Random House of Canada
Encyclopedia
Random House of Canada
is a publishing house which was established in 1944 as the Canadian distributor of Random House, Inc. It is made up of several imprints
, including Anchor Canada, Bond Street, Doubleday Canada, Knopf Canada, Random House Canada, Seal Books, and Vintage Canada. Random House of Canada also holds a twenty-five percent stake in fellow Canadian publishing company McClelland and Stewart
.
Random House of Canada publishes both Canadian and international works. In 1986 the company established its own indigenous Canadian publishing program, and the company continues to encourage and support Canadian authors. They have published work by some of the country's most distinguished and notable authors, including Margaret Atwood
, Farley Mowat
, Yann Martel
, Mordecai Richler
, Douglas Coupland
, and Michael Ondaatje
.
. In 1986, Random House’s Canadian publishing program became one of the most successful endeavors in Canadian history. In 1998 Random House (USA) merged with another major publishing company, Bantam Doubleday Dell. Due to this international merger, both companies’ Canadian branches merged as well, publishing international titles in this country as well as maintaining their Canadian publishing program.
by David Adams Richards
and The In-Between World of Vikram Lall
by M.G. Vassenji, both of which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize
(in 2000 and 2003 respectively).
In 2002, Anchor Canada published its first original trade paperback titled The Notebooks: Interviews and New Fiction from Contemporary Writers. They have continued to publish originals since. Some of these titles include The Fabulous Girls Guide to Decorum by Kim Izzo and Ceri Marsh, and Lost in Mongolia by Colin Angus
.
Bond Street has published many award-winning international books and brought them to a Canadian audience. Three of Bond Street’s international titles have reached #1 on The New York Times bestseller list: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
by David Wroblewski
, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
, and Little Bee by Chris Cleave
.
, Michael Crummey
, and Michael Redhill
.
In 2010 the American company DB Media Distribution Inc. filed for bankruptcy. There was some confusion surrounding this incident, as DB Media Distribution Inc. owned and operated the similarly named "Doubleday Book Club". When they filed for bankruptcy, some believed that Doubleday Canada (the publisher) was going under; when in fact there was no connection between the two. This was discussed by Brad Martin, who stated, “We are saddened for those who worked there, but it has no direct connection to our business."
. The parent company, founded in New York in 1915, teamed up with Louise Dennys in order to launch the Canadian house. Dennys was already the publisher of many major Canadian books, through her work at the Toronto publishing house Lester & Orpen Dennys
.
Some of Knopf's award-winning Canadian titles include Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler, the paperback edition of The English Patient
by Michael Ondaatje and Life of Pi
by Yann Martel. One of the most-awarded books to be published by Knopf Canada is Fall On Your Knees
by Ann-Marie MacDonald
, the Canadian author’s first novel which was nominated for the Giller Prize in 1996, and went on to win the 1997 Commonwealth Writers' Prize
for best first book, the 1997 Canadian Authors Association Literary Award, and the 1998 Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for best fiction book of the year.
In order to support new Canadian writers, in 1996 Knopf Canada established a program called “The New Face of Fiction”. Each year editors choose between 1 and 4 books and promote them through the campaign in order to bring some of Canada’s most talented new authors to national and international attention.
by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire
, which won the 2003 Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing and 2004 Governor General’s Literary Award for non-fiction.
In 2009, two Random House Canada publications were nominated for the Giller Prize: The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon
, as well as that year’s winner, The Bishop's Man
by Linden MacIntyre. MacIntyre’s win represents the first Giller Prize awarded for a book published by the Random House Canada imprint. In early 2011 Random House Canada announced it will be publishing McIntyre’s new novel, titled Why Men Lie.
(an American based company) and McClelland and Stewart
. This imprint specializes in reprints of major fiction hardcover titles. However, Seal has always published original books; it is just not the imprint’s main endeavor. Many Seal Books were originally published as Doubleday hardcovers. When Seal Books merged with Random House of Canada, they began publishing mass-market titles from Random House of Canada and Knopf Canada as well.
