Gritstone Publishing Cooperative

Gritstone Publishing Cooperative is Britain’s first publishing company which is an author-run co-operative.

Established in 2016, Gritstone specialises in publishing non-fiction and fiction titles, which all have a sense of place as a central theme. This is often, but not exclusively, related to the landscape and/or countryside. Its members are all experienced outdoor writers, journalists and novelists who have decided that, by establishing Gritstone as a fully mutual co-operative, they will be able to exercise more control over the way that their work is published.

Gritstone turns 10 years old in 2026

2026 is a milestone year for Gritstone – we celebrate our 10th anniversary!

We held a celebration at the Piece Hall in Halifax on May 7, where we also gave a richly deserved Lifetime Achievement award to one of our founder members, the eminent Yorkshire writer, Colin Speakman.

Read our story in Eileen Jones’s article in NW Bylines here or Andrew Bibby’s article here.
For a new member’s insight into joining our Co-op see Mike Padgett’s article here.

Welcome to our newest member:

The most recent member we have accepted into the Gritstone Cooperative is author Mike Raine. Mike is a mountaineering instructor, educator and writer, based in North Wales. He specialises in professional development for outdoor leaders. Active in the hills since the 1970s, he continues to climb, walk, bikepack and sea kayak. His writing is informed by decades of experience working and travelling in upland landscapes, blending practical instruction with a strong sense of place. His first two books were aimed at mountain leaders, but have since been enjoyed by other walkers and climbers simply wanting to know more about the places in which they are operating.

Our Speakers List

Several of our Gritstone members offer talks to groups. For more information, please see our Speakers PDF

Forthcoming books include:

Front Cover image of book - image has workers at a large singer sewing machine table with multiple sewing machines in foreground with factory with smoke blowing horizontally out of chimney in middle ground. All set under a green cliff with a blue grey sky

Nov 2 2026: Andrew Bibby’s “All Our Own Work (Edition 2)“

Wanting to create employment under their own control, textile workers in the small Pennine town of Hebden Bridge developed in the years from 1870 a successful co-operative business which at its peak employed over 300 women and men – and which made a profit every single year.

This second edition of an engrossing account of a worker-run business is still the first significant study of early producer co-operatives in Britain for over a century. The lessons learned in Hebden Bridge are still relevant today for all who seek to find new ways of working.

(Available to pre-order)

Recently published books:

Click here to read a press release about Chris Goddard’s English Coast Path Series

Front Cover image of English Coast Path Book 4 - East Coast

July 1 2026: Christopher Goddard’s “English Coast Path – Book 4 The East Coast“

This is the final part in a series of four guidebooks, providing the most thorough information for walking the entire route. It covers over 650 miles along the east coast of England from the River Humber at the Humber Bridge to the River Thames at Tilbury. Tracing the coastlines of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, this varied route takes in the remote marshes, myriad estuaries and long beaches of East Anglia, as well as many beautiful towns and villages that line the route.

Front cover image of English Coast Path Book 3 - North Coasts

July 1 2026: Christopher Goddard’s “English Coast Path – Book 3 The North Coasts“

This is the third in a series of four guidebooks, providing the most thorough information for walking the entire route. It covers nearly 700 miles along the north-west of England from the River Dee to the Solway Firth, and the north-east coast from Berwick to the River Humber. Tracing the coastlines of Merseyside, Lancashire, Cumbria, Northumberland, Durham and Yorkshire, this varied route takes in high cliffs, vast beaches and dune systems, historic ports and wildlife-rich estuaries.

Front cover of Mike Raine's new End to End Book

July 1, 2026: Mike Raine’s “End to End: Lizard Point to Cape Wrath“

This is an off-road, end-to-end bikepacking adventure that doesn’t touch on Land’s End or John O’Groats. It also begins in the middle, in North Wales.

From Eryri (Snowdonia) Mike rides north to Cape Wrath, the wild northwestern tip of Scotland. After returning home he sets out again, this time for Lizard Point in Cornwall, Britain’s southernmost headland. On this second leg he’s joined by his closest companion, his wife Sally.

Riding as off-road as possible, their journey unfolds not as a test of speed or endurance, but as an exploration shaped by curiosity, fatigue and a quiet determination to avoid tarmacked roads. This is a story less about conquering distance, and more about inhabiting it.

Image of Rydal Mount - a cream coloured house with red roof tiles and chimneys under a blue sky

June 1 2026: Eileen Jones “Rydal Mount: The Story of Wordsworth’s home“

Wordsworth’s home has been saved for the nation, and this is the inside story by an author who knows the house intimately.

In this quirky and engaging account, written with the support and co-operation of the poet’s descendants, Eileen Jones looks at the history of Rydal Mount, the lives of the poet and his family there in the 19th century, and how later generations of Wordsworths brought artists, film stars, fine dining, concerts and weddings to the house.

Additional Recently Published Books

Please also see our Online Shop for many other great books by our Gritstone authors:

About Gritstone

Gritstone Publishing Co-operative Ltd is a fully mutual members’ marketing co-operative. We are incorporated as a company limited by guarantee.

Our aims are:

  • to aid our members efforts in cooperative-publishing
  • to take more control over the publishing process than is traditionally the case
  • to cross-promote each other’s works and bring a wider audience to each and every one of our members.

We always welcome approaches from professional outdoor writers who would be interested in joining the co-operative.