After years existing in semi-captivity, Canada’s most storied independent publishing house has merged fully into the multinational behemoth known as Bertelsmann AG, owner of Random House and its affiliates, the world’s largest trade book publisher.
Since 2000, Random House has had a 25 per cent stake in McClelland & Stewart, with the other 75 per cent belonging to the University of Toronto after it was donated to the university by M&S’s former sole owner, Avie Bennett.
M&S “retained its editorial autonomy and independence throughout this eleven-year relationship,” according to a release from Random House Canada.
But the “challenges facing publishers, including a difficult economy and digital-driven transitions facing the industry, have put significant pressure on M&S, and it has been experiencing financial challenges,” Random House said.
“We believe with McClelland & Stewart fully within the Random House of Canada family we will more effectively be able to meet these challenges to ensure the growth and long-term stability of this iconic Canadian publisher,” said Brad Martin, Random House Canada president and CEO.
Established in 1906, McClelland & Stewart has a renowned stable of authors including Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen, Rohinton Mistry, Farley Mowat and Michael Ondaatje.
McClelland & Stewart president Doug Pepper will continue to run the company and will report to Martin.
According to Random House Canada, the eponymous McClelland & Stewart imprint and the New Canadian Library, Emblem Editions, and Signal imprints will all continue.
Random House Canada “will also continue to fund and support the M&S Poetry program, the publication of The Journey Prize stories, and ongoing support for the Writers Trust Journey Prize,” the release said.
The new owner will also establish The McClelland & Stewart Lecture, “an annual event to be held at the University of Toronto that will be focused around the advancement of writers and their ideas, a mandate with which M&S has long been closely identified.”
With files from Canadian Press
