Episode Details

Jamie Byng is the CEO and publisher of the independent publishing firm Canongate Books.

When Canongate was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1994, Byng, then in his mid-20s, bought it with a business partner. His first move in overhauling the company's image was to establish the ultra-hip Payback and Rebel Inc. imprints, dedicated to championing cult authors. Over a series of years, the publisher became a radical underdog success story not only publishing wonderful books by Miranda July and The Mighty Boosh but also two books by an, at the time, little-known Senator in Barack Obama—Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope. Jamie continues to be a maverick and taste-maker in the industry, taking chances on bold titles and authors and navigating an industry with an ever-consolidating base of power.

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