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

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland. It is named after

the Canongate The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. David ...

area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

winning novel ''

Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. After a ...

'' (2001). Canongate was named the

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Na ...

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'' (1981), is seen as a landmark of Scottish fiction. He published novels, short stories, plays, poetry and translations, and ...

. In 1994, it was purchased from the receiver in a management buyout led by

Jamie Byng James Edmund Byng (born 27 June 1969) is a British publisher. He works for the independent publishing firm Canongate Books, where he is the CEO and publisher. Early life Byng grew up in the village of Abbots Worthy in Hampshire, England. T ...

, using funds provided by his stepfather Christopher Bland and his father-in-law Charlie McVeigh, and began to publish more general works, including the ''

Pocket Canons ''The Pocket Canons'' is the name of a series of small books, designed by Pentagram Partner, Angus Hyland, featuring the text of individual Books of the Bible along with introductions by various well-known authors and public figures, including t ...

'' editions of books of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, as well as the ''

Payback Press The Payback Press was a specialist imprint of Canongate Books devoted to (initially) reprints of essays on Black culture, which later branched out into contemporary Black fiction and classic crime novels. Of the former category, the first three n ...

'' and '' Rebel Inc.'' imprints. Byng is CEO 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 The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

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 Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

who will publish selected titles for their

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

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), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...

'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 ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance'' (1995) is a memoir by Barack Obama that explores the events of his early years in Honolulu and Chicago until his entry into Harvard Law School in 1988. Obama originally published his mem ...

'', '' 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)

Later

Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...

* ''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 Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows, The Mighty Boosh (1998 stage show), ''The Mighty Boosh'', Arctic Boosh, ''Arctic Boosh'' (1999) and Autoboosh, ...

* ''

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, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; born 21 May 1973) is an English comedian, artist, and actor. He was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and has been a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' since 2017. He is kn ...

(with

Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows, The Mighty Boosh (1998 stage show), ''The Mighty Boosh'', Arctic Boosh, ''Arctic Boosh'' (1999) and Autoboosh, ...

member Dave Brown) * ''

The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (2011).

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

* '' 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 was CEO and co-founder of Neosensory, a now-defunct company that developed devices for senso ...

* '' Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives'' (2009), made famous by a Tweet from

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

and the subject of a live show by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

Michel Faber Michel Faber (born 13 April 1960) is a Dutch-born writer of English-language fiction, including his 2002 novel ''The Crimson Petal and the White'', and '' Under the Skin'' (2000) which was adapted for film by Jonathan Glazer, starring Scarlett ...

* ''

The Crimson Petal and the White ''The Crimson Petal and the White'' is a 2002 novel by Michel Faber set in Victorian era, 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 slee ...

'' (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 grew ...

* ''The Radleys'' (2010) Steven Hall * ''

The Raw Shark Texts ''The Raw Shark Texts'' is the debut novel by British author Steven Hall (author), Steven Hall, released in 2007. The book was released by Canongate Books in the US and the UK and published by HarperCollins in Canada. The title is a play on "R ...

'' (2007)

Miranda July Miranda July (born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger; February 15, 1974) is an American film director, screenwriter, actress and author. Her body of work includes film, fiction, monologue, digital presentations and live performance art. She wrote, di ...

* '' No One Belongs Here More Than You'' (2007)

Ismail Kadare Ismail Kadare (; 28 January 1936 – 1 July 2024) was an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter and playwright. He was a leading international literary figure and intellectual, focusing on poetry until the publication of his first novel ...

* '' The Ghost Rider'' * ''

The Siege ''The Siege'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Edward Zwick. The film is about a situation in which terrorist cells have made several attacks in New York City. The film stars Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub ...

'' (2008)

Yann Martel Yann Martel, (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize–winning novel '' Life of Pi'', an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and spe ...

* ''

'' (2001, Canongate edition 2002), the first Scottish-published book to win the

or to sell a million copies in its first year. An illustrated hardback edition was published in 2007. * '' Beatrice and Virgil'' (2010), an allegory of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

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

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council (), was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the Scottish Government as well as National Lottery funds ...

Book of the Year and the

Ondaatje Prize The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that evokes the "spirit of a place", and is written by someo ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

* ''

Dreams from My Father ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance'' (1995) is a memoir by Barack Obama that explores the events of his early years in Honolulu and Chicago until his entry into Harvard Law School in 1988. Obama originally published his mem ...

