Outdoor Storytelling with Kate Rogers of Mountaineers Books
Some outdoor moments stay with you. Morning light filtering through evergreens. The steady rhythm of boots on dirt as a trail wakes up for the day. A quiet pocket of forest after rain. These experiences often return to us long after a hike ends. For decades, Mountaineers Books has helped capture moments like these and share them with readers who love the outdoors as much as we do. Their books encourage us to explore the Northwest with curiosity, respect, and appreciation for the places we care about.
In this episode, we sit down with Kate Rogers, Editor in Chief at Mountaineers Books, to talk about how meaningful outdoor experiences become written stories and eventually published books. Kate leads one of the most respected independent outdoor publishers in the country. She brings a thoughtful and welcoming view of creativity, writing, and what makes a great adventure narrative.
Our conversation explores why stories rooted in place matter. Kate shares what catches her attention in a manuscript, why authenticity is far more powerful than chasing trends, and how outdoor storytelling can deepen our understanding of the lands we love. In a time when content often moves faster than we can keep up, she explains why slower, intentional storytelling has real value. Guidebooks help us find the trail. Well crafted narrative helps us understand why the trail matters and who has cared for that landscape before us.
Kate also talks about the publishing process itself. Submitting a book proposal can feel intimidating, but she makes it clear that Mountaineers Books is guided by mission and community rather than hype. The goal is not to publish the most titles. The goal is to champion writers who care deeply about place, people, and purpose. Publishing takes time and patience. Much like hiking a long ridge or climbing toward a summit, the journey unfolds step by step.
Throughout the conversation, one idea comes through strongly. Outdoor books help shape culture. They record adventures. They highlight Northwest voices. They pass along regional knowledge and encourage a respectful connection to the outdoors. A trail description might inspire a trip, but a thoughtful book can inspire stewardship and belonging.
Whether you keep a journal in your pack, hope to write your own outdoor story one day, or simply enjoy reading about the places you explore, this episode offers both inspiration and encouragement. You will come away with a clearer sense of how outdoor publishing works, what makes a story resonate, and why meaningful storytelling still matters in the Pacific Northwest.
Mountaineers Books has long been a cornerstone of our outdoor community. Talking with Kate is a reminder of why. Their work is grounded in connection to people and landscapes, not trends or volume. That commitment shows in every title and every author they support.
If you love the outdoors, value good storytelling, or just appreciate conversations that celebrate the Pacific Northwest, this episode is worth your time. The stories we share about this region help protect it, help us understand it more deeply, and invite others to experience it with care and gratitude.
Kate Rogers Editor in Chief Mountaineers Books Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Exploring Washington State Podcast. My name is Scott Cowan and I’m the host of the show. Each episode I have a conversation with an interesting guest who is living in or from Washington state. These are casual conversations with real and interesting people. I think you’re going to like the show, so let’s jump right in with today’s guest. So my guest is Kate Rogers. Kate is the editor in chief, which is a title I just love because I don’t know why I think like a newspaper guy or something like from the 40s with a big cigar. And you’re not a guy from the 40s with a big cigar, but you’re the editor in chief at Mountaineers Books.
Scott Cowan:
And first off, welcome. Thank you for sitting down. I want to. Let’s see, let’s start this. I want to ask you an impossible question just so we can climb the mountain, if you will.
Kate Rogers:
Okay.
Scott Cowan:
What’s one thing you wish every reader of a mountaineer’s book would know about what you guys do? What’s something that they don’t know that you want them to know?
Kate Rogers:
That’s a good question. Well, first of all, thanks for having me. I would say what they should know is that the book in their hands, it takes a village to produce. And there are a lot, the author, of course, first and foremost. But every book has a lot of creative and passionate people behind it that help the author present themselves in their best possible way, that design and lay out the book, that make sure it’s as error free as possible and then, you know, market it, distribute it. There’s a lot of people that have touched it and put their efforts and heart into it. And again, the author first and foremost. But there’s a lot of people helping that along.
Scott Cowan:
All right, now is the background about you. So I’m going to ask you this big question and I’m going to let you decide how far back and how detailed you want to go.
Kate Rogers:
Okay.
Scott Cowan:
What’s your journey to Mountaineer books? How did you end up here? What’s your background?
Kate Rogers:
Yeah, English lit major. Realized that I was better at editing friends papers than writing my own. Got interested in book publishing sort of randomly. I ended up doing an internship at a small press in Boston when I was still in college. But then I found out about the Denver Publishing Institute. And so after college, at the time there were a number of programs around the country and there’s still a few. And the Denver Publishing Institute still exists, publishing, but it’s essentially four to six weeks of intense immersion in all Facets of book publishing. And so it’s, as I said, the Denver program still exists.
Kate Rogers:
There’s one at nyu, and there’s a handful of colleges that actually have masters in publishing and programs such as that. But I did the Denver, the Denver program.
Scott Cowan:
Okay, where did you go to college?
Kate Rogers:
Northwestern University in the Chicago area.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah. Okay. As a child growing up, where was, where was home?
Kate Rogers:
Dayton, Ohio.
Scott Cowan:
Dayton, Ohio?
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
I love the Dayton, Ohio airport. I flew in there, actually. Okay. I have a weird little story about the Dayton, Ohio airport. When my kids were young, their mom and I got divorced and they moved to Cincinnati. And Cincinnati was like the most expensive airport in the world to fly into. It really was. It was the second most expensive airport in the United States for some reason.
Scott Cowan:
And so, as you know, way better than I do. Dayton is not too far from Cincinnati.
Kate Rogers:
Right.
Scott Cowan:
So I would fly in anywhere I could other than Cincinnati to go out and see him. And one time I flew from Seattle to Detroit, hopped on a commuter jet. I was the only passenger in the plane, which I don’t think would happen these days, right?
Kate Rogers:
No, I don’t think so.
Scott Cowan:
And I just remember going, can I sit anywhere I want? And they go, no, we have to balance the load. You have to sit here. Are you kidding me? I’m like, this is my own private jet. I should be able to get around. But I like the Dayton airport because it was small, it looked old in a good way. Like it was. Yeah, it was just kind of a fun airport to fly in and out of. And it was easy.
Kate Rogers:
So you grew up in there in a long time?
Scott Cowan:
No, I haven’t. It’s been a long time. My kids are in their 30s. So you grew up in Dayton? In college in the Chicago area and postgrad, if you will, at Denver.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
After you did that. What? What? What? As I interrupted you.
