Here ’ s to the first
Jonathan and Lesley Williams
Cicerone is 50 this year, what
plans are there to celebrate this
milestone?
We published Fifty Years of Adventure
earlier this year, which is a compilation
of fi fty outdoor tales by a good
number of Cicerone’s authors - a list
that includes many familiar OWPG
names. [See Roly Smith’s review in the
Spring 2019 Outdoor Focus.] We’re
also raising funds for both the Juniper
Trust [www.thejunipertrust.org] and
Bendrigg Trust [www.bendrigg.org.
uk] this year. Throughout 2019 there
will also be a number of Cicerone
competitions specifi cally to celebrate
reaching fi fty.
An author has to have a real passion
for their subject and be able to convey
this passion to the reader. This means
having a range of skills. Writing
obviously, but also a good eye for a
photo. An aptitude for cartography is
also very useful, as is - increasingly
- a digital know-how, including a
solid social media presence. Oh,
and tenacity! Something an author
defi nitely needs to take a book all the
way to completion.
We see this as very important, so we
plan to do this every three or so years.
It’s all too easy to assume that the
countryside changes slowly, but this is
a dangerous assumption. Every time
a book is reprinted it is checked and
updated as necessary.
Cicerone’s website, an important sales outlet
for the company. It’s also a place to fi nd
valuable outdoor advice and news, and - more
importantly! - the Cicerone Cartoon of the
Month (www.cicerone.co.uk)
4 Outdoor focus | summer 2019
Is good photography a key
requirement for a Cicerone
guide?
Yes, absolutely. Good photography
has always been a key part of a
Cicerone guide, but we live in an
increasingly visually-literate world
- with social media partially driving
that change. Good - excellent -
photography will be increasingly
important.
Is there a ‘typical’ Cicerone
reader?
Users come from all parts of UK
and international society, but have a
common passion for the outdoors.
We’re sure that there are armchair
readers of Cicerone books, but there
are many, many more who actively use
the books in the ‘fi eld’.
What are the various steps that
a book goes through from fi rst
being commissioned to fi nal
publication?
The Mountain Hut Book, by prolifi c Cicerone
author (and OWPG member) Kev Reynolds
Gosh. Before a contract is even
signed there has to be a very clear
assessment of the book. We have to
think carefully about who the book is
aimed at; whether the area the book
covers would provide enough material
for that book; and whether there is a
market for the subject.
Then there is the writing process,
which takes roughly 18 months.
Though ‘writing’ is a very loose term
for what needs to be achieved by the
author! ‘Writing’ includes photography
and mapping too.
The in-house production work on
the book starts once the manuscript
has been delivered by the author. This
generally takes 9 months from delivery
to fi nal publication.
How important is it that books
are regularly revised?
What qualities does a potential
author need to have in order to
write for Cicerone?
Outdoor publisher Cicerone
You and Lesley took over the
running of Cicerone from Walt
Unsworth and Brian Evans in
1999. This must have been a
daunting prospect! Did they give