'' (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, Changed or Changing may refer to the below. Other forms are listed at 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 th ...

'' (2008, Canongate edition 2009)

* ''The Dizzee Rascal Story'' (2010)

David Shrigley David John Shrigley (born 17 September 1968) is a British visual artist. He lived and worked in Glasgow, Scotland for 27 years before moving to Brighton, England in 2015. Shrigley first came to prominence in the 1990s for his distinct line drawi ...

* ''What The Hell Are You Doing?'' (2010)

David Simon David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–1995), wrote '' ...

* '' 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 Martin Charles Strong (born 1960 in Musselburgh) is a Scottish music historian known for compiling discographies of popular music including ''The Great Rock Discography''. Strong has been described in broadsheet newspaper profiles as a "compile ...

* ''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 * '' 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 and book series written by Simon Tofield. It features a fat, hungry white cat who uses various tactics to get his owner to feed him. Following the success of its first animated films, it was announced ...

'' (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, own ...

In which contemporary authors re-imagine ancient

myths Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

from a variety of cultures *

Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and Christian mysticism, mystical ...

, '' A Short History of Myth'' (2005) *

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

, '' The Penelopiad'' (2005) *

Jeanette Winterson Jeanette Winterson (born 27 August 1959) is an English author. Her first book, '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', was a semi-autobiographical novel about a lesbian growing up in an English Pentecostal community. Other novels explore gender ...

, ''

Weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is a quantity associated with the gravitational force exerted on the object by other objects in its environment, although there is some variation and debate as to the exact definition. Some sta ...

'' (2005) *

, '' The Fire Gospel (2008) *

David Grossman David Grossman (; born January 25, 1954) is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages. In 2018, he was awarded the Israel Prize for literature. Biography David Grossman was born in Jerusalem. He is the eld ...

, '' Lion's Honey'' (2006) *

Alexander McCall Smith Sir Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith (born 24 August 1948) is a Scottish legal scholar and author of fiction. He was raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and was formerly Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He became an ...

, '' Dream Angus'' (2006) *

Victor Pelevin Victor Olegovich Pelevin ( rus, Виктор Олегович Пелевин, p=ˈvʲiktər ɐˈlʲeɡəvʲɪtɕ pʲɪˈlʲevʲɪn; born 22 November 1962) is a Russian fiction writer. His novels include ''Omon Ra'' (1992), ''The Life of Insects' ...

, '' 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 A ...

, '' Girl Meets Boy'' (2007) * Su Tong, '' Binu and the Great Wall'' (2007) * Salley Vickers, '' Where Three Roads Meet'' (2007) *

Dubravka Ugrešić Dubravka Ugrešić (; 27 March 1949 – 17 March 2023) was a Yugoslav- Croatian and Dutch writer. A graduate of University of Zagreb, she was based in Amsterdam from 1996 and continued to identify as a Yugoslav writer. Early life and education ...

, '' Baba Yaga Laid an Egg'' (2009) *

Klas Östergren Klas Östergren (born 20 February 1955) is a Swedish novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and translator. Östergren had a breakthrough with his fourth novel ''Gentlemen'' in 1980. He has been awarded numerous Swedish literary prizes, ...

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

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. He is best known for the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. The first volume, ''Northern Lights'' (1995), won the Carnegie Medal

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

Prizes

* 2007: '' No One Belongs Here More Than You'' by

won the

Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award __NOTOC__ The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented betwe ...

. * 2008: '' The Boat'' by Nam Le 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: '' Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi'' by

Geoff Dyer Geoff Dyer (born 1958) is an English author. He has written a number of novels and non-fiction books, some of which have won literary awards. Dyer was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2005.

won the

Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize is the United Kingdom's first literary award for comic literature. Established in 2000 and named in honour of P. G. Wodehouse, past winners include Paul Torday in 2007 with '' Salmon Fishing in the Yemen ...

. * 2009: '' The Boat'' by Nam Le won the Australian

Prime Minister's Literary Awards The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier and medical student who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in a ...

won the

Goldsmiths Prize The Goldsmiths Prize is a British literary award, founded in 2013 by Goldsmiths, University of London, in association with the ''New Statesman.'' It is awarded annually to a British or Irish piece of fiction that "breaks the mould or extends the ...

. * 2016: '' Solar Bones'' by Mike McCormack won the

. * 2016: '' The Outrun'' by Amy Liptrot won the Wainwright Prize.

References

External links

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

Prizes

See also

References

External links