Kate Rogers:
Well, then I was. I worked at a Walden Books, which you probably remember, but not. Not everyone does. Hey, I’m right there with you.
Scott Cowan:
I know.
Kate Rogers:
In a mall up in Boulder. And then did a little traveling and just sort of, you know, taking a break from, you know, I went right from school into the publishing program and then the bookstore. Traveled a little bit, ended up in Seattle and started out in an independent bookstore, Beck’s Bookstore in downtown Seattle in Rainier Square.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
No longer there.
Scott Cowan:
I don’t remember.
Kate Rogers:
And then got a part time job at Sasquatch Books, another local publisher at the time. And it just kind of grew from there. I was with Sasquatch in two different stints over 11 years. About 11 years. And then I had my own book editing and packaging business, and Mountaineers Books was a client and then asked me to come on board. And that was almost 20 years ago.
Scott Cowan:
Okay. Well, first off, as I question you for wanting to be an entrepreneur in the book space, because it just seems like such a worthy cause. Worthy? Please, please, I do genuinely mean this. But so difficult, because publishing, the book industry, all of these things, I would.
Kate Rogers:
Never do it again. Okay.
Scott Cowan:
All right. But kudos on you for doing it. And you say it takes a village and that you’re the editor in chief, which makes me think that you’re kind of. Some people are. People are accountable to you. I mean, you’re the people.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
In chief, you’re in. You’re in charge.
Kate Rogers:
Well, there’s a publisher, too.
Scott Cowan:
Okay. But what I’d like to know, because from the outside looking in, this is very fascinating to me. What? I’d just like you to think about a random day of the week. Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
What’s a random day of the week look like for you? Whoo.
Kate Rogers:
Well, I oversee all of the editorial, design, and production, and it starts with acquiring and developing the books that we produce that we publish. So. And because we’re small, you know, everyone here wears more than one hat. Typically, you know, at a large, big five publisher like Penguin, Random House or Simon and Schuster, there’s, you know, a whole separate department, for instance, who does all the contracts for every book. But I do all the contracts here. So I oversee the acquisitions and development of all the books that we publish. I negotiate the contracts with the author. So in any given day, I might be looking at a proposal or communicating with a writer about an idea I have that I want them to maybe work on or negotiating a contract with an agent or talking to one of our project editors about, you know, maybe a problem they came up with in a manuscript or reviewing the budget for a book or looking at cover designs or discussing final titles for an upcoming season with the sales and marketing.
Kate Rogers:
My cohorts on the sales and marketing side. So it’s. You know, we publish around 30 to 40 books a year, and every single book has all of those processes behind it. So it’s. Every day is a little bit of this, little bit of that.
Scott Cowan:
Okay, now, you’ve mentioned a couple of times that Mountaineers Books is a small publisher, but you just. To me, you just said you publish 30 to 40 books. If we were to average it out, you’re publishing a book every week and a half.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah. I mean, we are an independent nonprofit publisher. And that, that scope, anywhere between 20 and 50 books a year is still considered small in the industry. You know, other independent presses, they, they become fewer and farther between as the industry, you know, sort of collapses a little bit or, you know, there’s a lot of mergers and they can. And it, you know, once you get under 20 books a year, then you become a very small press.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
And then, you know, once you’re at 100 or more, you know, you’re sort of mid sized. So we’re, we’re not big enough to be mid sized, but we’re not tiny.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah, so you.
Scott Cowan:
Okay, so 30 to 40 books a year. I’ve got your fall winter 25 catalog here for those of you that are listening. Because everyone’s listening, you can’t see this, but it’s a very lovely, very nicely done catalog. And there’s a lot more than 30 and 40 books in here. So currently, when we’re recording this in October, the end of October of 2025, approximately, do you know how many books are currently in production?
Kate Rogers:
In our warehouse, in our warehouse here on harbor island in Seattle, we have roughly 650 individual titles.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
So that’s what we call our backlist. Books that were published in the previous year and the books that are coming out now this fall are what we call front list new titles.
Scott Cowan:
Right.
Kate Rogers:
But yeah, so we, at any given time, we usually have somewhere between 650 and 700 books in print.
Scott Cowan:
That seems like a lot to me. That’s basically 20 years once again. I’m just averaging it out.
Kate Rogers:
Right, so books going back, Mountaineers books is just over 65 years. So you know, if that, if you were going to look at the backlist of one of the big five publishers, it would be in the tens of thousands of titles.
Scott Cowan:
Okay, so putting you on the spot now, you got 600 some books off the top of your head. Do you know what the longest running book is in your.
Kate Rogers:
Oh yeah, that’s easy.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Mountaineering the Freedom of the Hills. Mountaineering the Freedom, which is the big guidebook, that was the founding title of the press. Okay, so it was Mountaineers, members of the other side of the organization, the Western Washington volunteer based courses and programs. It was members of that organization that gathered their notes, climbing notes into a book called Mountaineering the Freedom of the Hills. And that was the book that became the starting point basically for the publishing side. And the 10th edition of that book came out last fall, a year ago.
Scott Cowan:
10Th edition of that book. Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
Another statistical question. Is there a title that’s kind of like the best selling book in your catalog?
Kate Rogers:
Yeah, well, that certainly would be one of them. That’s approaching, over its 10 editions, it’s approaching a million copies sold and it’s been translated into 12 languages and, you know, is considered sort of the bible of the climbing world. But we have other books. One of our oldest narratives is Miles from Nowhere by Barbara Savage, about around the world bicycle adventure back in the, was it late 70s, early 80s. That has sold tens of thousands of copies over time. And then more recently, we have a book, well, a series of books, but the original Campfire Stories, which is an anthology. You know that one?
Scott Cowan:
I do. I’ve interviewed the.
Kate Rogers:
Oh, Dave and Alyssa.
Scott Cowan:
Yes, I did.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah. So that is a more recent book. Okay. That has sold tens of thousands of copies. Yeah, that’s.
Scott Cowan:
That’s amazing to me that, that really is. That’s very, very cool. Well, one thing you left off of your day to day duties because when we talked on the telephone, you were, you were dog sitting. You. You left that out. And I know that the office is.
Kate Rogers:
Dog friendly, so the office is dog friendly. But my dog is too hyper, so my dog doesn’t come in. But Jen Grable is our creative director and she had to go out for a meeting that day when I had Murphy in my office crying. Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
How many dogs on a given day show up?
