A Reply to a Recent Enquiry

Dear Melanie Ramdarshan,

In 1982 when my best novel and third book, (1982 Janine) was half finished, I offered it to Canongate (publishers of the first two) with a request for an advance of £1000, to buy me time to finish it. Canongate was then run on a low, sporadic budget. Its director said she might be able to give me that advance, if she could first get an advance for it by selling the American copyright. An American publisher's reader refused the book, so Canongate could not pay me an advance for it, so I had to stop writing it to support myself by other work. A year later a friend, Angus Calder, advised me to send it to Liz Calder (no relation of his) then at Jonathan Cape. She read the first half, got Cape to pay me £1000 advance, so I completed the book and English Cape published it in 1984.

Newspaper rumours began to indicate that, as soon as I had achieved fame and money through the efforts of my Edinburgh publisher, I had abandoned it for better money got from London. That is partly why I gave The Fall of Kelvin Walker to Canongate, and afterwards tried to offer books alternatively to a Scottish and English publisher. Before the end of the 20th Century, Canongate was never able to pay the royalties I was due, telling me that if they did they would be unable to pay their printer, and go bankrupt. Other Canongate authors were told the same thing, threatened the firm with a legal action, so were paid. I never threatened them, so was also paid late. On visiting them on another matter in their new Frederick Street office an editor, Neville Moir said, "By the way, I have a cheque here for you -- of course you're the last to be paid", then looked as if half his remark was a mistake.

In 1987 a contract for my Book of Prefaces was signed first with Canongate for an advance which I used up long before the book was a quarter finished. I got rid of that contract by giving Canongate a short science fiction novel instead, and signed a contract with Bloomsbury where Liz Calder now worked. This gave me an advance of £1000 a month for three years, with £600 a month for my secretary.

Since Jamie Byng is Canongate's director the royalties due me are paid regularly. I publish with Scottish firms for patriotic reasons, and because some of my books are initially intended for Scottish readers.

About authors' property rights I am a Socialist who thinks nobody should pay for quoting less than 200 words. Nearly everyone who wants to use my illustrations and words -- sometimes whole stories -- is allowed to have them free if they are not a financially successful publishing firm. I think it a pity that the law has extended dead authors' copyrights from 50 to 70 years. I thought of adding a clause to my will making the copyrights of my books free for all, but my wife is much younger than me and depends on my income, so I did not do it.

I think this is all I can give to your paper and thesis. You may find other material in http://www.alasdairgray.co.uk/info.htm, or in the National Library of Scotland's accessions in my name.

Meanwhile, the best of luck.

yours truly, Alasdair Gray