A conversation with John Mitchinson, Co-founder and Publisher of Unbound
How did Unbound get its name?
Unbound started over a decade ago as a conversation between three writers in a pub. How could we make book publishing better? Why were so many interesting books not finding their way through to readers? How could we enable writers and readers to connect directly?
Unbound was the result – a platform-cum-publisher that enabled readers to back the ideas they liked the look of, and where writers could build an audience of committed readers. We tried lots of names – most of them terrible and involving the word ‘book’ until one day the idea of breaking out of received wisdom led us to the idea of setting books free – Unbound was born!
Tell us about the company ethos. Has it evolved over time?
Unbound is a publisher with a direct connection to readers. That hasn’t really changed from day one. We find authors with ideas and stories which we think our community of readers will like; through our state-of-the-art website we offer exciting and exclusive rewards for early adopters – from signed copies to tickets for launch parties – which we organise and fulfil directly. But we also operate like the best independent book publishers and make sure each of our books is marketed, publicised and sold through book retailers all over the world. This gives both our readers and authors the best of both worlds – a direct connection and the widest possible distribution.
In the coming months, Unbound customers will also benefit from the launch of a subscription service, where as well as books, we’ll be offering access to new pieces of writing every day, along with author newsletters, podcasts, and other exclusive content. This is all part of our commitment to building and developing the Unbound community, a place where readers and writers get to meet and inspire one another.
Tell us about some of your favourite titles and your biggest successes
Of course, as a publisher, I try not to have favourites. But there are a few Unbound books that make me incredibly proud – the massive success of The Good Immigrant, a collection of 21 essays by writers of colour which has made an impact on the wider culture; or the joy of watching a writer like Tom Cox translate his huge social media following into bestselling books like 20th Century Yokel and now fiction too (e.g. Villager); and there’s the satisfaction of creating a disruptive, reader-focussed publishing house that can still attract genuinely great writers, the kind who turn up on prize shortlists – Paul Kingsnorth (The Wake), Jonathan Meades (Museum Without Walls); Alice Jolly (Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile), Patrick McCabe’s masterpiece Poguemahone and I Could Read the Sky by Timothy O’Grady and Steve Pyke, which is now acknowledged as a classic of modern Irish literature. And nothing quite matches the thrill of publishing a childhood hero – 42: The Wildly Improbably Ideas of Douglas Adams is not only our most successful book ever, it also captures the essence of a writer whose influence is still felt everywhere.
Tell us about your aspirations for the company
My aspirations for Unbound are simple. To publish the best books we can find as well as we can; to continue looking over the horizon for those books that don’t exist yet (not – like most publishers – backwards to copy what is already successful); to expand our publishing into adjacent areas like podcasts, newsletters and journalism to create a space where great ideas and stories can germinate and grow; to build a community where writers and readers thrive. The great American chemist Linus Pauling once wrote that the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. That is the ethos that drives Unbound – an open, welcoming place that crosses boundaries, confounds expectations, inspires excitement but always delivers quality.
And I’m delighted to say we have a team of people who share this vision and have the energy, skill and passion to deliver it.
Do you have any reading recommendations (fiction and/or non-fiction)?
With Postscript readers in mind, here are five books which not only represent Unbound at its eclectic best, they are all also classics in the making:
Women on Nature edited by Katherine Norbury – A thousand years of the very best of women’s writing on nature and the natural world – it is full of surprises and serendipitous new discoveries.
Tales from the Colony Room by Darren Coffield – An oral history of one small drinking establishment in London’s Soho – frequented by some of the greatest British artists of the 20th century – which grows into a profound mediation on the importance of art and the challenges of being an artist.
Crow Court by Andy Charman – A brilliant first novel, set in 19th century Dorset – a murder mystery with a plot that would delight Agatha Christie and a style which channels Hilary Mantel.
The Business by Simon Napier-Bell – One of the greatest of all music managers (the Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, Wham!) is also one of the great music writers – a one-volume history of popular music by someone who has lived it for over six decades.
Lost & Found by Elizabeth Garner – Exquisite re-workings of fifteen traditional folk tales, each accompanied by beautiful eerie engravings – think Angela Carters’ The Bloody Chamber crossed with Alan Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Alan is Elizabeth’s father).
Is there anything else you would like to share with Postscript’s readers?
Only to thank them for their support of reading and literary culture in general. Books matter, and old books matter most of all. I co-host a podcast called Backlisted where every fortnight we ask guests – usually writers – to choose an old book worthy of wider notice. We’ve racked up 215 episodes and over 6 million downloads and if you like intelligent discussion about great books (and as Postscript customers I know you do) it’s well worth a listen.
Books, as you have probably gathered, mean a great deal to me. They matter. I’ll leave you with the great Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk who explains why better than I will ever be able to:
You cannot embark on life, that on-off coach ride, once again when it is over but if you have a book in your hand, no matter how difficult or complex that book may be, when you have finished it, you can, if you wish, go back to the beginning, read it again, and thus understand that which is difficult and, with it, understand life as well.