Kate Rogers:
There’s usually three dogs here regularly.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Basil, Murphy and Wanda.
Scott Cowan:
Basil, Murphy and Wanda. I love the names that we give our animals. Yeah, you would probably never, I don’t know, would you. Would you, you know, would you name your. I mean, Basil? Probably not, because I’m thinking the herb. But I also, I mean, my dog’s name is Bosley. I mean, you know, unless I wanted my child to grow up in the, you know, being a servant, as a butler maybe.
Kate Rogers:
Right.
Scott Cowan:
But.
Kate Rogers:
Well, my dog’s name is Kevin, so.
Scott Cowan:
Kevin. All right, well, but see, that’s such a human name. And what I mean by that is that’s so funny to be Kevin trying to think. Anyway, I digress because it’s just. I mean, I love the fact that you guys have a dog. A dog friendly office, though. I think that’s, that’s absolutely. You know, if I was looking for work, that would be a criteria that I would.
Scott Cowan:
If I have to go into the office, if in this new day and age of, you know, remote, if I had to be in an office. Is it dog friendly? Pet friendly? Yes. Great. I’d like that idea. Okay, so you wear all these hats. When you were at the Denver Institute, did you think you’d be wearing all these hats?
Kate Rogers:
No. No. I. I thought. Felt that I wanted to be on the editorial side of publishing, but when you choose to go elsewhere than New York, you kind of get your foot in the door however you can. So I actually started out on the sales and marketing side, but ultimately I. That’s worked out for me because with the sales and marketing background it makes as an acquisitions editor, it makes you stronger at acquiring and developing projects because you have a better understanding of the end game.
Scott Cowan:
I would like. I hope what I’m about to ask you you can agree to do, because I, for me personally, I think it would be. I think it’s. I’m very curious about this. So here’s the. Here’s the pitch. I would like you to walk me through a theoretical. The process of.
Scott Cowan:
I’m going to say this. Somebody pitches an idea, it’s looked at by Mountaineers Books, it lands on your desk, you pick it up and you go, this has potential. I would like to know from. It has potential to published kind of the big pieces of that timeline.
Kate Rogers:
Well, I mean, there are many, many variables here.
Scott Cowan:
I do understand. Let me give you this. This is going to be optimal for you as the editor in chief. What would be an optimal process for this to go through? How’s that? Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Okay. Okay. Well, the optimal. Is that this, a theoretical proposal, book project, meets our mission, our nonprofit mission, in a compelling way, and then also has the potential to do well in our different sales channels, which is traditional book, bookstore, the outdoor space, outdoor stores, parks and public lands channels. National parks and public lands are a big area for us. And then also the gift arena, which is broad and varied. So at least a few. A few channels in there, the project will sell well.
Kate Rogers:
The author is dynamic and has a strong platform, whether that’s a podcast or social media or previous publishing credentials. They are somebody who draws fans and readers and knows how to promote and maybe has strong media connections, and then they’re a good writer.
Scott Cowan:
You know, she’s almost added that at the end.
Kate Rogers:
Well, you know, it’s. In this day and age, you want good content, you want good writing. It doesn’t. It doesn’t always go together. You know, sometimes you have really good content, but it needs some heavy lifting to get it into a publishable form.
Scott Cowan:
Okay, that makes sense.
Kate Rogers:
But. So I take that proposal to our acquisitions group here, which is comprised of our publisher, who is also the cfo and the sales and marketing team and other editors. And we evaluate, we discuss the pros and cons. And because it hits all these marks that I mentioned before, it gets a green light. The other thing that we have to do right up front is create a P and L profit and loss statement for that title. So we have to estimate the potential costs we’re going to put into it. We have to estimate what we think we might sell in each of the first three years. We have to estimate what we think we can price it at.
Kate Rogers:
You know, we have to estimate what editing needs it’s going to have, what artwork, production, all of that. So that budget lives with that title as it then moves through the process.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
And that budget also informs what we can offer the author in terms of advance and royalty.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
And so we make them an offer that is fair and compensating the creator in a. In a reasonable way, and they accept it. And then we negotiate the contract, okay. Which is very standard, ours is for the industry. And then maybe they deliver a completed manuscript in, in about a year or two, maybe less, maybe more. I think the record is 11 years that I waited for something, but it was worth it in the end.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
And, you know, and then there’s some of our smaller guidebooks. The author might be able to pound that out in six months. You know, it just depends.
Scott Cowan:
Okay, let me. I got. Okay, I’ve got a couple of questions. Yeah, obviously you might have to talk about the 11 year thing in a second, but one thing. So you. What’s the timeline there between you? I’ll say you becoming aware of this potential, sitting down with. Within. Within Mountaineers, mocking up projections, whether it, whether it’s a good fit for all these pieces that have to go in, and then saying to potential author, hi, we like what you, what you’re doing.
Scott Cowan:
We’d like to make you an offer.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
So from that, how long, how fast does your organization work? I guess is what I’m trying to say.
Kate Rogers:
Well, I mean, the Mountaineers books, the book side of the organization is around 20 people. And you know, it’s really. As far as the terms of the contract they offer, it’s really, it’s informed by the budget. And then the publisher, director of sales and marketing and myself sort of agree on, you know, are we willing to. Does this have such great potential that we’re willing to push beyond our normal terms? And it also depends on how competitive it is, is it being considered by other publishers. But that piece happens fairly quickly. I mean, if we discuss A proposal, and we all agree we want to move forward with it. I will.
Kate Rogers:
That author or the agent will have an offer within a week to 10 days.
Scott Cowan:
Oh, that’s very quick. Okay.
Kate Rogers:
That’s normal. That’s pretty normal.
Scott Cowan:
But that seems very quick. All right.
Kate Rogers:
It’s the things that come before and the things that come after that take more time.
Scott Cowan:
Well, okay. Thank you for leading me to 11 years. Can you.
Kate Rogers:
I can tell you, okay.
Scott Cowan:
Why what you said it was worth it. So this is. We’re going to have a good outcome here. But 11 years seems like a really long period of time.
Kate Rogers:
It’s not unusual in terms of the larger publishing industry, actually. But for this, it was more just. So there’s a very famous snowboarder, Jeremy Jones, who’s also the founder of Protect Our Winters and Jones Snowboards. And he and I started talking and it took 11 years to have those conversations actually for become a book. And it was only. It was more. Not so much that he needed all that time creatively, it was more that he needed all that time because he’s so busy.
