Canongate Books

Canongate is an independent publisher: since 1973 we’ve worked to unearth and amplify the most vital, innovative voices we can find, wherever they come from, and we’ve published all kinds of books – thoughtful, upsetting, gripping, beatific, vulgar, chaste, unrepentant, life-changing…

Along the way there have been landmarks of fiction – including Alasdair Gray’s masterpiece Lanark, and Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, the best-ever-selling Booker winner – and non-fiction too. We’ve published an American president and a Guantanamo detainee; we’ve campaigned for causes we believe in and fought court cases to get our authors heard. And twice we’ve won Publisher of the Year.

We’re still independent, and we’re as committed to unorthodox and innovative publishing as ever.

Established: 1973

Publications (yearly average): 45 originals

Types of books published: Fiction, General Non-fiction, Children’s, Poetry

Submission details: We don’t accept unsolicited submissions. (Sorry.) We work with lots of brilliant literary agents who do invaluable work, and we like hearing about new writers from them. So if you are interested in being published by us, we’d recommend finding yourself an agent first. There are some tips on how you can do this on our website.

Canongate Books highlights

Life of Pi

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The Outrun

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot

Reasons to Stay Alive

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

The Book of Strange New Things

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

Lanark

Lanark by Alasdair Gray