Ultima Thule Press is Patrick Richardson’s publishing imprint. The name was chosen because it refers to a region believed by the ancient Greek explorer Pytheas to be the most far-off location in the northernmost, known world. The black swan was chosen because it is often associated with mystery and the unknown. After Pytheas’ travels in the fourth century BC, he recounted going to Thule in his now lost work, The Ocean. For millennia,  this was believed to have been Iceland or Greenland. However, since then the name has acquired a metaphorical meaning of a mythical, far away, unidentified place. This chimes with the author’s passionate desire, since his early twenties, to go ‘beyond’.

This began when, jolting by bus across the arid plains of Persia (present-day Iran) towards what appeared to be ever-receding mountain ranges, he realised he couldn’t wait to see what lay on the other side. Consequently,  he has spent decades exploring remote — from a European perspective — cultures ranging from Tibet and Mongolia, to the islands of the South Pacific, and to the heart of Africa.