Scott Cowan:
Right. Okay.
Kate Rogers:
And it was actually the pandemic that allowed it to finally come to fruition because he couldn’t travel. And so he had. He buckled down and started pounding things out. And the result is the art of Srapenism. And it’s a beautiful. It’s not even really just a guidebook, although it is that. But it’s also sort of Jeremy’s life lessons about how you can be in the mountains and move through mountains in a safe way, but also a respectful way. It’s.
Kate Rogers:
It’s. There’s a lot. There’s a lot of layers to it.
Scott Cowan:
Okay. All right.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah. So it’s. And that’s why it was worth it.
Scott Cowan:
Right. So you’ve given me kind of the long version 11. You’ve given me the shortest version. What’s a. You know, is there an average that you expect?
Kate Rogers:
Yeah, I mean, I, you know, most. Most authors need one to three years, I would say.
Scott Cowan:
So after that period of time. Yeah, they hand you a manuscript. Okay. I’m going to assume this is a reasonably well written manuscript, not one that needs a lot of heavy lifting. Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
How long is it in editorial and design and all of that?
Kate Rogers:
Once we have a manuscript in hand ready to go, the process, really, regardless of what levels of editing it needs, the shortest period is nine months. But our schedules typically build out roughly 18 months.
Scott Cowan:
Okay. So we got.
Kate Rogers:
For that. And that’s for various types of editing. You know, it does depend whether it needs a development editing first, then a copy edit. But that’s also then for the design process, the layout and paging process, you know, and there’s lots of cross checks and, you know, back and forth, back and forth. And then printing. If it’s printing overseas, you have to allow three to four months for that. If you’re printing domestically, it’s shorter period, more like six to eight weeks. But you still have to factor in that time and the shipping time and then the time that sales and marketing needs to get it in the warehouse.
Kate Rogers:
But then we have to turn it around and get it distributed and sort of into the system before you want to start promoting it.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah, you have domestic printing, you have foreign printing. Is there kind of a rule of thumb? What a book. I have a hunch what you might say, but I’m probably wrong. Well, I’ll tell you what my hunch is. I’m thinking that maybe more. I’m going to say coffee table books, the Woodpecker Book. That is okay. Visually, it’s stunning.
Kate Rogers:
Stunning. Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
Versus a guidebook that is not designed for the. It’s totally different purpose here. Right. I’m gonna. My guess is that the. I’m gonna second guess myself, but I’ll go on record and I’m gonna say like the, the, the Woodpecker book probably was printed domestically. And she’s shaking her head now, everybody, she’s gonna. She’s gonna let me hang myself.
Scott Cowan:
Okay, so do I have it backwards?
Kate Rogers:
Is it so domestic printing? I mean, it. You can print. Most domestic printing is either black and white or sort of lower quality color. Most high quality color printing is overseas, whether that’s in Asia or, you know, there’s a lot of really high quality art printing in Europe. You know, there’s printing all over. And there’s some really excellent printers in Canada who do actually some really beautiful color, high quality color work. But it comes down to cost and also materials. You know, with domestic printers, it can be hard to source 100% recycled materials or FSC materials, and the pricing can be higher.
Kate Rogers:
Even with tariffs that we’re experiencing right now. Printing overseas tends to be significantly less expensive, even if you’re using 100% FSC materials.
Scott Cowan:
What is FSC?
Kate Rogers:
Forest Certified, Forest stewardship certified. It’s an international recognition. Okay, but. And soy vegetable inks, you know, those kinds of green materials are important to us. We do like to print domestically. It’s obviously a smaller carbon footprint in terms of shipping and freight. But there’s. It’s Especially for smaller presses, it’s hard to get reasonable costs and get the quality materials that you want.
Kate Rogers:
And the printing industry domestically has shrunk quite a bit in the last 10 years.
Scott Cowan:
I’m sure that you have tools, but question I have is when you send something out to be printed that you want, you’re looking for a very specific color. I mean, you want it to be beautiful. Let’s just define technically the word is beautiful. How do you know that the product that you’re going to be receiving back is printed and delivers what your expectations are? I mean, because our computer monitors, like, for example, computer monitors are what looks red on my monitor, might look orange on your monitor type thing. How do you handle that quality?
Kate Rogers:
Well, you get proofs, you get color proofs that you review and markup. And usually we do one or two passes, sometimes more, depending on the book and its needs. But we, we work with a print broker who has relationships with all these printers. And, you know, if, if you’re in the industry, you know, you, you get to know who the printers are and you know, what levels of quality they can provide and, you know, you end up having long term relationships with many of them too. So you return to the same printers again and again and again. Yeah, so that makes sense.
Scott Cowan:
All right.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
All right. So it could be realistically, from concept, you know, to product in the bookstore. Three years easy. I mean, you know, maybe 11 or 12, but it could be three.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
All right. In today’s world, where everything seems like, you know, instant gratification, like, check my phone and you know, you know, oh, look, I can’t be. Three years seems like a monumental amount of time.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
You’re working on. Yeah. Just like. So at any given moment, somewhere in your pipeline, you’ve got between 90 and 120 projects in some stage of development.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah, potentially. Yeah. I mean, it’s, I mean, you’re releasing.
Scott Cowan:
30 or 40 in 2026, let’s say. Right.
Kate Rogers:
I mean, I’m looking right now, you know, I have books signed already that will be coming out in fall 28, spring 29.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
And you know, and that’s what we’re signing now. One of my colleague, Emily, she and I, the books that we’re signing now are for 28 and beyond.
Scott Cowan:
How this has nothing to do with your. Well, it does have something to do with your job, but how do you keep the author engaged?
Kate Rogers:
Well, I mean. No, that’s a good question. It’s, it can be hard for authors sometimes. You know, they want, they Have a book, they have a manuscript all complete and they want to publish it right away.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah.
Kate Rogers:
And you know, I, you know, if someone brought me a project today and said, well, I want to publish it next year and you know, I said, well, we can’t, you know, first of all, there’s not time for all the processes. But also my, my lists are full. I don’t have space for you. I mean, it’s essentially what it is. Right. You know, and, and so it’s, you know, it’s, that is a challenge. And you know, and I think it’s. Why not.
Kate Rogers:
Not the sole reason, but it’s certainly one reason why some people choose to self publish and I totally get that. And the ability to self publish is, you know, easier now and you can get higher quality and you can do more than you used to be able to. So it, it’s a, it’s a truly viable option. Well, I think for writers these days.
