Canongate Books (trading as Canongate) is an independent publishing firm based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. It is named after the Canongate area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the Booker Prizewinner '' Life of Pi''. Canongate was named the British Book Awards Publisher of the Year in 2003 and 2009.

Origins

Canongate was founded in 1973 by Stephanie Wolfe Murray and her husband Angus Wolfe Murray. Originally a speciality press focusing on Scottish-interest books, generally with small print runs, its most major author was

Alasdair Gray Alasdair James Gray (28 December 1934 – 29 December 2019) was a Scottish writer and artist. His first novel, ''Lanark: A Life in Four Books, Lanark'' (1981), is seen as a landmark of Scottish fiction. He published novels, short stories, plays ...

. In 1994 it was purchased from the receiver in a management buyout led by Jamie Byng, using funds provided by his stepfather

Christopher Bland Sir Francis Christopher Buchan Bland (29 May 1938 – 28 January 2017) was a British businessman and politician. He was deputy chairman of the Independent Television Authority (1972), which was renamed the Independent Broadcasting Authority in t ...

and his father-in-law Charlie McVeigh, and began to publish more general works, including the '' Pocket Canons'' editions of books of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

, as well as the '' Payback Press'' and '' Rebel Inc.'' imprints. Byng is now the Publisher and Managing Director of the company. In June 2010 it was announced that a "living archive" of Canongate Books was to be established at the

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

in collaboration with the University's Archive Services, which will be used for teaching and research.

Partners and joint ventures

Canongate once had a sister company in Australia, Text Publishing; Canongate's majority interest was sold in 2011. It also has joint venture operations with the children's publisher Walker who will publish selected titles for their

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

list. Grove/Atlantic, Inc. publishes under the Canongate U.S. imprint, also under a joint venture arrangement. In March 2010, Canongate and Dirtee Stank announced a joint venture agreement to publish

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...

's memoir, although this agreement later fell through. Canongate is part of the Independent Alliance, a global alliance of 10 UK publishers and their international publishing partners. In 2009, the Alliance was the UK's fifth largest publisher. Enhanced Editions and Canongate also work in partnership in the production of selected books enhanced for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The titles that have been released are: '' Dreams From My Father'', '' The Audacity of Hope'', '' The Death of Bunny Munro'' and '' The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ''.

Notable authors and works

Before 1994

* '' Lanark: A Life in Four Books'' (1981) * ''A Life in Pictures'' (2010) Charles Palliser * '' The Quincunx'' (1989)

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

* ''

Trainspotting (novel) ''Trainspotting'' is the first novel by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh, first published in 1993. It takes the form of a collection of short stories, written in either Scots, Scottish English or British English, revolving around various resid ...

'' (1993), the original print run was published by Canongate.

Later

Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army int ...

* ''Julian Assange – the Unauthorised Autobiography'' (2011). Assange's autobiography was published without his consent, and Canongate and Assange gave differing accounts of the events surrounding publication. The Mighty Boosh * ''

The Mighty Book of Boosh ''The Mighty Book of Boosh'', known as ''The Pocket Book of Boosh'' in the paperback version, is a collection of original and archive material relating to The Mighty Boosh, published in 2008. The book contains original stories featuring popular ' ...

'' (2008) and '' The Pocket Book of Boosh'' (2009), a coffee-table style hardback and "pocket" edition of a tie-in to the

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; (born 21 May 1973) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' ...

(with

Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spanned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three which aired ...

member Dave Brown) * '' The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton'' (2011).

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, ...

* '' The Death of Bunny Munro'' (2009), the second novel by musician

, was announced in 2008. It was published in hardback, audiobook, ebook and iPhone application formats in September 2009.

David Eagleman David Eagleman (born April 25, 1971) is an American neuroscientist, author, and science communicator. He teaches neuroscience at Stanford University and is CEO and co-founder of Neosensory, a company that develops devices for sensory substitu ...

* '' Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives'' (2009), made famous by a Tweet from Stephen Fry and the subject of a live show by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...

. Michel Faber * ''

The Crimson Petal and the White ''The Crimson Petal and the White'' is a 2002 novel by Michel Faber set in Victorian England. The title is from an 1847 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson entitled " Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal", the opening line of which is "Now sleeps the crimso ...

