Our End of Year Message 2025
Four years ago, we held the first team meeting for the recently rebranded Scottish Mountaineering Press. We’d set out a vision of where we wanted to be in five years and, sitting in the SMC’s Raeburn hut near Laggan, we came up with some ideas of how this might be achieved. From that meeting, we had a clear idea of where we wanted to be and how we would get there. Since then, it’s fair to say we’ve learnt a huge amount, and all grown personally and professionally as a result. We’ve had folk join the team along the way and head off after contributing part of themselves to our ethos. We’ve even been lucky enough to win a few awards along the way, as individuals, as a publisher and for our books.
One of the things that shines through is the passion of the team working on projects, and when I say team, I don’t mean just us as the publisher, but our wider network of suppliers and the authors we work with throughout each project. Right from the start, we’ve made a point of bringing our authors, many of whom are debutants, into the process – editorially through to design and layout – so that their vision for the book is realised and they are as proud of the result as we are. There is no better example of this than our Banff award-winning title, Northern Horizons, written by Will Herman. It’s been an absolute delight to see this project come together and launch at the Fort William Mountain Festival and then be recognised on the international stage. Will also came along to support our event for The Great Mixed Climbs of Scotland at Kendal, and we continue to chat from time to time. This experience is one that we see time and again, not just in our beautiful books but also through our growing network of writers and artists published through Creatives, and it feels like we are building something special.
The last few months have been some of our busiest at the Press, with a huge amount of activity launching The Great Mixed Climbs of Scotland, Ski Mountaineering in Scotland and the soon-to-arrive The Corbetts. We held a launch event in Glasgow and, for the first time, hosted events at Kendal and Banff Mountain Festivals. Engagement through various media has been phenomenal, and feedback has been incredibly positive. New relationships have been forged, and we are broadening our scope and reach. We feel privileged to have been given this opportunity, and we take it seriously.
This brings me to you, a supporter of what we do. Without you, none of this would be possible. For buying our books, offering words of encouragement, sharing who we are amongst your friends, and even, in some cases, joining us as writers – thank you. The power of word-of-mouth cannot be overstated. We sincerely appreciate it.
At our team meeting in the Milehouse Hut in November this year, we reflected on all of this and cast our eye on our vision for the next five years. We’re excited about what’s ahead.
There’s loads more to come in 2026, and some very special books in the pipeline. Enjoy the festival period, and we’ll see you next year!
I want to say a special thanks to Kat Bennett, who, after several years trailblazing our marketing and engagement efforts, is taking some time out to enjoy some summer sun in the southern hemisphere.
Images
On a Treaverse of Liathach © Rob Lovell