Jamie Byng: Difference between revisions

James Byng
James Byng
Born	James Edmund Byng; 27 June 1969 (age 55)
Nationality	British
Education	Winchester College
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh
Occupation	Publisher
Employer	Canongate Books
Spouses	; Whitney McVeigh (divorced) ; Elizabeth Sheinkman (m. 2005; div. 2016) ; Silvia Gimenez Varela (m. 2021)
Children	5
Relatives	Georgia Byng (sister); Sir Christopher Bland (stepfather); Archie Bland (half-brother)

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James Edmund Byng (born 27 June 1969) is a British publisher. He works for the independent publishing firm Canongate Books, where he is the CEO and publisher.^[1]

Early life

Byng grew up in the village of Abbots Worthy in Hampshire, England.^[2] The second son of the 8th Earl of Strafford and Jennifer May, he is brother to the author Lady Georgia Byng, and through his stepfather, Sir Christopher Bland (the former chairman of the BBC, British Telecom and Royal Shakespeare Company), he is the half-brother of Archie Bland, print journalist and former deputy editor of The Independent.^[3]^[4]

Education and family

Byng was educated at Winchester College, an independent boarding-school for boys in the cathedral city of Winchester in Hampshire, Southern England, followed by the University of Edinburgh.^[5] While attending the university, he ran a funk, reggae, and rare groove night club named "Chocolate City" (after the Parliament classic) at The Venue with his first wife, Whitney McVeigh,^[6] with whom he has two children – a daughter Marley and son Leo. Whitney McVeigh is the daughter of a socialite mother and her father is an American banker.^[7]^[2] Byng and McVeigh separated in 2001, and in 2005 Byng married literary agent Elizabeth Sheinkman,^[8]^[9] with whom he has two children, Ivy and Nathaniel.^[10] Byng separated from Sheinkman in 2016 and married Silvia Gimenez Varela in 2021 and they have one child.^{[citation needed]}

Publishing career

After graduating, he convinced Scottish publisher Stephanie Wolfe Murray to give him a job at Canongate, then a respected but still somewhat marginalised Scottish company founded in 1973,^[11] which he joined as an intern.^[12] When Canongate was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1994, Byng, then in his mid-20s, instigated a buyout, aided by his business partner Hugh Andrew, his stepfather (former BBC chairman Sir Christopher Bland) and then father-in-law (co-chairman of the multinational investment bank Salomon Smith Barney).^[5] 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.^[13]^[5] The Pocket Canons (1998) published in partnership with Matthew Darby was Byng's first runaway success: selected books from the Bible individually packaged with new introductions by the Dalai Lama among others. In the wake of the two-million selling, Booker-winning Life of Pi (2001),^[11] Canongate won Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2003, reportedly posting pre-tax profits of more than £1 million for that year.

Byng is the initiator and chair of World Book Night,^[14] an event in which on 5 March 2011 (following World Book Day on 3 March) one million books – 40,000 copies of each of 25 carefully selected titles – were given away to members of the public in the UK and Ireland. It entailed 20,000 "givers" each distributing 48 copies of their chosen title to whomever they chose.^[15]

References

^ "About us" Archived 1 August 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Canongate.tv.
^ ^a ^b "The real Byng". The Scotsman. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
^ Jane Martinson, "List addict prepared to tick off BT television" (interview with Sir Christopher Bland), The Guardian, 10 February 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
^ "GQ and ei's 100 Most Connected Men 2014", GQ, 8 December 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Jamie Byng: Great giveaway by the bad boy of books", Sunday Times, 5 December 2010.
^ Emily Bearn, "Whitney McVeigh may have social cachet and an illustrious client list, but there's nothing superficial about her commitment to self exposure on canvas", Evening Standard, 16 October 2009.
^ Stephen Jardine, "Canongate .. I liked it so much I bought the company", The Scotsman, 23 September 2003.
^ "Elizabeth Sheinkman and James Byng". The New York Times. 3 July 2005.
^ "Jamie Byng news and features". Tatler. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
^ "The Diary: Jamie Byng", FT.com, 21 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b Libby Brookes, "Posh and books", The Guardian, 1 November 2002.
^ Fox, Killian (6 March 2016). "Interview: Jamie Byng: 'Listening to letters being read out is quite something'". The Observer.
^ "Triumph of an odd couple", The Scotsman, 26 October 2002.
^ Natasha Lunn, "Jamie Byng: This Man Will Make You Read More", Red, 31 March 2015.
^ "World Book Night". worldbooknight.org.

External links

Sam Leith, "The Tao of Mr Jamie Byng" (interview), Mr Porter, 22 February 2018.
"The SRB Interview: Jamie Byng", Scottish Review of Books, 2 March 2012.
"Porter Anderson meets Jamie Byng", The Bookseller, 29 May 2014.
Vicky Allan, "Canongate's Jamie Byng balances the books for 21 years", The Herald, 19 September 2015.

