Pan Macmillan snares ‘Hermit of the Treig’ Ken Smith’s ‘fiercely unique’ memoir

Pan Macmillan has signed The Way of the Hermit: My Incredible 40 Years Living in the Wilderness by Ken Smith, known as the ‘Hermit of the Treig’.

Publishing director Sara Cywinski acquired world all language rights directly from the author, via documentary maker Lizzie MacKenzie and writer Will Millard. The memoir will be published in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audio in June 2023. Pan non-fiction editor Lydia Ramah will edit the project.

The synopsis reads: “Born and raised in Derbyshire, Ken Smith has spent the past 40 years in solitude in the Highlands, having turned his back on convention for a life led by the seasons and nature. His decision to live isolated and remote in Treig, known locally as ‘the lonely loch’, was born of a love of the natural world and a need to be free of the pressures and stresses of modern working life.

“Over the past four decades, Ken has built a sustainable cabin that he calls home: there is no electricity, gas or running water, and he grows vegetables and forages around the loch for his sustenance. Now in his seventies, and with the vulnerability of old age catching up with him, Ken is even more aware of the brevity and fragility of life, which is why he’s ready to embrace sharing his life story and the lessons he’s learnt along the way.”

Smith will be working alongside writer, presenter and expedition leader Will Millard to bring his story to the page. And Smith’s diaries – which he has kept for the past 40 years and in which he thinks there are more than two million words written down – will help bring the story to life. The book will also include “beautiful, stunning and never-before-seen” photos taken by Smith, “which perfectly capture his life and surroundings in Treig.”

Cywinski said: “It’s a privilege to be working with Ken on his compassionate and life-affirming, fiercely unique and humorous memoir that I am sure will resonate with readers of The Salt Path and H is for Hawk. His singular perspective on life and death, gained through a lifetime of learning from the land and the solitude he so enjoys, is fascinating and profound.”