Rider is an imprint of the international publishing group Random House but has a fascinating history of its own. The list has been at the forefront of inspirational publishing for over 100 years and today our authors include a broad range of exciting writers, from Booker Prize-winning Ben Okri (whose most recent novel, Starbook, has been much acclaimed), to the distinguished broadcaster Mark Tully, whose India: the Road Ahead looks at that country’s growing role in the world.

Rider has come a long way since the list's humble beginnings in Britain in 1908. In that year, William Rider & Son, who produced a curious mixture of trade journals, history, poetry and belle lettres, took over the occult publisher Philip Wellby. The Editorial Director of the new list was Ralph Shirley and, under his direction, Rider started publishing a collection of esoteric titles that was second-to-none. In 1910 the imprint published a work that has stood the test of time and that is still in stock today: the Rider Waite Tarot.

In the twenty-first century, Rider’s books and authors continue to reflect different ways of looking at life and its meaning, as well as what – or who – can inspire us to do things differently, whether in Britain or globally. We still include books on Eastern ways of thought such as Buddhism, and are fortunate to publish many of the best known names in this area: the Nobel Prize-winning Dalai Lama, Nobel nominee Thich Nhat Hanh, Sogyal Rinpoche and Jack Kornfield. We also publish titles by leading investigators of the paranormal, such as Raymond Moody and Colin Fry. And today increasing numbers of our authors, such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Aung San Suu Kyi and Shirin Ebadi, offer alternative ways of doing things on an international level.

Whatever the future holds, Rider will continue to be a bright light in uncertain times, publishing the books that reflect the concerns and hopes of its readers. True to the motto of the list, we are proud to be publishers of ‘new ideas for new ways of living’.