Douglas Gibson | |
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| Born | Douglas Maitland Gibson (1943-12-04)December 4, 1943 (age 82) Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Alma mater | University of St Andrews Yale University |
| Occupations | editor, publisher, memoirist |
| Known for | Douglas Gibson Books,Stories About Storytellers |
Douglas Maitland Gibson, C.M. (born December 4, 1943) is a Canadian editor, publisher and writer.[1] Best known as the former president and publisher ofMcClelland and Stewart, he was particularly noted for his professional relationships with many of Canada's most prominent and famous writers.[2]
Born inKilmarnock,Ayrshire,Scotland and raised in the nearby village ofDunlop,[1] Gibson attended theUniversity of St. Andrews andYale University before moving to Canada in 1967.[1] He worked briefly forMcMaster University before being hired as a junior editor atDoubleday Canada,[1] where his first job was editing a biography ofStephen Leacock.[1]
In 1974 he became editorial director ofMacmillan of Canada,[1] ascending to publisher of the company in 1979.[1] During his time at Macmillan, Gibson sent first-time authors an instructional guide, "What Happens After My Book Is Published?", which was published bySaturday Night in 1979 and was nominated for aNational Magazine Award for humor.[1] With MacMillan, he was noted for successfully negotiatingMavis Gallant's first Canadian publishing deal;[3] Gallant, a Canadian writer who had spent much of her life and career living inParis,France as an expatriate, was not considered to be well known in the Canadian market and did not even have a Canadian publisher at all until Gibson approached her. He also spearheaded the creation and publication ofHome Truths, a compilation of Gallant's Canadian-themed stories which was her only title ever to win theGovernor General's Award for English-language fiction.[4]Robertson Davies,Bruce Hutchison,Jack Hodgins,Alice Munro andMorley Callaghan were also among the writers who established relationships with Gibson in this era.[5]
In the early 1980s, he also contributed film reviews toCBC Radio'sSunday Morning.[2] Throughout his career, he has also been a contributor toThe Globe and Mail, theNational Post,Books in Canada,Toronto Life andMaclean's.[2]
He moved to McClelland and Stewart in 1986,[6] becoming publisher of the company in 1988[1] and president in 2000.[1] With M&S, he also managed his own imprint,Douglas Gibson Books.[2] Numerous authors, including Munro, Davies, Hodgins, Gallant,Hugh MacLennan,Donald Jack,Guy Vanderhaeghe andW.O. Mitchell,[2] followed him from Macmillan to M&S in order to continue working with him.[5] Munro returned the advance the company had already paid her forThe Progress of Love, and had to enter several months of legal negotiations to get released from her contract,[2] althoughThe Progress of Love ultimately became the first title published by Douglas Gibson Books.[2] The departures greatly damaged Macmillan, which published only a small and irregular selection of fiction titles after Gibson's departure.[2]
Gibson was awarded the Canadian Booksellers' Association President's Award in 1991.[5] In 2017 he was awarded membership in theOrder of Canada.[7]
Following his retirement in 2008, Gibson published a memoir,Stories About Storytellers: Publishing Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, Alistair MacLeod, Pierre Trudeau, and Others, in 2011.[1] Munro wrote the book's introduction. He also made frequent public appearances and statements on behalf of Munro, whose declining health prevented her from making many public engagements.[8]
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Gibson retired from his primary role with M&S, but he continued to hold the role of publisher emeritus with Douglas Gibson Books.
Works published by Douglas Gibson Books have included short story collections by Alice Munro and Mavis Gallant,Terry Fallis' novelsThe Best Laid Plans andThe High Road,Paul Wells'Right Side Up: The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper's New Conservatism,Yves Beauchemin'sA Very Bold Leap andThe Years of Fire,James Bartleman's memoirRaisin Wine: A Boyhood in a Different Muskoka, andMax Nemni andMonique Nemni's series of biographies ofPierre Trudeau.
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