A conversation with Jon Barton, MD and Founder of Vertebrate Publishing
How did Vertebrate get its name?
No idea really, we were a graphic design company many years ago and we just carried the name forward.
Tell us about the company ethos. Has it evolved over time?
We originally published a cycling guide because we were doing a lot of mountain biking in the Peak District and none of the available guides reflected the kind of riding we wanted to do. Since then we have only ever published books we’d want to read or use ourselves. Working with outdoor adventurers has inspired me to take on all sorts of fun things, lately ultra marathons in the mountains which are a really good way of finding yourself! After all you can’t publish books without getting properly involved in their content.
Tell us about some of your favourite titles and your biggest successes
I guess some of our mountaineering narratives like The Ogre or Fight for Everest are really important to us because some of those stories, tales form the very edge of existence were close to being lost until we started publishing them.
Our biggest successes are books like Wild Swimming in the Lake District, Scottish Island Bagging and recently Retirement Rebel; I guess they are books that are relatable to a lot of readers, they take the reader on an adventure – often literally.
Tell us about your aspirations for the company
I think our big challenge for the future is to always be honest with our readers, to give them adventures and tell them new stories, not just cash in on the easy wins. Equally we have to do so sustainably, the planet is in a huge mess, we can’t be a company driven by growth at any cost.
Do you have any reading recommendations (fiction and/or non-fiction)?
From us I always push people to our book Waymaking, it is adventure writing and art at its very best, an important anthology – probably the single most important book we will ever publish.
Personally I’ve been reading a lot of poetry lately, classic stuff from the likes of Wendy Cope never cease to inspire me.
Is there anything else you would like to share with Postscript’s readers?
Reading is important, just finding space in the day to read a few pages, just for yourself is a wondrous thing and should be encouraged.