Scott Cowan:
Going back to when I was much younger than I am now.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
The idea of I’m self. If you said, oh, I’m self published, that was code for it’s horrible.
Kate Rogers:
Right. That’s no longer true. You know, I think. And you can see that because there’s lots of self published authors who then get picked up by, you know, some of the bigger houses. Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
But even just the technology of delivering a book and what, and what we call a book, you know, whether it be an epub of some sort.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
You know, we still call those books and I don’t think they are. But that’s neither here nor there.
Kate Rogers:
They are.
Scott Cowan:
Well, but yeah, okay, they are, you’re right. But it’s, you know, to me it’s a fancy PDF. I mean. Okay, that’s just me. All right, so you have a, I mean you really, you as an individual within the organization, you have a lot of moving parts.
Kate Rogers:
There are a lot of moving parts. Yes.
Scott Cowan:
Which sounds awesome to me versus saying you just did one thing every five days a week that would get for me would be very monotonous.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah, I mean like any job, there’s good days and bad days and pros and cons.
Scott Cowan:
In all your years of doing this without naming names, you can name names if you want to. I’m not expecting you to. Do you got any funny, interesting, quirky, you’ll never believe this happened type of stories dealing with authors.
Kate Rogers:
Oh yes. Definitely would not name names.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah, I’m not trying to get you to name names. I’m just.
Kate Rogers:
No, no, no. Already be in trouble for calling Out, Jeremy. Probably. But I did have. This is a long time ago and I was not here at Mountaineers, but I had a guidebook that the manuscript was due. It was a dining guide, a restaurant guide, and the author had assured me multiple times that things were on track and then on. On the due date. Nope, just don’t have it.
Kate Rogers:
Nothing? No, nothing.
Scott Cowan:
Oh.
Kate Rogers:
And. And so, yeah, I. Oh, gosh, I can’t remember now. We ended up just kind of the staff sort of crowdsourcing the information and making it ourselves.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
But yeah, so, you know, I can. I deal with delays all the time, either on the author’s part or on our part. And as long as I know in advance, it’s easy, you know, and I’m used to it. But. But when you don’t tell me and it. It’s a surprise, that’s. That’s the hard part. Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
I always ask my kids, if you’re going to get in trouble, just tell me. Don’t. Don’t blindside me.
Kate Rogers:
Right, Right.
Scott Cowan:
My son, this. I’ll share the story because I’m made fun of it before, he was in middle school and he moved in with me and moved back. You know, I was living in Tacoma at that time and there was a parent teacher conference at the end of the year and I met with his band instructor and he’s like, I’m just curious. You haven’t paid the fee. I go, what fear are you talking about? Well, your son was sword fighting with trombone parts in the band room. And I just turn and I look at him and he’s like, oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you, Dad.
Kate Rogers:
I forgot to tell you.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah, just don’t blindside me. I mean, I was like, oh my gosh, had he told me, you know, I wouldn’t have been happy. But we could have, you know, I wouldn’t have. Anyway, so. I get it. What? Earlier on you mentioned the potential distribution channels. Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah, sales channels.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah, yeah, sales channels. Where’s Mountaineer Books thriving right now?
Kate Rogers:
Well, thriving, I would say, you know, we’re. We’re not thriving right now in the public lands channels because of federal policies.
Scott Cowan:
All right.
Kate Rogers:
And which affect us in that. In that channel. And there has been some contraction in the outdoor industry and the outdoor retail channels where, you know, where we have seen some growth and are doing well right now would be in the broad gift arena, which can be anything. You know, it could be like, you know how grocery stores, like higher end grocery stores have gift sections in some of their aisles or it can be A garden nursery or, you know, art and framing shop. You know, any sort of non bookstore, non outdoor retail that carries books as a mix, part of their mix of products. That’s a strong area for us right now.
Scott Cowan:
One of the questions I like to ask authors is, do you remember when you first saw your book in the Wild? Right.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
And there’s an author in Seattle, his name is Brad Holden, and he writes. Are you familiar? Maybe you are.
Kate Rogers:
Sounds familiar.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah, he writes. He’s written several books on kind of Seattle history and prohibition and all this.
Kate Rogers:
Okay.
Scott Cowan:
And so I’m talking to him and I said, so, Brad, you know, let’s go back. Where did you. What was it like when you saw your book? Because to me, this would be exciting. That’s my book. It’s like it’s mine. He goes, yeah, the first time I saw my book, I was in Bartel Drugs. And I just was like, well, first off, you know, Bartels is no more.
Kate Rogers:
Right, right.
Scott Cowan:
But Bartels back in the day used to have a drug.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
An acceptable level for a drugstore. An amazing book.
Kate Rogers:
No, no, they would carry. They had carried a nice mix of regional titles.
Scott Cowan:
Right. And he saw his book for the first time in the Wild at a. Bartel’s books.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
So I gotta, you know. You know. So you’re saying Mountaineers in non traditional places is good. When I think of Mountaineers, because I only think about Washington state. I’m very. Just myopic in that. And I also, what I believe to be an accurate statement is that in Washington state, mostly Puget Sound, we read more books per capita than most of the United States. Where.
Scott Cowan:
The Washington state.
Kate Rogers:
That’s probably true. I haven’t looked at that figure in a while.
Scott Cowan:
And then there was that always that depressing stat that most people don’t read a book after they get out of school, which is just baffling to me.
Kate Rogers:
Okay.
Scott Cowan:
But so I don’t ever really look at your. Your titles outside of Washington. Okay. But as I’m thumbing through this today, I realize that I’m missing out on a lot. Yes, a lot. And so I’m gonna. I’m gonna break my own rule and ask where. Because I just think of Mountaineers, the organization just in general, is a.
Scott Cowan:
Is a. Is a Washington thing. And I’m wrong. Where else?
Kate Rogers:
You’re partly right.
Scott Cowan:
Well, but it’s. It.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
Okay. Where else are Mountaineer books popular in the United States?
Kate Rogers:
Yeah, I mean, our books are available anywhere. And beyond the Pacific Northwest, our two other most popular regions are probably the Rockies and New England, but we also really. The entire west coast, you know, not just the Northwest, but California as well. Yeah. We do a lot in Alaska. I mean, we have books for all parts of the country, but those regions are where we have the most content and where a lot of our authors are based on. And so, you know, more recently we have added more authors who are based in the Southeast, and that’s kind of, that’s exciting for us.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
To, to have a little bit more going on in that part of the country. So. Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
And you, you keep, you keep, you mentioned, you don’t, you mentioned you’re a smaller press and you’re a nonprofit press. Okay, how. Okay, so my book is done. It’s been three years. It’s back from the printer. It’s in the warehouse in Seattle.