Seal Books publishes work from many world-renowned Canadian authors. All of Margaret Atwood’s novels are published in Seal editions. Lucy Maud Montgomery
, the author of the Anne of Green Gables
and Emily novels, continues to be a bestseller for Seal Books.
, which was formed in 1954 by Alfred A. Knopf. Vintage Canada publishes paperback editions, choosing primarily from titles originally published by Knopf Canada and Random House Canada. They also publish new books and modern classics originally published elsewhere, as well as some “Vintage Originals”.
Vintage Canada publishes three selections from the Canada Reads contest: 2002 winner In the Skin of a Lion
by Michael Ondaatje, 2006 winner A Complicated Kindness
by Miriam Toews
, and 2010 winner Nikolski
by Nicolas Dickner
.
. It is meant to serve as a vehicle for showcasing authors who are also in-demand speakers. Brad Martin, President and CEO of Random House of Canada, explained in a press release that authors were often asking for help managing a large number of speaking requests, and many didn’t have booking agents to handle the demand.
Speakers House Canada organizes its many speakers into topics, and acts as a booking agent for them. While both companies have always promoted bookstore tours for publicity during a book launch, the establishment of Speakers House Canada allows authors to book a wider variety of paid speaking events over a longer period of time.
and iPad
. Users can test their knowledge and share “facts and tidbits” about their favourite books with friends via email, Facebook
and Twitter
. They can also read expanded selections from books. Lisa Charters, Senior Vice President of Digital at Random House of Canada explained that the company recognizes the trend toward Web-enabled smartphones and wanted to get involved by introducing a fun and interactive application.
In February 2011, Random House of Canada announced a partnership with OverDrive
, a digital distributor of downloadable e-books. Through this new distribution agreement, Canadian libraries, schools and colleges will have access to thousands of Random House titles through OverDrive’s e-book catalog. Lisa Charters has stated that “Random House of Canada is committed to bringing the work of [their] authors to readers in whatever format the readers choose”.
is a publishing house which was established in 1944 as the Canadian distributor of Random House, Inc. It is made up of several imprints
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
, including Anchor Canada, Bond Street, Doubleday Canada, Knopf Canada, Random House Canada, Seal Books, and Vintage Canada. Random House of Canada also holds a twenty-five percent stake in fellow Canadian publishing company McClelland and Stewart
McClelland and Stewart
McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is partially owned by Random House of Canada, now a subsidiary of Bertelsmann....
.
Random House of Canada publishes both Canadian and international works. In 1986 the company established its own indigenous Canadian publishing program, and the company continues to encourage and support Canadian authors. They have published work by some of the country's most distinguished and notable authors, including Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
, Farley Mowat
Farley Mowat
Farley McGill Mowat, , born May 12, 1921 is a conservationist and one of Canada's most widely-read authors.His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Canadian North, such as People of the...
, Yann Martel
Yann Martel
Yann Martel is a Canadian author best known for the Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi.-Early life:Martel was born in Salamanca, Spain where his father was posted as a diplomat for the Canadian government. He was raised in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, and Canada...
, Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...
, Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist. His fiction is complemented by recognized works in design and visual art arising from his early formal training. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularized terms such as McJob and...
, and Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje , OC, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film.-Life and work:...
.
Company Profile
Random House of Canada was established in 1944 as the Canadian distributor of Random House BooksRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. In 1986, Random House’s Canadian publishing program became one of the most successful endeavors in Canadian history. In 1998 Random House (USA) merged with another major publishing company, Bantam Doubleday Dell. Due to this international merger, both companies’ Canadian branches merged as well, publishing international titles in this country as well as maintaining their Canadian publishing program.
