Being in Gritstone doesn ’ t preclude us from being published by mainstream publishers . Two members , Chiz Dakin and Andrew McCloy , have recently had contracts with Cicerone , for example , and we know that sometimes another publisher will bring something to a book that Gritstone itself can ’ t offer . Marketing is inevitably the big challenge facing all small publishers and , although we feel we ’ ve done a lot right over the past few years , we know that there ’ s more that we could do in this respect .
However , it ’ s not just about the publishing process . One of the big advantages of Gritstone is the support and solidarity which we each give to and receive from others in the co-op . Being a writer is a solitary occupation and , as we know , can be lonely . Gritstone meetings ( held quarterly , sometimes online and sometimes in West Yorkshire , often Hebden Bridge ) provide an opportunity for us to share our ideas , discuss how our writing is going and get feedback . It ' s invaluable .
We ’ ve grown gradually , from four to �ive , to six and now seven members , and we feel that potentially the co-op could usefully grow still further in the next year or two . Although we now have a social history imprint our focus remains primarily on the outdoors , nature and the countryside , so we welcome the invitation to write about our operation in this Outdoor Focus . Fellow professional outdoor writers ( particularly those based in the north of England , our home base ) who feel that they could potentially be interested in joining the co-op are invited to contact us via the website ( www . gritstonecoop . co . uk ).; our secretary Andrew Bibby can be reached on andrew @ andrewbibby . com .
Azure Window before …
Picture … Nothing !
Paddy Dillon is forced to make a change ….
G
oogle algorithms are pretty sharp . At 0940 on Wednesday 8th March 2017 the worldfamous rock arch of the Azure Window , on the island of Gozo , collapsed in a storm . Local folk got onto Twitter and the Times of Malta immediately picked up on the story . Google algorithms figured out who needed to know the story and an alert was quickly pushed into my newsfeed .
I ’ d written a guidebook covering Malta and the neighbouring island of Gozo , where the Azure Window had amazed visitors for centuries . When it collapsed , I was thousands of miles away in the middle of the Atlantic , checking routes on the Azorean island of Faial . I was impressed by Google ’ s speed and efficiency .
I sent an email to my publisher and they put a note on their website the following day , advising readers that the rock arch was gone forever . Of course , that wasn ’ t going to change the printed pages in my book , which featured two pictures of the Azure Window – one in the introduction and another illustrating a walking route where the rock arch was the star attraction . Fixing the book was going to take time .
When my family said that they intended spending Christmas 2018 on Malta , and did I want to share an enormous apartment , I checked with Cicerone and they told me that a reprint of my book was due early in 2019 . The stars were clearly aligned and my family were agreeable to a day trip to Gozo on Christmas Eve . Of course , they asked me why I needed to go there , so I told them I needed a picture of ‘ nothing ’. I never put so much effort into getting a picture of ‘ nothing ’ before or since !
… and after outdoor focus / spring 2023 13