Kate Rogers:
Yep.
Scott Cowan:
Now we want to get it to stores. How, what’s that process? Like, how do you determine? Do I get if I was an author or, you know, an author? Do we get an input to say, hey, I want you to try to put it here, or do you say, based on our experience, this title will do well in these channels?
Kate Rogers:
Well, the person who decides where it goes are. It’s the buyers in all of these channels. You know, all we can do is put our books in front of them.
Scott Cowan:
Right.
Kate Rogers:
You know, we can’t really force them to purchase anything.
Scott Cowan:
Come on, you can, you can, you can tell.
Kate Rogers:
Okay, so we have, we have in house sales team of three and they. Darrell is our director of sales and marketing and he deals with the big national accounts like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, rei, and so he’ll present to those buyers. He also oversees. We have commissioned sales reps who serve the book trade, the outdoor trade, and then gift representatives. And then we also have an in house sales rep, Madison, who works with all the public lands and national park accounts and presents to them and reaches out to them. So she’s the one that if we have a book about Yosemite, she gets in touch with all the Yosemite locations and buyers. And, and so there’s that. And then Allison is our customer service manager who deals with all different accounts.
Kate Rogers:
And so, you know, we are certainly highlighting books to each of these different channels and buyers that we think will do best for them. And they have, you know, they have sales histories of similar titles or track records with our other books, or we have personal relationships with the different buyers. But that sales team, you know, is the one that’s having the contact with them. There’s also all the various Wholesalers and distributors around the country that carry our books.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
So. And then it’s up to the publicists and our marketing manager to try and get the word out. And we do a lot of events. We love doing author events and utilizing our authors as much as we possibly can and as they’re willing to do.
Scott Cowan:
Right.
Kate Rogers:
And, you know, because word of mouth, it doesn’t matter if you read print books or ebooks or listen to audiobooks. The number one way that people decide on what to read is usually a personal recommendation. Word of mouth. Recommendation. Book media is tough these days. You know, media landscape is really limited and fractured and it’s hard to get book coverage. So, you know, our team is very scrappy and does a lot of other. Other types of outreach.
Kate Rogers:
And like I said, many events, book festivals and gradually, you know, books get into our catalog. The catalog you have mails out to retail. List of. I forget how many. But across the country. And our reps, our sales reps, our commissioned reps are across the country. Okay. And.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah, well, you just, with what you just described, you just said something that I was glaringly obvious and I just didn’t connect the dots. Is also, is that just because this book is back, it’s in stock, doesn’t mean that Barnes and Noble or. Yeah, we’ll just say Barnes or Amazon. Well, Amazon will probably buy it any time of the year, but their book buyers are probably buying for seasons.
Kate Rogers:
They’re buying for seasons for regions. Yeah. I mean, all retailers, you know, book publishers are part of the retail environment, you know, and live and breathe, live and die, based on the ups and downs in the retail world, you know, and books are basically no different than any other type of product in that sense. Obviously, I think books have more value and meaning than, you know, a piece of clothing or whatever plastic gizmo you might be purchasing. But. Yeah, so a Barnes and Noble may not choose to stock something, but a consumer customer can walk into the store and order it, and then they can get it within 24 to 48 hours, either directly from us or from one of the wholesalers across the country.
Scott Cowan:
Wow. Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
So you’re, you’re in the retail space. Okay. You know, you’re from a. If we, if we go back out to an annual, we’re looking at the calendar now by month. Is your role fairly consistent? Or do you have, like, is September a really busy month? Or, you know, do you have peaks in.
Kate Rogers:
Well, for the sales and marketing team? Yeah, September, October, and the first half of November are crazy busy. In the lead up to the holidays and our distribution center team down in the warehouse, they’re. I mean, they’re cooking, you know, from, from basically from now until the end of the year, they’ll be non stop, you know, and then, you know, and then there’s a cycle in the spring where the sales marketing team are gearing up, especially with all our outdoor books for this summer season. On the editorial and production side, it’s more consistent. There’s less, there’s less up and down. We’re just kind of always moving through.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
There’s just a lot of moving parts here that, you know, as a reader, you don’t. At least I’ve never really contemplated.
Kate Rogers:
Right. Well, that goes back when you asked me at the beginning what is the one thing I wanted people to know when they’re holding a book in their hand. And we were talking about Mountaineers books, titles. But, but really, it’s true for any book you hold in your hand.
Scott Cowan:
Right. These are the impossible questions that I love to ask guests. And I’m going to preface this by what I’m going to ask you. I want your opinion, your personal opinion, not company opinion.
Kate Rogers:
Okay.
Scott Cowan:
What titles that aren’t released yet are you excited for that? You, as a, as a, as a reader are like, ooh, this is exciting. I’m thinking this is cool.
Kate Rogers:
Not released yet.
Scott Cowan:
Not released or just released? I mean, something new. What’s exciting to you right now? On the.
Kate Rogers:
Well, from the fall list, the catalog you have in your hand, there’s. Well, they’re all great. You mentioned Woodpecker. A Year in the Lives of North American Woodpeckers by Paul Bannock, the photographer Paul Bannock. It’s the fifth book I’ve done with Paul.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
And so that’s special to me, and I think it’s the best of our collaboration. And as you’ve seen, his photographs are astonishing.
Scott Cowan:
They are.
Kate Rogers:
And then also I like this fall list because there’s two other authors that I’ve had a long collaboration with besides Paul, and the next one is Molly Hashimoto and her Wildflowers of the West. She’s a beautiful artist, watercolor artist and wood blocks, among other media. And it’s the end of a trilogy. She did Birds of the West, Trees of the west, and now Wildflowers of the West. And they are beautiful. Art and a combination of art and natural history. Yeah, there’s trees.
Scott Cowan:
The other two are somewhere.
Kate Rogers:
Really a beautiful combination of personal experience, natural history and art. And in a similar vein, Jeremy Collins Different Jeremy. His book Eventually a Sequoia Stories of Art, Adventure and the Wisdom of Giants is another. It’s our second book collaboration of his own authored book. But he and I have worked on other calendars and other books that he’s illustrated together. And his book is essentially a graphic memoir of his artistic work and advocacy on behalf of different environmental, largely environmental issues around the world. But it’s a really compelling and immersive approach to telling those stories. So those are all super exciting.
