Q&A with Derek Lamberton on innovative distribution & beautiful design

​Derek broke into the world of authoring and publishing in one of the most innovative ways I've ever seen: by building his own retail distribution network (outside of and separate from both the bookstores and Amazon).

​To do so, Derek developed direct relationships with cafes, museums, and design shops, eventually building a significant network for his own books, and then publishing other books and authors that could leverage it.

​All beautifully designed, printed, and package, Derek has worked in multiple form-factors, including books, maps, magazines, guides, and more. (An important topic, especially as design-heavy nonfiction continue to show breakout success!)

​Overall, this Q&A is a wonderful chance to chat with a fascinating character from the world of nonfiction.

​Derek's bio:

​I am a publisher, editor and writer; currently working on my first novel. My first editorial job was as the English editor of Kabul Weekly, a free bilingual newspaper in Afghanistan. Following this, I worked as a White House reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun, and as an editor and writer for National Geographic's website. I've written about architecture, art, food and politics for a variety of publications including the Financial Times Magazine, AnOther Magazine and Caffeine Magazine.

​In 2009, I founded Blue Crow Media, a successful publishing company, producing unique architecture maps of cities around the world. I studied Russian literature through MA level at UCL's SSEES.

​Regarding distribution, I started with the London's best coffee app in 2009/10?, segued into maps, selling them first at the cafes, then design shops, then bookshops, and now publish maps and calendars selling in museums and bookshops around the world.