Indie author George Mahood is a British comedic writer, who has written a number of travel and non-travel related books. His website is available at www.georgemahood.com.

Christopher McDougall (1962-) is an American writer who has written for a number of outdoor publications. He is also the author of three fitness-related books, including Born to Run which focuses on the Tarahumara people in northwestern Mexico. McDougall's website can be found at www.chrismcdougall.com.

Jon Krakauer (1954-) is an extremely well known journalist and author known for writing outdoors/adventure travel books. His most well known book is Into the Wild, which was made into a film starring Emile Hirsch. Prior to this reaching the big screen, he was most likely known by the traveller classic Into Thin Air. Krakauer's website is accessible at www.jonkrakauer.com.

Dutch born Australian author Jill Koolmees has written one book, entitled My Desert Kingdom, which details here ex-pat life whilst living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Gordon Hutchison is an American born author who has written a single book based on his time spent in Japan in the 1970's. You can find more information at the following website: www.gangsters-geishas-monks-and-me.com.

Thomas Kohnstamm (1975-) was a previously contributor for travel guidebooks for the Lonely Planet and has also written an expose-style book, Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?, detailing his experiences while updating a book for Brazil. He has a website at www.thomaskohnstamm.com.

Robert D. Kaplan (1952-) is an American author who predominantly writes geopolitical and historical travel books. He has previously worked as a freelance foreign correspondent and is best known for his book Balkan Ghosts. His website is available at www.robertdkaplan.com.

Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) was British author, humourist and playwright. He is famous for his comic novel Three Men in a Boat which, partly due to its ability to transcend the years between its writing and modern day, is often ranked as one of the top humourous books ever written. 

Khaled Hosseini (1965-) was born in Kabul, Afghanistan but now lives in the United States. He has written three uber-popular novels, which all are based, at least partly, in his country of birth. His most popular novel, The Kite Runner, has been made into a movie with plans also for A Thousand Splendid Suns to do likewise. Hosseini's website is available at www.khaledhosseini.com.

Henry Hemming (1979-) is an English born author best known for his non-fiction piece of work, The Ingenious Mr Pyke: Inventor, Fugitive, Spy. He has written a number of other non-fiction pieces, and to date Misadventures in the Middle East remains his only travel book. Hemming's website can be found at www.henryhemming.com.

Phil Harwood to date has written a single book detailing the first source to sea descent of the Congo River in a canoe. You can find out more about his amazing journey on his website at www.canoeingthecongo.com.

ohn Harris is a British author who has written two books, both based in South East Asia. While both books read like novels, they are supposed to be based on true events. 

Laurie Gough (1964-) is a Canadian born author and writer for a range of well known publications. In addition to her own books, her travel articles have also been included in a number of travel collection books. Her online website is available at www.lauriegough.com.

Arthur Golden (1956-) is an American writer who is best known for his historical fiction book, Memoirs of a Geisha, which spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list. 

I'm not sure if there's a backpacker alive who hasn't read Alex Garland's famous novel, The Beach. In addition to writing fiction and screenplays, Garland (1970-) is also a film producer and director. Of late he has focused on the science fiction genre and recently wrote and directed the Oscar winning film Ex Machina.

Keith Foskett is a English born hiker and indie writer who has written books on three of the most famous through hikes:  El Camino de Santiago in Spain, America's Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail in the United States. He also has a great website which can be found online at www.keithfoskett.com.

Will Ferguson (1964-) is a Canadian writer known for his humourous books on Canada. However, his most well known individual book, is probably Hokkaido Highway Blues which is set in Japan. His website can be found at www.willferguson.ca.

Jung Chang (1952-) is a Chinese-born writer living in the United Kingdom who is best known for her hugely successful family autobiography, Wild Swans which was banned in mainland China. Chang focuses on Chinese historical/cultural books and isn't afraid of putting out door stoppers - one is over 400 pages, with the other two being longer than 700 pages long! More information on Chang can be found on her website at www.jungchang.net.

Paul Carter (1969-) grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland before emigrating to Australia with him Mum at the age of 15. Years spent working on oil rigs gave him the perfect material as an insider on which to write his first two hiliarous stories. Make sure you keep an eye out for Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, as according to his website, this is being adapted to a feature length film. More information on Carter can be found on his website at www.paulcarterauthor.com.

Tim Butcher (1967-) is an English journalist and author whose travel books combine personal (typically, semi-hazardous) adventure with history. He usually seeks out not your normal travel destinations and is able to put his previous experience as war correspondent to great use. Butcher has a website with more information at www.tim-butcher.com.