BELFAST — Left Bank Books, in downtown Belfast, invites the public to a free talk and book signing by Stephen Hornsby on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. The event, which will be held at the bookshop, celebrates Hornsby’s new book, Cod Coasts: Cultural Landscapes of the Cod Fishery from Cape Cod to Labrador. The book draws on Hornsby’s decades of research on the cod fishery and cultural landscapes of the maritime northwest.

From the early sixteenth century to the late twentieth century the cod fishery had an enormous impact on the northeastern rim of North America.

"Stunningly illustrated with a mix of newly commissioned and historic photographs views and maps, Cod Coasts is aimed at the general reader interested in the cultural heritage of New England and the Canadian Atlantic Provinces," said Left Bank, in a news release.

Hornsby highlights a range of historic sites, including Marblehead Gloucester, and Castine in New England, and Louisbourg, Lunenburg, Bonavista, and Battle Harbor in Atlantic Canada.

Hornsby defines cultural landscape as “the human-created landscape of names, settlements, buildings, and architecture. . . .Taken together, the historic sites and landscapes discussed in Cod Coasts are an extraordinary survival, representing the earliest sustained European presence on the coasts of continental North America.”

Hornsby has published numerous prize-winning books, including the Historical Atlas of Maine (2015) and Picturing America: The Golden Age of Pictorial Maps (2017). He is professor of Geography and Canadian studies and former director of the Canadian-American Center at the University of Maine.

Reservations for this free event may be made by calling Left Bank Books (207-338-9009) or emailing info@leftbankbookshop.com.

The bookshop is located at 109 Church Street. Free parking is available in front of the shop and in an adjacent municipal lot.