'' (2002), a historical novel set in Victorian England. Faber followed this with a collection of stories, ''The Apple'' (2006).

Matt Haig Matt Haig (born 3 July 1975) is an English author and journalist. He has written both fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults, often in the speculative fiction genre. Early life Haig was born on 3 July 1975 in Sheffield. He went ...

* ''The Radleys'' (2010) Steven Hall * '' The Raw Shark Texts'' (2007) Miranda July * '' No One Belongs Here More Than You'' (2007) Ismail Kadare * '' The Ghost Rider'' * '' The Siege'' (2008) Yann Martel * '' Life of Pi'' (2001, Canongate edition 2002), the first Scottish-published book to win the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

or to sell a million copies in its first year. An illustrated hardback edition was published in 2007. * ''

Beatrice and Virgil ''Beatrice and Virgil'' is Canadian writer Yann Martel's third novel. First published in April 2010, it contains an allegorical tale about representations of the Holocaust. It tells the story of Henry, a novelist, who receives the manuscript of ...

'' (2010), an allegory of the Holocaust using a donkey named Beatrice and a howler monkey named Virgil. James Meek (author) * ''The People's Act of Love'' (2005), winner of the

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from th ...

Book of the Year and the Ondaatje Prize.

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

* '' Dreams From My Father'' (1995, Canongate edition 2007) * '' The Audacity of Hope'' (2006, Canongate edition 2007) was acquired after a series of emails between Byng and then-Senator Obama and his team. * ''

Change We Can Believe In Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or chang ...

'' (2008, Canongate edition 2009)

* ''The Dizzee Rascal Story'' (2010) David Shrigley * ''What The Hell Are You Doing?'' (2010) David Simon * '' Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets'' (1991, Canongate edition 2008) * '' The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood'' (1997, Canongate edition 2009) Martin C. Strong * ''The Great Rock Discography, 1st ed.'' (1994) * ''The Great Rock Discography, 2nd ed.'' (1995) * ''The Great Rock Discography, 3rd ed.'' (1996) * ''The Great Rock Discography, 4th ed.'' (1998) * ''The Great Rock Discography, 5th ed.'' (2000) * ''The Great Rock Discography, 6th ed.'' (2002) * ''The Great Rock Discography, 7th ed.'' (2004) * ''The Great Metal Discography, 1st ed.'' (1998) * ''The Great Metal Discography, 2nd ed.'' (2002) * ''The Wee Rock Discography'' (1996) * ''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'' (1999) * ''The Great Indie Discography, 2nd ed.'' (2003) * ''The Essential Rock Discography'' (2006) * ''Lights, Camera, Soundtracks'' (2008)

Scarlett Thomas Scarlett Thomas (born 5 July 1972 in Hammersmith) is an English author who writes contemporary postmodern fiction. She has published ten novels, including '' The End of Mr. Y'' and '' PopCo'', as well as the ''Worldquake'' series of children's ...

* '' The End of Mr. Y'' (2007) * '' PopCo'' (2004, Canongate edition 2009) * '' Our Tragic Universe'' (2010) Simon Tofield * ''

Simon's Cat ''Simon's Cat'' is a British animated web cartoon and book series written by Simon Tofield. It features a hungry cat who uses various tactics to get his owner to feed him. In January 2009, it was announced that ''Simon's Cat'' would be publi ...

'' (2009), the award-winning animation was published in book format in October 2009.

Canongate Myth Series The ''Canongate Myth Series'' is a series of novellas published by the independent Scottish publisher Canongate Books, in which ancient myths from various cultures are reimagined and rewritten. The project was conceived in 1999 by Jamie Byng, ow ...

In which contemporary authors re-imagine ancient myths from a variety of cultures * Karen Armstrong, '' A Short History of Myth'' (2005) *

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, ...

, ''

The Penelopiad ''The Penelopiad'' is a novella by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was published in 2005 as part of the first set of books in the '' Canongate Myth Series'' where contemporary authors rewrite ancient myths. In ''The Penelopiad'', Penelope rem ...

'' (2005) *

Jeanette Winterson Jeanette Winterson (born 27 August 1959) is an English writer. Her first book, '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', was a semi-autobiographical novel about a sensitive teenage girl rebelling against convention. Other novels explore gender pol ...