[1] "About us" Archived 1 August 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Canongate.tv.

[Scotsman-2] "The real Byng". The Scotsman. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2024.

[3] Jane Martinson, "List addict prepared to tick off BT television" (interview with Sir Christopher Bland), The Guardian, 10 February 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2012.

[4] "GQ and ei's 100 Most Connected Men 2014", GQ, 8 December 2014.

[SundayTimes-5] "Jamie Byng: Great giveaway by the bad boy of books", Sunday Times, 5 December 2010.

[6] Emily Bearn, "Whitney McVeigh may have social cachet and an illustrious client list, but there's nothing superficial about her commitment to self exposure on canvas", Evening Standard, 16 October 2009.

[7] Stephen Jardine, "Canongate .. I liked it so much I bought the company", The Scotsman, 23 September 2003.

[8] "Elizabeth Sheinkman and James Byng". The New York Times. 3 July 2005.

[9] "Jamie Byng news and features". Tatler. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2020.

[10] "The Diary: Jamie Byng", FT.com, 21 April 2012.

[Brookes-11] Libby Brookes, "Posh and books", The Guardian, 1 November 2002.

[12] Fox, Killian (6 March 2016). "Interview: Jamie Byng: 'Listening to letters being read out is quite something'". The Observer.

[13] "Triumph of an odd couple", The Scotsman, 26 October 2002.

[14] Natasha Lunn, "Jamie Byng: This Man Will Make You Read More", Red, 31 March 2015.

