Keith Whittles points out that the Whittles Publishing name is \u2018not disappearing overnight\u2019.<\/p>\n
Publisher Keith Whittles has confirmed that it is \u201cthe end of a chapter\u201d after the assets of his Caithness-based company were bought out by another business.<\/p>\n
Whittles Publishing, which has published hundreds of books over the past two decades, will now become an imprint of Porto Press, based in St Albans in Hertfordshire.<\/p>\n
Dr Whittles (73) plans to retire in 2026 and he has been working closely with Diane Page, managing director at Porto Press, on the handover.<\/p>\n
Dr Whittles gave an assurance that the Whittles Publishing name is \u201cnot disappearing overnight\u201d.<\/p>\n
His company is renowned for its range of academic and professional works as well as non-fiction titles, many of which are now available in e-book format.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the end of a chapter but not the end of a book,\u201d Dr Whittles explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe publishing has gone to Porto, a really nice bunch of people. They know what they\u2019re doing and the Whittles name will remain on the books, which is nice.<\/p>\n
\u201cPorto Press is a new company but it\u2019s formed by Diane Page, who has been in publishing for almost as long as I have. Whittles Publishing books will become simply an imprint of Porto Press.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a pile of projects in progress so they\u2019ve got a lot to go on for the next year or more, both general non-fiction and also the more technical\/engineering books.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it is something that could have happened many times over the past few years but it has never been the right approach. This is the correct person to take it on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be here for that time period, helping local folk get their books produced. If we get queries from past authors or new authors, I will pass them on to Diane at Porto Press with my recommendation.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there is still a route through Whittles Publishing to getting books published.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally from Sheffield, Dr Whittles spent more than eight years with a publishing company in Glasgow before deciding to go it alone.<\/p>\n
He and his wife Cath moved to Caithness in 1986.<\/p>\n
Whittles Publishing<\/a> has published around 400 titles over the past 22 years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a sizeable inheritance for Diane to take on and a good basis from which she can build,\u201d Dr Whittles said.<\/p>\n The business operates from Dunbeath Mill. The only staff member now is sales manager Sue Steven, as production work has been carried out by freelance designers and editors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has worked really well because it meant we could handle more projects rather than one person being overloaded with all the design and all the editing,\u201d Dr Whittles said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be here for as much as people need us and we\u2019ll just take things as they come.\u201d<\/p>\n Recent projects by Whittles Publishing have included Life at the Edge: The Natural History of the Caithness Coast<\/a>, by Ken Crossan, and The Dummy Drome: Stories from a WW2 Decoy Aerodrome in the North of Scotland<\/a>, by Rob More.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt an obligation, almost, to see those through \u2013 and we did,\u201d Dr Whittles said. \u201cThey are both lovely books, so it\u2019s nice to have that local presence.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWe won international prizes for our technical books in competition with global, \u00a31 billion turnover publishers, and that\u2019s a small company in Caithness. That\u2019s pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\nCover design for Ken Crossan’s book Life at the Edge: The Natural History of the Caithness Coast (Whittles Publishing).<\/p>\n