Kate Rogers:
And then this coming spring we have two memoirs by two really well known through hikers. One is Heather Anderson, who is renowned for, for being the first woman to complete the triple crown of hiking in a single calendar year. And that’s hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the Appalachian Trail all within a consecutive 12 month period. And so this, her memoir, Farther is, it’s her third memoir with us and it’s about that effort.
Scott Cowan:
Wow. Okay.
Kate Rogers:
And then another through hiker and, and Heather and Derek Lugo, their friends. Derek is, he was, he, he published his first book, the Unlikely through Hiker. I had to look up what it was. He hiked the at with the Appalachian Trail with no experience and he’s, and you know, he was sort of, he’s black and had this amazing experience and then shared it in his first book and it just really caught people. It’s extremely inspirational. And he’s since hiked the Continental Divide Trail and so we’re publishing his book called A Fabulous thru Hiker. And his, his trail name is Mr. Fabulous.
Scott Cowan:
Mr. Fabulous.
Kate Rogers:
And he, he has that name because he’s so full of joy and positivity and I mean he just lights up a room and I think his book is going to have that same effect.
Scott Cowan:
Okay, so.
Kate Rogers:
And there are. Well, I mean I could, I could name a few others on the coming spring list that are pretty exciting, but I could do that all day long.
Scott Cowan:
Right. Okay, well, we’re gonna, we’re gonna wrap this up because you’ve got to get back to being editor in chief. Why? That title just, it, it amuses me. I really genuinely. It just, I think is a great. Not that. And that’s not the title that you picked for yourself. I just think Editor in chief just sounds, I don’t know, it’s.
Kate Rogers:
Sounds very important.
Scott Cowan:
It does. Somehow I’m thinking like Superman somehow. I don’t know why there’s this, there’s this like 40s and 50s mental image I have, but let’s completely change gears when you’re not editor in Chief, what do you like to do?
Kate Rogers:
Well, probably not surprising. I like to read really for pleasure.
Scott Cowan:
So what do you like? What do you read for pleasure?
Kate Rogers:
For pleasure. I read a lot of fiction and I do read a lot of nonfiction, too. And the intersection with the books we publish here is probably sort of nature, ecology, a little bit of outdoor travel, adventure. But I do read a lot of fiction as well, and I love to cook and garden and those kinds of activities. Outdoors wise, I like to hike and sail, and my husband and I like to road trip. And just this year we bought a used VW Vanagon Weekender.
Scott Cowan:
A real Vanagon.
Kate Rogers:
Like it’s the weekender model. Yes. 2003. It was the last.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Model. It was the last year that they exported them to the US and so it has a pop top, but it doesn’t have. There’s no kitchen or anything.
Scott Cowan:
Kitchen.
Kate Rogers:
We didn’t need any of that infrastructure. We, you know, we have good camping bean stove and all that stuff. So we wanted room for our dog.
Scott Cowan:
Right, right. Okay.
Kate Rogers:
But I love to do that and travel in general.
Scott Cowan:
So where have you taken, where have you taken the Vanagon so far?
Kate Rogers:
Well, we just got it this summer, and then our summer sort of got sidetracked by some family stuff on. So far we’ve only taken it out to the Olympic Peninsula, but we have plans. We have lots of plans.
Scott Cowan:
What’s on that? I don’t want to call it a bucket list, but where do you want to take this?
Kate Rogers:
My husband has family in Northern California, and we’ve done that road trip before, but this time we want to do it. And there’s an area of the Sierra south of Lassen, but north of sort of the Grass Valley, Nevada City area that we are actually north of Lassen, south of Shasta, but around Lassen on both sides, north and south of Lassen, and we’ve been through there, but haven’t camped or spent time there. So we’d like to do that.
Scott Cowan:
I, I. Vanagon’s are very, very cool. And are you familiar? There’s that. Why can’t I think of the name of the company that they, they re. There’s one down in Soto.
Kate Rogers:
Peace. Peace Vans, I think. Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
Thank. Yeah, that’s place.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
Harley was the owner long, long time ago. Early on I interviewed him and.
Kate Rogers:
Okay.
Scott Cowan:
And he, you know, and they were working directly with Mercedes to convert Mercedes campers. And then, you know, he was. They were renting. They still do. They rent Vanagans. You can rent.
Kate Rogers:
They rent them And. Yeah. And do conversions. I think that’s what they’re called.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah. Peace sounds. Yeah. That is who is who I was thinking of. And it’s just, you know, what an interesting business model to keep these finicky. Nobody buys a Volkswagen because they’re.
Kate Rogers:
My husband is very handy.
Scott Cowan:
So very good to know that. I had a 1980 Vanagon Westfalia and okay. It was. I’m not handy. It and I parted ways pretty fast. All right. So I always ask my guests these follow up question. So.
Kate Rogers:
Okay.
Scott Cowan:
I am a coffee nut. And you live in a city that has no reputation at all for coffee.
Kate Rogers:
Right?
Scott Cowan:
Yeah. Where’s a great place for coffee?
Kate Rogers:
Obviously so many. I live in the Ballard area and so in the Crown Hill Ballard area is a little place called Cafe Bambino.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
And I love the name. It’s fun to say.
Scott Cowan:
Right.
Kate Rogers:
And they have this great sort of Buddha baby statue on top of the building. That is fun. And they. It’s a sort of a walk up window. But then they have a covered patio with heaters and little sparkly lights and it’s just a very neighborhoody but good coffee. Baked goods. Solid.
Scott Cowan:
What’s your coffee order typically?
Kate Rogers:
Tall Americano with room for cream. Okay. Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
Isn’t it funny that we use the word tall for the smallest size that we can.12 ounce.
Kate Rogers:
If I get a 16 ounce then I want a triple shot.
Scott Cowan:
Okay. So I’m kind of a. I love coffee and I just. Black coffee is like.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
Wonderful. I just, you know. And there’s so many interesting coffee roasters in the Seattle area.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
Okay. Lunch though. Lunch is a casual meal. Where’s a great place for lunch and it can be around. Well, does harbor island have any good lunch place? Okay. So I didn’t think so. It’s been years since I worked there in the area and there wasn’t anything back in the day.
Kate Rogers:
No, no. You have to go into West Seattle or down to Sodo or Georgetown.
