Laurence Blair (b. Poole, Dorset, 1991) is a British writer and journalist. He studied Ancient and Modern History at Oxford University, and he also holds an MA in International Law and International Relations.
He is the winner of the 2018 RSL Giles St Aubyn Award for his book Lost Countries of South America and the 2016 Bodley Head/Financial Times Essay Prize for his essay 150 Years of Solitude. Since 2014, he has reported from across Latin America for outlets including the Financial Times, Guardian, BBC and National Geographic.
During his research for Lost Countries of South America, he has walked over the Andes in the footsteps of an 1817 revolutionary campaign, explored abandoned guano islands in the Pacific, sailed up the Río Paraguay on a cargo ship and consulted archives and conducted interviews in seven countries to date. He lives in London.