Anchor Canada
Anchor Canada, created in 2001, is a publisher of trade paperback books of fiction and non-fiction. It produces paperback editions of many of Doubleday Canada’s award-winning hardcover titles, such as Mercy Among the ChildrenMercy Among the Children
Mercy among the Children is a novel by David Adams Richards, published by Doubleday Canada in 2000. Sarah Slean championed the novel to compete in Canada Reads in 2009.-Synopsis:...
by David Adams Richards
David Adams Richards
David Adams Richards, CM, ONB is a Canadian novelist, essayist, screenwriter and poet.Born in Newcastle, New Brunswick, Richards left St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, three credits shy of completing a B.A.. Richards has been a writer-in-residence at various universities and...
and The In-Between World of Vikram Lall
The In-Between World of Vikram Lall
The In-Between World of Vikram Lall is a novel by M. G. Vassanji, published in 2003 by Doubleday Canada. The novel won the Giller Prize that year.-External links:* - Random House Canada...
by M.G. Vassenji, both of which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize
Scotiabank Giller Prize
The Scotiabank Giller Prize, or Giller Prize, is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English the previous year, after an annual juried competition between publishers who submit entries...
(in 2000 and 2003 respectively).
In 2002, Anchor Canada published its first original trade paperback titled The Notebooks: Interviews and New Fiction from Contemporary Writers. They have continued to publish originals since. Some of these titles include The Fabulous Girls Guide to Decorum by Kim Izzo and Ceri Marsh, and Lost in Mongolia by Colin Angus
Colin Angus
Colin Angus may refer to:* Colin Angus , Canadian explorer* Colin Angus , member of the British electronic music group The Shamen...
.
Bond Street
Bond Street was created in 2006 by Brad Martin, President and CEO of Random House of Canada, and Maya Mavjee, then Executive Vice-President of Doubleday Publishing. This imprint publishes international fiction and non-fiction.Bond Street has published many award-winning international books and brought them to a Canadian audience. Three of Bond Street’s international titles have reached #1 on The New York Times bestseller list: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel is the first book by American author David Wroblewski. It became a New York Times Best Seller on June 29, 2008, and Oprah Winfrey chose it for her book club on September 19, 2008...
by David Wroblewski
David Wroblewski
David Wroblewski is an American novelist whose first novel was The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.-Early life:David Wroblewski was born in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee. He earned his master's degree from the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers.-Career:David Wroblewski started his...
, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Diane Setterfield
Diane Setterfield is a British author whose 2006 debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale, became a New York Times #1 bestseller...
, and Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Chris Cleave
-Biography:Cleave was born in London in 1973, brought up in Cameroon and Buckinghamshire, and educated at Balliol College, Oxford where he studied Psychology. He lives in the United Kingdom with his wife and three children.-Writing:...
.
Doubleday Canada
Established in the 1960’s, Doubleday Canada publishes fiction titles from both new and established writers. It also publishes memoirs, social and political journalism, history, business, and sports books. Some of the imprint’s most well-known Canadian authors include Pierre Burton and Nino Ricci. Doubleday Canada also works with newer authors, such as Lynn CoadyLynn Coady
-Life and career:Coady grew up in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. After high school, she attended Carleton University in Ottawa; after graduating, she moved to New Brunswick, where she worked at odd jobs for several years and began a career as a playwright...
, Michael Crummey
Michael Crummey
Michael Crummey is a Canadian poet and writer.Born in Buchans, Newfoundland and Labrador, Crummey grew up there and in Wabush, Labrador, where he moved with his family in the late 1970s. He began to write poetry while studying at Memorial University in St. John's, where he received a B.A. in...
, and Michael Redhill
Michael Redhill
Michael Redhill is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Redhill was raised in the metropolitan Toronto, Ontario area. He pursued one year of study at Indiana University, and then returned to Canada, completing his education at York University and the...
.
In 2010 the American company DB Media Distribution Inc. filed for bankruptcy. There was some confusion surrounding this incident, as DB Media Distribution Inc. owned and operated the similarly named "Doubleday Book Club". When they filed for bankruptcy, some believed that Doubleday Canada (the publisher) was going under; when in fact there was no connection between the two. This was discussed by Brad Martin, who stated, “We are saddened for those who worked there, but it has no direct connection to our business."
