The 13th volume in the US-produced series The Best Women’s Travel Writing (Travelers Tales, $19.99) was published last week. In an interview on Longreads, the editor, Lavinia Spalding, says one of her goals “was to provide (insofar as is possible with an essay collection) an antidote to all the fear and xenophobia swirling around us. So I was especially interested in stories that demonstrate our common humanity, and I think volume 13 achieves this—many of the pieces showcase tender interactions between strangers and explore the meaning of the encounter. And while that sort of story isn’t at all new for The Best Women’s Travel Writing (or for women travellers in general) at this moment, it feels more urgent than ever.”

Spalding talks to Cheri Lucas Rowlands about what she looked for in more than 1,600 submissions, why grief and levity can help shape powerful travel narratives, and what she hopes to see more of in the future.