Scott Cowan:
Where do you run for lunch when you’re work? If you guys are say two or three of you are going to go out to lunch. Okay. It’s a publisher’s lunch, you know.
Kate Rogers:
Oh my goodness.
Scott Cowan:
Where would you go?
Kate Rogers:
Well, Luna Park Cafe would be sort of an easy. It’s right. You know, it’s been around forever. Yeah. And it hasn’t changed much.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
It changed a little bit post pandemic. But there’s also now. I can’t think of the name of it. Down in Georgetown is a fantastic. A Mexican restaurant that we all Love. And I’d have to google it to.
Scott Cowan:
Tell you I’m drawing a blank what it’s called anyway. Okay.
Kate Rogers:
I mean I can try and find it, but yeah, those are two.
Scott Cowan:
Okay, how about weekend and you’re up in the Ballard area. What’s happening for lunch up in Ballard?
Kate Rogers:
I like a place, it’s called Local Tide in Fremont Adjacent. Ballard Adjacent. It’s. They’ve really great fried fish sandwich, but they also do this rockfish banh Mi sandwich that I really like and a shrimp toast.
Scott Cowan:
Okay.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah, it’s just very, you know, seafood.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah.
Kate Rogers:
So very Seattle.
Scott Cowan:
I’ll have to add that to my list of my ever growing list of places to try when I visit visit places. Okay, I have one last question for you, but before I ask the final question. What didn’t we cover that we should have?
Kate Rogers:
I think only that independent publishing in the US is shrinking rapidly. And it. If you’re a book lover, you should be aware of that. And you know, usually we just get books. We don’t really pay attention to who the publisher is. And that’s fine and I get that. But the only way to retain diverse and compelling and independent and interesting stories and topics is to celebrate and elevate independent media of any kind. But you know, I’m here to talk about books and we are a non profit and book sales do comprise the bulk of our revenue.
Kate Rogers:
But for us to keep bringing extraordinary voices in the natural about the natural world to print, you know, we can also use support from donors.
Scott Cowan:
Okay. I can’t believe I forgot this. This is bad on my part, but I’m not gonna let you off the hook this easy.
Kate Rogers:
Okay.
Scott Cowan:
Mountaineer books. But you have Skipstone and Braided River.
Kate Rogers:
Yeah, why? Those are the two.
Scott Cowan:
Why do we have imprints? I don’t understand.
Kate Rogers:
Publishers have imprints and you know, top level, we are an outdoor education, outdoor recreation and conservation publisher. But we have two imprints. Braided Rver represents larger format photography driven books that are completely funded by outside sources and are typically tied to some environmental conservation advocacy. And that might be something immediate or I guess immediate, but yeah, like pending legislation. Like right now we have a book called Big river about the Columbia river. And it’s tied to the fact that there are, you know, they’re renegotiating the treaty rights between Canada, the US the tribes for that waterway. So you know, there are books that grassroots groups can often use in advocacy and then Skipstone, you know, when, if you’re out on the trail, you have a certain ethic, you do certain things. But what about when you come home? How do your.
Kate Rogers:
The aspects of your outdoor life translate to your home life? And also, how can we celebrate the outdoors and have it not be, oh, you know, I did this climb, or I did this hike, or I hiked the pct? You know, it’s equally valid to go to your city park and look for birds, to immerse yourself in nature in a lot of different ways, and to look at nature, wilderness, the outdoors through myriad lenses. And so Skipstone is more about that.
Scott Cowan:
I wish I would have asked that earlier in the conversation. No, no, I’m glad I caught myself. All right, you agreed to play along. Final question. You promised me you’d answer. Okay. It’s a very straightforward, simple question. We’ll see how easy it is for you to answer.
Kate Rogers:
Okay.
Scott Cowan:
Cake or piece? And why?
Kate Rogers:
Neither.
Scott Cowan:
Ooh, really?
Kate Rogers:
Yeah.
Scott Cowan:
Really?
Kate Rogers:
Well, first of all, I like salt more than sweet, but no dark chocolate. Piece of dark chocolate.
Scott Cowan:
Okay. I’ve asked this question two, 200 times plus. Yeah, I think you’re the only person to say neither. It doesn’t mean that somebody. No, no, no, no, no, no. This is interesting to me. This is not. It’s not.
Scott Cowan:
There’s no wrong answer here.
Kate Rogers:
Okay. I mean, if it was a dense, flourless chocolate cake with no frosting, then, yeah, cake, but.
Scott Cowan:
Okay, so I’m gonna have to put you in the camp camp cake because.
Kate Rogers:
Put me in camp cake.
Scott Cowan:
You’re in camp cake because you just described the cake. Dense, flourless, no frosting. That’s fine. There is no wrong answer. It’s. For me, it’s just the amusement of watching the person typically squirm as they decide to pick this. Some people are like, it’s impossible. Other people are adamant, kind of like you were that you’re.
Scott Cowan:
You’re salt, not sweet. And so that was interesting, but I don’t think anybody’s ever tried to say neither. So kudos to you for being original.
Kate Rogers:
Thank you.
Scott Cowan:
I really appreciate you sitting down with me. I really appreciate the opportunity that I’ve had in the past to interview authors that are published by Mountaineer Books. Your staff has been amazing to work with, so kudos to them. They put up with me, so I’m sorry.
Kate Rogers:
They put up with me, too. Okay.
Scott Cowan:
All right, well, I’m sorry. I can only apologize for me. You got to own your own. But no. And the thing is, I will say this, is that every book that has been provided to me, I have. I can’t say I’ve read them. Cover to cover. But I can say I honestly have read parts of every book, if not all of the books.
Scott Cowan:
And I’m always, even if it’s not a topic, that’s something I would go to the bookstore and pick off the shelf.
Kate Rogers:
Right.
Scott Cowan:
And I will say unilaterally, every book has been interesting and in some way delightful to hold and review. I really like what you guys are doing. And so I hope, I hope that the future is vibrant for your organization because I think we need this, you know.
Kate Rogers:
And so thank you. Thank you for saying that. Thank you for having me. And thank you for having our authors and being, being so supportive of their work, because that’s important.
Scott Cowan:
Yeah. And I’ve had some interesting conversations with some of your authors. I mean, you’ve got some characters that are writing content and they’ve been lovely. I mean, they really have. And so, anyway, well, thank you again for your time. I really appreciate it.
Kate Rogers:
Thank you. Okay.
