestions/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/11/map-books-of-2025-updated-plus-some-gift-suggestions/
The Man Who Drew Wellington
In the 1890s, Thomas Ward created maps of the city of Wellington, New Zealand that are the subject of a new book by Elizabeth Cox, Mr Ward’s Map, and this article in New Zealand Geographic… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/11/the-man-who-drew-wellington/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/11/the-man-who-drew-wellington/
Maps from a North Korean Encyclopedia
Miguel García Álvarez got his hands on a copy of the CD-ROM edition of the Great Korean Encyclopedia, a North Korean production replete with maps that reflect the regime’s narrative (Korea as one country) and… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/11/maps-from-a-north-korean-encyclopedia/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/11/maps-from-a-north-korean-encyclopedia/
The Word for World: The Maps of Ursula K. Le Guin
The Word for World is both an upcoming exhibition and an upcoming book exploring the maps of Ursula K. Le Guin—i.e., the maps she herself made for worlds like Earthsea. When Ursula K. Le Guin… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/08/the-word-for-world-the-maps-of-ursula-k-le-guin/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/08/the-word-for-world-the-maps-of-ursula-k-le-guin/
Misinformation, Conspiracy Theories, and the Oregon Wildfire Map
“In the end, what’s most remarkable about the campaign against Oregon’s wildfire map isn’t that misinformation found an audience. It’s that it worked.” Pro Publica looks at how misinformation and conspiracy theories led to the… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/08/misinformation-conspiracy-theories-and-the-oregon-wildfire-map/
https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/08/misinformation-conspiracy-theories-and-the-oregon-wildfire-map/
Eclipse Atlas Launches
Eclipse Atlas is the third iteration of Michael Zeiler’s solar eclipse map websites. First there was Eclipse-Maps.com, which launched in 2010; then came the Great American Eclipse website to cover the North American total and… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/08/eclipse-atlas-launches/
Ordnance Survey Asked to Change Route of Historic Path Through Dartmoor
Nick Pannell wants the Ordnance Survey to change the route of the Abbot’s Way path through Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. Pannell says his own research shows that medieval monks took a more northerly… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/07/ordnance-survey-asked-to-change-route-of-historic-path-through-dartmoor/
Apple Maps Roundup
9to5Mac notes two features coming to Apple Maps as of iOS 26 this fall: natural language search and commute notifications. Meanwhile, Apple Maps briefly failed to treat Ontario’s Highway 407 as a toll road earlier… https://www.maproomblog.com/2025/07/apple-maps-roundup/