Wildfire will publish Jamie Lafferty's journey to see every species of penguin

Wildfire will publish Jamie Lafferty’s An Inconvenience of Penguins, a travel writer’s journey to see every species of penguin.

Editorial director Philip Connor acquired world rights from Philippa Sitters, and the book will be published in hardback, e-book and audiobook on 25th September 2025.

The synopsis states: "In An Inconvenience of Penguins award-winning travel writer Jamie Lafferty voyages to some of the world’s most inaccessible and challenging landscapes in search of all 18 species. In a bid to understand the birds and their extraordinarily varied habitats a little better, he recounts the history of our unique relationship with the world’s most popular bird, telling stories of the penguins, but also the people and places around them."

Lafferty said: "I thought after such a huge amount of travel for penguins, I’d be tired of them, but as I write this on another ship, I can see waddles of gentoos clumsily making their way up an Antarctic beach. I cannot help but smile. Seeing the whole taxonomic family was harder, more exhausting and complex than I could have imagined, but it seems I’m not quite finished with these remarkable little clowns just yet."

Connor added: "Who knew that visiting every species of the world’s favourite bird would be so damn inconvenient? It is utterly joyous to follow Jamie on these adventures to some of the world’s most difficult places and share in both his wanderlust and deep affection for the waddling bird. An Inconvenience of Penguins is part-love letter to, and part-biography of these remarkable creatures."