[15] "World Book Night". worldbooknight.org.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|British publisher (born 1969)}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2013}}
-{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
+{{Use British English|date=May 2023}}
-'''The Honourable<ref>[http://www.thepeerage.com/p6918.htm#i69172 Hon. James Edmund Byng] The Peerage.Com Date: 22 May 2004. Retrieved: 15 September 2012.</ref><ref>[http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/index738.htm Earl of Strafford] Cracroft's Peerage. Retrieved: 15 September 2012.</ref> James Edmund "Jamie" Byng''' (born 27 June 1969) works for the independent publishing firm [[Canongate Books]].
+{{infobox person
+| name               = James Byng
+| image              =
+| alt                =
+| caption            =
+| birth_name         = James Edmund Byng
+| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1969|06|27}}
+| birth_place        =
+| education          = [[Winchester College]]
+| alma mater         = [[University of Edinburgh]]
+| nationality        = British
+| other_names        =
+| occupation         = Publisher
+| employer           = [[Canongate Books]]
+| known_for          =
+| spouse             = {{plainlist|
+* {{marriage|[[Whitney McVeigh]]|||end=divorced}}
+* {{marriage|Elizabeth Sheinkman|2005|2016|end=divorced}}
+* {{marriage|Silvia Gimenez Varela|2021}}
+}}
+| children           = 5
+| relatives          = [[Georgia Byng]] (sister)<br>[[Christopher Bland|Sir Christopher Bland]] (stepfather)<br>[[Archie Bland]] (half-brother)
+}}
+'''James Edmund Byng''' (born 27 June 1969) is a British publisher. He works for the independent publishing firm [[Canongate Books]], where he is the CEO and publisher.<ref>[https://canongate.co.uk/about/ "About us"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801014657/https://canongate.co.uk/about/ |date=1 August 2023 }}, Canongate.tv.</ref>
-==Early life==
+== Early life ==
-Byng grew up in the village of [[Abbots Worthy]] in [[Hampshire]]. He is the second son of the 8th Earl of Strafford and Jennifer May, brother to the author [[Lady Georgia Byng]], and through his stepfather, Sir [[Christopher Bland]], the former Chairman of the [[BBC]], [[British Telecom]] and [[Royal Shakespeare Company]], he is the half-brother of print journalist and now Deputy Editor of ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper, [[Archie Bland]].<ref>Jane Martinson, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/feb/10/digitalmedia.citynews "List addict prepared to tick off BT television" (interview with Sir Christopher Bland)], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 10 February 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2012.</ref>
+Byng grew up in the village of [[Abbots Worthy]] in [[Hampshire]], England.<ref name=Scotsman>{{cite news|url=https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/the-real-byng-2465430|title=The real Byng|newspaper=The Scotsman|date=2 June 2006|access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref> The second son of the 8th [[Earl of Strafford]] and Jennifer May, he is brother to the author [[Lady Georgia Byng]], and through his stepfather, Sir [[Christopher Bland]] (the former chairman of the [[BBC]], [[British Telecom]] and [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]), he is the half-brother of [[Archie Bland]], print journalist and former deputy editor of ''[[The Independent]]''.<ref>Jane Martinson, [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/10/digitalmedia.citynews "List addict prepared to tick off BT television"] (interview with Sir Christopher Bland), ''[[The Guardian]]'', 10 February 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2012.</ref><ref>[https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gallery/100-most-connected-men-2014 "GQ and ei's 100 Most Connected Men 2014"], ''[[GQ]]'', 8 December 2014.</ref>
-==Education and family==
-Byng was educated at [[Winchester College]], a boarding independent school for boys in the [[cathedral city]] of [[Winchester]] in Hampshire in [[Southern England]], followed by the [[University of Edinburgh]]. While attending Edinburgh University, he ran a funk, reggae and rare groove night club named "Chocolate City" (after the [[Parliament (band)|Parliament]] classic) at The Venue with his first wife [[Whitney McVeigh]]<ref>[http://business.highbeam.com/5729/article-1G1-209790841/naked-talent-whitney-mcveigh-may-have-social-cachet "Whitney McVeigh may have social cachet and an illustrious client list, but there's nothing superficial about her commitment to self exposure on canvas", "Evening Standard". 16 Oct 2009]</ref>, with whom he has two children - a daughter Marley and son Leo. Whitney McVeigh is the daughter of a socialite mother and her father is Charles McVeigh, who was the wealthy co-chairman of the multinational investment bank Salomon Smith Barney.<ref>[[Stephen Jardine]], [http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/books/canongate_i_liked_it_so_much_i_bought_the_company_1_893485 "Canongate .. I liked it so much I bought the company"], ''The Scotsman'', 23 September 2003.</ref><ref>[http://www.scotsman.com/news/arts/the_real_byng_1_1120315 "The real Byng"], ''The Scotsman'', 2 June 2006.</ref> Byng and McVeigh separated in 2001 and Byng has since married Elizabeth Sheinkman with whom he has two children, Ivy and Nathaniel.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/edf27448-893c-11e1-bed0-00144feab49a.html#axzz2s7BbH7iL "The Diary: Jamie Byng"], FT.com, 21 April 2012.</ref>
+== Education and family ==
-==Publishing career==
-After graduating, he convinced Scottish publisher Stephanie Wolfe Murray to give him a job at Canongate, then a respected but still somewhat marginalised Scottish company founded in 1973. When Canongate was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1994, Byng, then in his mid-20s, instigated a buyout, aided by his business partner Hugh Andrew, his stepfather (former [[BBC]] chairman Sir [[Christopher Bland]]) and then father-in-law (co-chairman of the multinational investment bank [[Salomon Smith Barney]]). 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. [[The Pocket Canons]] (1998) published in partnership with [[Matthew Darby]] was Byng's first runaway success: selected books from the Bible individually packaged with new introductions by the [[Dalai Lama]] among others. In the wake of the two-million selling, Booker-winning [[Life of Pi|Life Of Pi]], Canongate won Publisher Of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2003, reportedly posting pre-tax profits of more than £1 million for that year.