Knopf Canada
Knopf Canada was established in 1991 as an editorially independent Canadian branch of Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
. The parent company, founded in New York in 1915, teamed up with Louise Dennys in order to launch the Canadian house. Dennys was already the publisher of many major Canadian books, through her work at the Toronto publishing house Lester & Orpen Dennys
Lester & Orpen Dennys
Lester & Orpen Dennys was a Canadian book publishing company.The company launched in 1973 as Lester & Orpen, and changed its name in 1979 after Canadian publisher Louise Dennys joined the company. Writers who published with the company included Graham Greene, P.D. James, June Callwood, Morley...
.
Some of Knopf's award-winning Canadian titles include Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler, the paperback edition of The English Patient
The English Patient
The English Patient is a 1992 novel by Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje. The story deals with the gradually revealed histories of a critically burned English accented Hungarian man, his Canadian nurse, a Canadian-Italian thief, and an Indian sapper in the British Army as they live out...
by Michael Ondaatje and Life of Pi
Life of Pi
Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age...
by Yann Martel. One of the most-awarded books to be published by Knopf Canada is Fall On Your Knees
Fall on Your Knees
Fall on Your Knees is a novel by Canadian playwright, actor and novelist Ann-Marie MacDonald. The novel takes place in late 19th and early 20th centuries and chronicles four generations of the complex Piper Family. It is a story of "inescapable family bonds, terrible secrets, and of miracles"...
by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Ann-Marie MacDonald
Ann-Marie MacDonald is a Canadian playwright, novelist, actor and broadcast journalist who lives in Toronto, Ontario. The daughter of a member of Canada's military, she was born at an air force base near Baden-Baden, West Germany....
, the Canadian author’s first novel which was nominated for the Giller Prize in 1996, and went on to win the 1997 Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers is an initiative by the Commonwealth Foundation to unearth, develop and promote the best new fiction from across the Commonwealth. It's flagship are two literary awards and a website...
for best first book, the 1997 Canadian Authors Association Literary Award, and the 1998 Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for best fiction book of the year.
In order to support new Canadian writers, in 1996 Knopf Canada established a program called “The New Face of Fiction”. Each year editors choose between 1 and 4 books and promote them through the campaign in order to bring some of Canada’s most talented new authors to national and international attention.
Random House Canada
The Random House Canada imprint has been publishing works by Canadian and international authors since 1986. One of their most well-known non-fiction titles is Shake Hands with the DevilShake Hands with the Devil (book)
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda is a book by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire of the Canadian Forces, with help from Major Brent Beardsley...
by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire
Roméo Dallaire
Lieutenant-General Roméo Antonius Dallaire, is a Canadian senator, humanitarian, author and retired general...
, which won the 2003 Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing and 2004 Governor General’s Literary Award for non-fiction.
In 2009, two Random House Canada publications were nominated for the Giller Prize: The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon
Annabel Lyon
Annabel Lyon is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. She's published two collections of short fiction, two young adult novels, and an adult historical novel, The Golden Mean.-Life and work:...
, as well as that year’s winner, The Bishop's Man
The Bishop's Man
The Bishop's Man is a novel by Canadian writer Linden MacIntyre, published in August 2009. The story follows a Catholic priest named Duncan MacAskill who became so successful at resolving potential church scandals quickly and quietly that he had to accept a position at remote parish on Cape Breton...
by Linden MacIntyre. MacIntyre’s win represents the first Giller Prize awarded for a book published by the Random House Canada imprint. In early 2011 Random House Canada announced it will be publishing McIntyre’s new novel, titled Why Men Lie.
Seal Books
Seal Books was founded in 1977, stemming from a partnership between Bantam BooksBantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
(an American based company) and McClelland and Stewart
McClelland and Stewart
McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is partially owned by Random House of Canada, now a subsidiary of Bertelsmann....
. This imprint specializes in reprints of major fiction hardcover titles. However, Seal has always published original books; it is just not the imprint’s main endeavor. Many Seal Books were originally published as Doubleday hardcovers. When Seal Books merged with Random House of Canada, they began publishing mass-market titles from Random House of Canada and Knopf Canada as well.
