Royal Geographical Society has awarded Marjo T. Nurminen and Juha Nurminen with the Fordham Award for collaborative research and writing on the cultural history of mapping. This year, the Society’s medals and awards recognise twenty-one different people for their outstanding contributions to geography. The award ceremony takes place on June 6 at the London Royal Geographical Society.
The author of the book, non-fiction writer Marjo T. Nurminen and Juha Nurminen, editor-in-chief of the book, say: “This fantastic recognition given to our book by the Royal Geographical Society came as great – and pleasant – surprise, and we are truly grateful for it! For us, this award also marks a culmination of five years of research, adventure and hard work. We also take great delight in the fact that this award for sure raises awareness of the history of cartography among the general public.” Their book about world maps, The Mapmakers’ World – a Cultural History of the European World Map, was published in Finnish and English in September 2015.
Royal Geographical Society recognised the Nurminen’s opus already in February in the review in The Geographical by Nicholas Crane, President of the Society: “The last few years have produced a rich harvest of map books, so newcomers have to stand tall to win notice. The Mapmakers’ World delivers an ambitious thesis with style.” (…) ”This magnificent book is a monument to the effort and ingenuity that Europeans have devoted to understanding the wider world, a quest continuing to this day, and one that still relies on maps.” Read the full review here.
The Mapmakers’ World is the 30th book published by the John Nurminen Foundation. The book was selected as a nominee for the Finlandia Literary Prize for the best non-fiction book of the year 2015. The book has received favourable critics in Finland and also in international media.
The Fordham Award, presented by the Royal Geographical Society, is not granted on a regular basis but only upon identifying a candidate for particular and specific specialism, this year for credits in cartographic literature. This Award is presented at the EGR Taylor lecture, which this year will be on Thursday 13 October.
Read the RGS release here.