Outdoor literature is a literature genre about or involving the outdoors. Outdoor literature encompasses several different subgenres including exploration literature, adventure literature and nature writing . Another subgenre is the guide book , an early example of which was Thomas West 's guide to the Lake District published in 1778. The genres can include activities such as exploration, survival, sailing , hiking , mountaineering , whitewater boating, geocaching or kayaking , or writing about nature and the environment. Travel literature is similar to outdoor literature but differs in that it does not always deal with the out-of-doors, but there is a considerable overlap between these genres, in particular with regard to long journeys.
6-686: The National Outdoor Book Award ( NOBA ) was formed in 1997 as an American-based non-profit program which each year presents awards honoring the best in outdoor writing and publishing. It is housed at Idaho State University and chaired by Ron Watters. It is sponsored by the National Outdoor Book Awards Foundation, Idaho State University and the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education. As of 2021, awards have been presented in 13 categories, although not all categories are awarded in any given year. The award
12-547: Is among the first popular books to present hiking and camping as recreational activities, and tells of commissioning one of the first sleeping bags . In the world of sailing Frank Cowper 's Sailing Tours (1892–1896) and Joshua Slocum 's Sailing Alone Around the World (1900) are classics of outdoor literature. In April 1895, Joshua Slocum set sail from Boston, Massachusetts and in Sailing Alone Around
18-497: Is announced in early November of each year. Winning books are promoted nationally and are entitled to display the National Outdoor Book Award gold medallion. General sources Outdoor literature Henry David Thoreau 's Walden (1854) is an early and influential work. Although not entirely an outdoor work (he lived in a cabin close to civilization) he expressed the ideas of why people go out into
24-477: The World , he described his departure: I had resolved on a voyage around the world, and as the wind on the morning of April 24, 1895 was fair, at noon I weighed anchor, set sail, and filled away from Boston, where the Spray had been moored snugly all winter. […] A thrilling pulse beat high in me. My step was light on deck in the crisp air. I felt there could be no turning back, and that I was engaging in an adventure
30-593: The national park system, the British labour movement, the creation of India, the civil rights movement, the hippie revolution, the environmental movement, and the wilderness movement. Today, Thoreau's words are quoted with feeling by liberals, socialists, anarchists, libertarians, and conservatives alike. Robert Louis Stevenson 's Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879), about his travels in Cévennes (France),
36-492: The wilderness to camp, backpack and hike: to get away from the rush of modern society and simplify life. This was a new perspective for the time and thus Walden has had a lasting influence on most outdoor authors. Thoreau's careful observations and devastating conclusions have rippled into time, becoming stronger as the weaknesses Thoreau noted have become more pronounced […] Events that seem to be completely unrelated to his stay at Walden Pond have been influenced by it, including
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