Canongate Books (trading as Canongate) is an Small press based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
It is named after the Canongate area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the Booker Prize winning novel Life of Pi
Origins
Canongate was founded in 1973 by Stephanie Wolfe Murray and her husband Angus Wolfe Murray.
[Byatt, Lucinda (May 2006), "Jamie Byng and Canongate", Solander magazine, Historical Novel Society, UK, Vol. 19. .] Originally a speciality press focusing on Scottish-interest books, generally with small print runs, its most major author was
Alasdair Gray. In 1994, it was purchased from the receiver in a management buyout led by
Jamie Byng, 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 editions of books of the
Bible, as well as the
Payback Press and
Rebel Inc. imprints.
[Sharp, Iain (9 July 2006), "Bada Byng, bada boom", stuff.co.nz. .] 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 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 Books who will publish selected titles for their young adult fiction list.
[Neilan, Catherine (15 December 2009), "Canongate and Walker create joint young adult imprint", The Bookseller. .] 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'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.[ Independent Alliance. ] In 2009, the Alliance was the UK's fifth-largest publisher.[Neilan, Catherine (24 January 2010), "Indie Alliance becomes 'fifth biggest publisher, The Bookseller. .]
Enhanced Editions and Canongate also work in partnership in the production of selected books enhanced for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Notable authors and works
Before 1994
Alasdair Gray
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(1981)
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A Life in Pictures (2010)
Charles Palliser
Later
Julian Assange
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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
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The Mighty Book of Boosh (2008) and The Pocket Book of Boosh (2009), a coffee-table style hardback and "pocket" edition of a tie-in to the TV series.
Noel Fielding (with Mighty Boosh member Dave Brown)
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The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton (2011).
Nick Cave
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The Death of Bunny Munro (2009), the second novel by musician Nick Cave,
[Neilan, Catherine (12 September 2008), "Canongate buys Nick Cave novel", The Bookseller. .] was announced in 2008. It was published in hardback, audiobook, ebook and iPhone application formats in September 2009.
David Eagleman
Michel Faber
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The Crimson Petal and the White (2002), a historical novel set in Victorian England. Faber followed this with a collection of stories, The Apple (2006).
Matt Haig
Steven Hall
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The Raw Shark Texts (2007)
Miranda July
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No One Belongs Here More Than You (2007)
Ismail Kadare
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The Ghost Rider
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The Siege (2008)
Yann Martel
James Meek
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The People's Act of Love (2005), winner of the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year and the Ondaatje Prize.
Barack Obama
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Dreams from My Father (1995, Canongate edition 2007)
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The Audacity of Hope (2006, Canongate edition 2007) was acquired after a series of emails between Byng and then-Senator Obama and his team.
[ "Canongate pulls off Obama coup", The Scotsman, 11 March 2007.]
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Change We Can Believe In (2008, Canongate edition 2009)
Dizzee Rascal
David Shrigley
David Simon
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(1991, Canongate edition 2008)
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(1997, Canongate edition 2009)
Martin C. Strong[ "Music Reference Books by Martin C. Strong", FolkLib Index.]
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The Great Rock Discography, 1st ed. (1994)
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The Great Rock Discography, 2nd ed. (1995)
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The Great Rock Discography, 3rd ed. (1996)
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The Great Rock Discography, 4th ed. (1998)
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The Great Rock Discography, 5th ed. (2000)
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The Great Rock Discography, 6th ed. (2002)
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The Great Rock Discography, 7th ed. (2004)
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The Great Metal Discography, 1st ed. (1998)
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The Great Metal Discography, 2nd ed. (2002)
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The Wee Rock Discography (1996)
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The Great Alternative & Indie Discography (1999)
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The Great Indie Discography, 2nd ed. (2003)
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The Essential Rock Discography (2006)
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Lights, Camera, Soundtracks (2008)
Scarlett Thomas
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The End of Mr. Y (2007)
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PopCo (2004, Canongate edition 2009)
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Our Tragic Universe (2010)
Simon Tofield
Canongate Myth Series
In which contemporary authors re-imagine ancient
Mythology from a variety of cultures
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Karen Armstrong, A Short History of Myth (2005)
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Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad (2005)
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Jeanette Winterson, Weight (2005)
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Michel Faber, ''The Fire Gospel (2008)
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David Grossman, Lion's Honey (2006)
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Alexander McCall Smith, Dream Angus (2006)
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Victor Pelevin, The Helmet of Horror (2006)
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Ali Smith, Girl Meets Boy (2007)
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Su Tong, Binu and the Great Wall (2007)
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Salley Vickers, Where Three Roads Meet (2007)
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Dubravka Ugrešić, Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (2009)
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Klas Östergren, The Hurricane Party (2009)
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Milton Hatoum, The Orphans of Eldorado (2010)
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Philip Pullman, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (2010)
Prizes
See also
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Canongate Myth Series
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List of largest book publishers of the United Kingdom
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Publishing Scotland
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Ian Burgham
External links
