Douglas Maitland Gibson, C.M. (born December 4, 1943) is a Canadian editor, publisher and writer.Mark Medley
"Douglas Gibson: Life among his writers"
. ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'', December 23, 2011. Best known as the former president and publisher of

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...

, he was particularly noted for his professional relationships with many of Canada's most prominent and famous writers. Born in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and raised in the nearby village of Dunlop, Gibson attended the University of St. Andrews and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

before moving to Canada in 1967. He worked briefly for

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

before being hired as a junior editor at

Doubleday Canada Doubleday Canada is an imprint of the publishing company Penguin Random House Canada. The company used to be known as Forboys. It was incorporated in 1936, and since 1945 it has been known as Doubleday Canada Limited. In 1986 parent company Doubl ...

, where his first job was editing a biography of

Stephen Leacock Stephen Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...

. In 1974 he became editorial director of

Macmillan of Canada Macmillan of Canada was a Canadian publishing house. The company was founded in 1905 as the Canadian arm of the English publisher Macmillan. At that time it was known as the "Macmillan Company of Canada Ltd." In the course of its existence the ...

, ascending to publisher of the company in 1979. During his time at Macmillan, Gibson sent first-time authors an instructional guide, "What Happens After My Book Is Published?", which was published by '' Saturday Night'' in 1979 and was nominated for a

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

for humor. With MacMillan, he was noted for successfully negotiating

Mavis Gallant Mavis Leslie de Trafford Gallant, ( Young; 11 August 1922 – 18 February 2014), was a Canadian writer who spent much of her life and career in France. Best known as a short story writer, she also published novels, plays and essays. Person ...

's first Canadian publishing deal;"Mysterious Mavis"
.

CanWest News Service Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in Engl ...

, April 30, 2006. Gallant, a Canadian writer who had spent much of her life and career living in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as an expatriate, was not considered to be well known in the Canadian market and did not even have a Canadian publisher at all until Gibson approached her. He also spearheaded the creation and publication of ''Home Truths'', a compilation of Gallant's Canadian-themed stories which was her only title ever to win the

Governor General's Award for English-language fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in English.Robertson Davies William Robertson Davies (28 August 1913 – 2 December 1995) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished " men of letters" ...

Bruce Hutchison William Bruce Hutchison, (5 June 1901– 14 September 1992) was a Canadian writer and journalist. Born in Prescott, Ontario, Canada, Hutchison was educated in public schools in Victoria, British Columbia. He married Dorothy Kidd McDiarmid i ...

, Jack Hodgins,

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...

and

Morley Callaghan Edward Morley Callaghan (February 22, 1903 – August 25, 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and Television, TV and radio personality. Biography Of Canadian/English-immigrant parentage,Clara Thomas, ''Canadian No ...

were also among the writers who established relationships with Gibson in this era.Justina Chong
"Douglas Gibson Books and Alice Munro, with Editorial Audio Recordings by Douglas Gibson"
. ''Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing'' (

). In the early 1980s, he also contributed film reviews to

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's '' Sunday Morning''. Throughout his career, he has also been a contributor to ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', the ''

'', '' Books in Canada'', ''

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...

'' and ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

''. He moved to McClelland and Stewart in 1986,"Munro follows publisher Gibson from Macmillan". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', April 30, 1986. becoming publisher of the company in 1988 and president in 2000. With M&S, he also managed his own imprint, Douglas Gibson Books. Numerous authors, including Munro, Davies, Hodgins, Gallant,

Hugh MacLennan John Hugh MacLennan (March 20, 1907 – November 9, 1990) was a Canadian writer and professor of English at McGill University. He won five Governor General's Awards and a Royal Bank Award. Family and childhood MacLennan was born in Glace B ...

, Donald Jack,

Guy Vanderhaeghe Guy Clarence Vanderhaeghe (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer, best known for his Western novel trilogy, '' The Englishman's Boy'', '' The Last Crossing'', and ''A Good Man'' set in the 19th-century American and Ca ...

and W.O. Mitchell, followed him from Macmillan to M&S in order to continue working with him. Munro returned the advance the company had already paid her for '' The Progress of Love'', and had to enter several months of legal negotiations to get released from her contract, although ''The Progress of Love'' ultimately became the first title published by Douglas Gibson Books. The departures greatly damaged Macmillan, which published only a small and irregular selection of fiction titles after Gibson's departure. Gibson was awarded the Canadian Booksellers' Association President's Award in 1991. Following his retirement in 2008, Gibson published a memoir, ''Stories About Storytellers: Publishing Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, Alistair MacLeod, Pierre Trudeau, and Others'', in 2011. Munro wrote the book's introduction. He also made frequent public appearances and statements on behalf of Munro, whose declining health prevented her from making many public engagements."Alice Munro unlikely to come out of retirement following Nobel win"

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the nationa ...

, October 11, 2013.

Douglas Gibson Books

Gibson retired from his primary role with M&S, but he continued to hold the role of publisher emeritus with Douglas Gibson Books. Works published by Douglas Gibson Books have included short story collections by Alice Munro and Mavis Gallant, Terry Fallis' novels ''The Best Laid Plans'' and ''The High Road'', Paul Wells' ''Right Side Up: The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper's New Conservatism'', Yves Beauchemin's ''A Very Bold Leap'' and ''The Years of Fire'',

James Bartleman James Karl Bartleman (24 December 1939 – 14 August 2023) was a Canadian diplomat and author who served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 2002 to 2007. Bartleman was a son of Percy Scott Bartleman and Maureen Florence Bartlem ...

's memoir ''Raisin Wine: A Boyhood in a Different Muskoka'', and

Max Nemni Max Nemni (June 13, 1935 – August 29, 2024) was a Canadian political scientist and writer, best known for a series of biographies of former Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau which he cowrote with his wife Monique Nemni.

and

Monique Nemni Monique Esther Nemni (; March 27, 1936 – 2 November 2022) was an Egyptian-born Canadian linguist and writer, best known for a series of biographies of former Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau which she cowrote with her husband Max Nemni ...

's series of biographies of

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Douglas 1943 births Canadian book editors Canadian book publishers (people) 21st-century Canadian memoirists People from Kilmarnock Alumni of the University of St Andrews Scottish emigrants to Canada Living people Canadian magazine writers Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian male journalists Canadian radio personalities Canadian film critics People from Dunlop, East Ayrshire