Books / Travel Writing
Sun Rider Press tells unconventional travel stories from everyday voices
Founded in Bristol in late 2019 by Mike Robertson, Sun Rider Press moved over the course of the pandemic to Melbourne, and then New Zealand’s Waiheke Island, but is now proudly back in its home city.
It’s a small alternative travel publishing imprint with a clear mission: to run books on unconventional travel stories, told by everyday people.
“The ideas is to promote global voices that seek to break down the barriers that divide us,” explains Robertson.
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Set for release on December 16, the fourth book under the imprint is titled An Eastern Tailwind, written by English travel writer, long distance cyclist and painter, Jack Few.
The goal? To cycle 3,000 miles across India, from north to south, undertaking not only a physical adventure, but a philosophical awakening on what it means to travel.
“I look over a city that’s still breathing hard, still trying. My senses feel alive for the world behind the glass. I can still smell that land and hear the sounds of a hot Indian night flowing up through the air in layers — the sounds of a city that never sleeps, car horns and steam, drums and crickets, the sound of people getting up, weak and holding on, working day and night, never giving up.”
For Robertson, Few’s writing was an ideal fit for what he is trying to achieve with Sun Rider Press.
Jack Few, An Eastern Tailwind (Sun Rider Press) – photo: Jack Few
“What appealed to me perhaps most powerfully was the structure of the book itself,” he recalls. “It’s not your usual cycle travel novel. It doesn’t pin-point all of the places travelled or explain moment-to-moment happenings on the road.
“Instead, it’s led more by the themes that underpin travelling – themes like identity, purpose, hardship, hospitality and perspective.
In this sense, it’s more of a philosophical exploration of the lessons we learn while out there in the world, far away from home.”
Mike Robertson of Sun Rider Press – photo: Max Greenstein
In the future, Robertson is eager to release a short story collection of migrant stories from different cultural groups that call Bristol home.
He is interested in recollections on where people have travelled from, their motivations for leaving, their experiences of assimilation and the elements of their culture they have brought.
“It’s very much just a concept at this stage,” he says, “but I’d just love to undertake a project that works directly with residents of Bristol and in a capacity that promotes personal stories for everyone to enjoy and learn from.”
Jack Few: An Eastern Tailwind is published on December 16 by Sun Rider Press. The release is limited to 50 copies, all hand-signed and numbered.
Main photo: Jack Few
Read more: Simon Parker presents the highs and lows of his UK-perimeter cycling odyssey
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