Canongate Books

Founded back in 1973 Canongate Books is an independent British publishing house based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Best known for nurturing and publishing new voices from across the globe, Canongate Books address several social issues and have a distinct outlook on the world. As part of their commitment to unearthing and promoting important voices and opinions; Canongate Books Edinburgh has published popular world leaders and novice writers with equal gusto. From publishing the works of an American president to new writers; the Canongate books catalogue is packed to the brim with the most coveted and unorthodox titles. 

Continuing their campaign for causes they believe in; Canongate has joined a global alliance of eleven other publishers and their international partners in their shared vision of editorial excellence, publishing original, diverse voices and their fight for causes and authors they believe in. Over the years, Canongate has given the world several bestselling, Award Winning books like Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Alasdair Gray’s masterpiece Lanark amongst several others. Canongate Books themselves won the British Book Awards Publisher of the year in 2003 and 2009.

Whilst there are several reasons for any book lover to subscribe to the annual Canongate Books catalogue; we at Books2Door love how progressive the Canongate Myth Series is. The Myths series brings together some of the world's finest writers and commissions to each of them an ancient myth, which they then spin around and retell in a contemporary and progressive fashion. Our favourite of the Myth series is The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. Atwood rewrites the legend and the myth of Penelope from the perspective of Penelope and the Twelve maids and turns this story of a devoted wife waiting for her glorious husband Odysseus into a tale of lust, greed, and murder.

An award-winning Canongate gem; Homelands: The History of a Friendship by Chitra Ramaswamy brings forth the voices of immigrants and delves into sensitive themes like anti-Semitism, racism, resilience, and more. A story about an unlikely friendship between an Indian Immigrant born in 1970s Britain and another from Nazi Germany in 1939, fleeing persecution; the book is an intriguing read about common grounds, homelands, and more.

Yet another important voice that Canongate Books has given the world is My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay. The book follows a seventeen-year-old orphan through his childhood years with a foster family and in care homes. Until the day when Norman Greenwood is given his birth certificate and his real identity is revealed. Lemn Sissay, upon learning of his British heritage and his mother, sets out on a journey of self-discovery. Through Sissay’s journey, the book explores the institutional care system, race, and most importantly the meaning of home and family. A powerful memoir by a foster kid, the book is one of the many diverse voices brought forth by Canongate Books.

Whilst Canongate Books are all for encouraging new authors and voices; the Canongate Books submissions department does not accept unsolicited submissions and makes it a point to work with a lot of brilliant literary agents. They value the work of literary agents in the UK no less than the writers and are known to follow stringent and ethical editorial practices.