Seal Books publishes work from many world-renowned Canadian authors. All of Margaret Atwood’s novels are published in Seal editions. Lucy Maud Montgomery
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Lucy Maud Montgomery OBE , called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L.M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success...
, the author of the Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...
and Emily novels, continues to be a bestseller for Seal Books.
Vintage Canada
Vintage Canada was established in 1993. It takes its name from the New York-based publishing house, Vintage BooksVintage Books
Vintage Books is a publishing imprint founded in 1954 by Alfred A. Knopf. Its publishing list includes world literature, fiction, and non-fiction...
, which was formed in 1954 by Alfred A. Knopf. Vintage Canada publishes paperback editions, choosing primarily from titles originally published by Knopf Canada and Random House Canada. They also publish new books and modern classics originally published elsewhere, as well as some “Vintage Originals”.
Vintage Canada publishes three selections from the Canada Reads contest: 2002 winner In the Skin of a Lion
In the Skin of a Lion
In the Skin of a Lion is a novel by Canadian/Sri Lankan writer Michael Ondaatje. It was first published in 1987 by McClelland and Stewart. The novel fictionalises the lives of the immigrants whose contributions to building Toronto in the early 1900s never became part of the city's official history...
by Michael Ondaatje, 2006 winner A Complicated Kindness
A Complicated Kindness
A Complicated Kindness is a novel by Canadian author Miriam Toews.Originally published in 2004 by Knopf Canada, it was the winner of the Governor General's Award for English Fiction, and was nominated for the Giller Prize. It spent over a year on the Canadian bestseller lists...
by Miriam Toews
Miriam Toews
Miriam Toews is a Canadian writer of Mennonite descent. She grew up in Steinbach, Manitoba and has lived in Montreal and London, before settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She moved to Toronto in 2009....
, and 2010 winner Nikolski
Nikolski (novel)
Nikolski is an award-winning novel by Canadian writer Nicolas Dickner. Originally published in 2005 in French, an English edition translated by Lazer Lederhendler was published in 2008....
by Nicolas Dickner
Nicolas Dickner
Nicolas Dickner is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. He is best known for his 2005 novel Nikolski, which has won numerous literary awards in Canada both in its original French and translated English editions.He currently lives in Montreal, where he is a literary columnist for the...
.
Speakers House Canada
Speakers House Canada was launched in 2008 as a joint business and marketing venture between Random House of Canada and McClelland and StewartMcClelland and Stewart
McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is partially owned by Random House of Canada, now a subsidiary of Bertelsmann....
. It is meant to serve as a vehicle for showcasing authors who are also in-demand speakers. Brad Martin, President and CEO of Random House of Canada, explained in a press release that authors were often asking for help managing a large number of speaking requests, and many didn’t have booking agents to handle the demand.
Speakers House Canada organizes its many speakers into topics, and acts as a booking agent for them. While both companies have always promoted bookstore tours for publicity during a book launch, the establishment of Speakers House Canada allows authors to book a wider variety of paid speaking events over a longer period of time.
Adaptations to new technology
In October 2010, Random House of Canada introduced the "Conversation Starters" application for Apple's iPhoneIPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
. Users can test their knowledge and share “facts and tidbits” about their favourite books with friends via email, Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. They can also read expanded selections from books. Lisa Charters, Senior Vice President of Digital at Random House of Canada explained that the company recognizes the trend toward Web-enabled smartphones and wanted to get involved by introducing a fun and interactive application.
In February 2011, Random House of Canada announced a partnership with OverDrive
OverDrive, Inc.
OverDrive is an American digital distributor of downloadable eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video titles. The company’s core business is the management of digital content for publisher, libraries, schools, and retailers. According to the company, OverDrive’s inventory included more than 500,000...
, a digital distributor of downloadable e-books. Through this new distribution agreement, Canadian libraries, schools and colleges will have access to thousands of Random House titles through OverDrive’s e-book catalog. Lisa Charters has stated that “Random House of Canada is committed to bringing the work of [their] authors to readers in whatever format the readers choose”.