, ''

Weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity. Some standard textbooks define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weight as a scalar qua ...

'' (2005) * Michel Faber, '' The Fire Gospel (2008) * David Grossman, '' Lion's Honey'' (2006) * Alexander McCall Smith, '' Dream Angus'' (2006) * Victor Pelevin, '' The Helmet of Horror'' (2006) *

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 Au ...

, '' Girl Meets Boy'' (2007) * Su Tong, '' Binu and the Great Wall'' (2007) *

Salley Vickers Salley Vickers (born 1948) is a British novelist whose works include ''Miss Garnet's Angel'', ''Mr. Golightly's Holiday'', ''The Other Side of You'' and ''Where Three Roads Meet'', a retelling of the Oedipus myth to Sigmund Freud in the last mo ...

, ''

Where Three Roads Meet ''Where Three Roads Meet'' is a book of three metafictional novellas by American writer John Barth John Simmons Barth (; born May 27, 1930) is an American writer who is best known for his postmodern and metafictional fiction. His most highly ...

'' (2007) * Dubravka Ugresic, ''

Baba Yaga Laid an Egg Baba and similar words may refer to: Places * Baba mountain range, also known as ''Koh-i-Baba'', in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan * Baba Canton, a canton in Los Ríos Province, Ecuador * Baba, Iran, a village in Kurdistan Province * Baba, K ...

'' (2009) * Klas Ostergren, ''

The Hurricane Party ''The Hurricane Party'' ( sv, Orkanpartyt) is the eleventh novel by Swedish author Klas Östergren and was published in 2007. The English translation by Tiina Nunnally was published as part of the Canongate Myth Series The ''Canongate Myth Series ...

'' (2009) * Milton Hatoum, '' The Orphans of Eldorado'' (2010) *

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy '' His Dark Materials'' and '' The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'', a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, ''T ...

, '' The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'' (2010)

Prizes

* 2002: '' Life of Pi'' won the Booker Prize. * 2003: Canongate won Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards. * 2007: '' No One Belongs Here More Than You'' by Miranda July won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. * 2007: The illustrated edition of '' Life of Pi'' won a British Book Design and Production award in the Limited Edition and Fine Binding category. * 2008: '' The Boat'' by

Nam Le Nam Le (Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ''Lê Nam''; born 1978) is a Vietnamese Australian, Vietnamese-born Australian writer, who won the Dylan Thomas Prize for his book ''The Boat'', a collection of short stories. His stories have been publis ...

won the

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published w ...

. * 2009: '' Dreams From My Father'' by ''

'' won Biography of the Year at the British Book Awards. * 2009: Canongate won Publisher of the Year at the British Book Industry Awards. * 2009: Geoff Dyer's '' Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi'' won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. * 2009:

's '' The Boat'' won the Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards. * 2015: '' Beatlebone'' by Kevin Barry won the Goldsmiths Prize. * 2016: '' Solar Bones'' by Mike McCormack won the Goldsmiths Prize. * 2016: '' The Outrun'' by

Amy Liptrot Amy Liptrot is a Scottish journalist and author. She won the PEN Ackerley Prize 2017 and the Wainwright Prize 2016 for her memoir ''The Outrun''. Biography ''The Outrun'' describes her experience of returning to live in Orkney, where she grew up ...

won the

Wainwright Prize The Wainwright Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of general outdoors, nature and UK-based travel writing. In 2020 it was split into the Wainwright Prize for UK nature writing and the Wainwright Prize for writing on globa ...

.Sian Cain
"Wainwright prize goes to Amy Liptrot's 'searingly honest' The Outrun"
''The Guardian'', 5 August 2016.

References

External links

* {{University of Dundee, state=collapsed 1973 establishments in Scotland Publishing companies established in 1973 Book publishing companies of Scotland Companies based in Edinburgh Scottish literature

Origins

Partners and joint ventures

Notable authors and works

Before 1994

Later

Canongate Myth Series The ''Canongate Myth Series'' is a series of novellas published by the independent Scottish publisher Canongate Books, in which ancient myths from various cultures are reimagined and rewritten. The project was conceived in 1999 by Jamie Byng, ow ...

Prizes

See also

References

External links