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.[2][3]
Origins
Canongate was founded in 1973 by
Stephanie Wolfe Murray and her husband Angus Wolfe Murray.[4] 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.[5][6] 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.[7][8]
Partners and joint ventures
Canongate once had a sister company in Australia, Text Publishing; Canongate's majority interest was sold in 2011.[9] It also has joint venture operations with the children's publisher
Walker who will publish selected titles for their
young adult fiction list.[10]Grove/Atlantic, Inc. publishes under the Canongate U.S. imprint, also under a joint venture arrangement.[11] In March 2010, Canongate and Dirtee Stank announced a joint venture agreement to publish
Dizzee Rascal's memoir, although this agreement later fell through.[12]
Canongate is part of the Independent Alliance, a global alliance of 10 UK publishers and their international publishing partners.[13] In 2009, the Alliance was the UK's fifth largest publisher.[14]
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.[16][17]
The Death of Bunny Munro (2009), the second novel by musician
Nick Cave,[18] was announced in 2008. It was published in hardback, audiobook, ebook and iPhone application formats in September 2009.
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).
Life of Pi (2001, Canongate edition 2002), the first Scottish-published book to win the
Booker Prize or to sell a million copies in its first year.[20] An illustrated hardback edition was published in 2007.
Beatrice and Virgil (2010), an allegory of the Holocaust using a donkey named Beatrice and a howler monkey named Virgil.[21]