+Byng was educated at [[Winchester College]], an independent boarding-school for boys in the [[cathedral city]] of [[Winchester]] in Hampshire, [[Southern England]], followed by the [[University of Edinburgh]].<ref name=SundayTimes>[https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jamie-byng-great-giveaway-by-the-bad-boy-of-books-x9f0vhvbrvb "Jamie Byng: Great giveaway by the bad boy of books"], ''[[Sunday Times]]'', 5 December 2010.</ref> While attending the university, he ran a [[funk]], reggae, and [[rare groove]] night club named "Chocolate City" (after the [[Parliament (band)|Parliament]] classic) at The Venue with his first wife, [[Whitney McVeigh]],<ref>Emily Bearn, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160310020850/https://business.highbeam.com/5729/article-1G1-209790841/naked-talent-whitney-mcveigh-may-have-social-cachet "Whitney McVeigh may have social cachet and an illustrious client list, but there's nothing superficial about her commitment to self exposure on canvas"], ''[[Evening Standard]]'', 16 October 2009.</ref> with whom he has two children – a daughter Marley and son Leo. Whitney McVeigh is the daughter of a [[socialite]] mother and her father is an American banker.<ref>[[Stephen Jardine]], [http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/books/canongate_i_liked_it_so_much_i_bought_the_company_1_893485 "Canongate .. I liked it so much I bought the company"], ''[[The Scotsman]]'', 23 September 2003.</ref><ref name=Scotsman /> Byng and McVeigh separated in 2001, and in 2005 Byng married literary agent Elizabeth Sheinkman,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/03/fashion/weddings/03shei.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Elizabeth Sheinkman and James Byng|date=3 July 2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tatler.com/person/jamie-byng|title=Jamie Byng news and features|website=Tatler|access-date=11 June 2020|archive-date=24 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524043044/https://www.tatler.com/person/jamie-byng|url-status=dead}}</ref> with whom he has two children, Ivy and Nathaniel.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/edf27448-893c-11e1-bed0-00144feab49a.html#axzz2s7BbH7iL "The Diary: Jamie Byng"], FT.com, 21 April 2012.</ref> Byng separated from Sheinkman in 2016 and married Silvia Gimenez Varela in 2021 and they have one child.{{citation needed|date= February 2022}}
-Byng is the initiator and Chair of [[World Book Night]], an event in which on 5 March 2011 (following [[World Book Day]] on 3 March) one million books - 40,000 copies of each of 25 carefully selected titles - were given away to members of the public in the UK and Ireland. It entailed 20,000 "givers" each distributing 48 copies of their chosen title to whomever they choose.<ref>[http://www.worldbooknight.org/ World Book Night website]</ref>
+== Publishing career ==
-==References==
+After graduating, he convinced Scottish publisher [[Stephanie Wolfe Murray]] to give him a job at Canongate, then a respected but still somewhat marginalised Scottish company founded in 1973,<ref name=Brookes>Libby Brookes, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/nov/01/bookerprize2002.thebookerprize "Posh and books"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 1 November 2002.</ref> which he joined as an intern.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/mar/06/jamie-byng-letters-live-quite-something|title=Interview: Jamie Byng: 'Listening to letters being read out is quite something'|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|first=Killian|last=Fox|date=6 March 2016}}</ref> When Canongate was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1994, Byng, then in his mid-20s, instigated a buyout, aided by his business partner Hugh Andrew, his stepfather (former [[BBC]] chairman [[Christopher Bland|Sir Christopher Bland]]) and then father-in-law (co-chairman of the multinational investment bank [[Salomon Smith Barney]]).<ref name=SundayTimes /> 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.<ref>[https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/books/triumph-of-an-odd-couple-1-626653 "Triumph of an odd couple"], ''The Scotsman'', 26 October 2002.</ref><ref name=SundayTimes /> ''[[The Pocket Canons]]'' (1998) published in partnership with [[Matthew Darby]] was Byng's first runaway success: selected books from the Bible individually packaged with new introductions by the [[Dalai Lama]] among others. In the wake of the two-million selling, Booker-winning ''[[Life of Pi]]'' (2001),<ref name=Brookes /> Canongate won Publisher of the Year at the [[British Book Awards]] in 2003, reportedly posting pre-tax profits of more than £1 million for that year.
+Byng is the initiator and chair of [[World Book Night]],<ref>Natasha Lunn, [http://www.redonline.co.uk/red-women/blogs/jamie-byng-this-man-will-make-you-read-more "Jamie Byng: This Man Will Make You Read More"], ''Red'', 31 March 2015.</ref> an event in which on 5 March 2011 (following [[World Book Day]] on 3 March) one million books – 40,000 copies of each of 25 carefully selected titles – were given away to members of the public in the UK and Ireland. It entailed 20,000 "givers" each distributing 48 copies of their chosen title to whomever they chose.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://worldbooknight.org/|title=World Book Night|website=worldbooknight.org}}</ref>
+== References ==
 {{reflist}}
 ==External links==
+* Sam Leith, [https://www.mrporter.com/en-gb/journal/the-interview/the-tao-of-mr-jamie-byng/3091?setupsession=false "The Tao of Mr Jamie Byng"] (interview), ''Mr Porter'', 22 February 2018.
-* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p6918.htm The Peerage: The Honorable James Edmund Byng]
+* [https://www.scottishreviewofbooks.org/2012/03/the-srb-interview-jamie-byng/ "The SRB Interview: Jamie Byng"], ''[[Scottish Review of Books]]'', 2 March 2012.
-* [http://www.laurahird.com/newreview/jamiebynginterview.html Interview by Peter Murray]
+* [https://www.thebookseller.com/feature/porter-anderson-meets-jamie-byng "Porter Anderson meets Jamie Byng"], ''[[The Bookseller]]'', 29 May 2014.
-* Lauren Goldstein, [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,384752,00.html "The Big Byng Theory"], ''Time Magazine'' interview, 27 October 2002.
+* Vicky Allan, [https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/arts_ents/13770757.canongates-jamie-byng-balances-books-21-years/ "Canongate's Jamie Byng balances the books for 21 years"], ''The Herald'', 19 September 2015.
-* Libby Brookes, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/nov/01/bookerprize2002.thebookerprize "Posh and books"], ''The Guardian'', 1 November 2002.
-* Stephen Jardine, [http://news.scotsman.com/canongatebooks/Canongate---I-liked.2464040.jp "Canongate...I liked it so much I bought the company"], ''The Scotsman'', 23 September 2003.
+{{Authority control}}
-* [[Andrew Billen]], [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article410595.ece "Loose Canon of literary publishing"], ''The Times'', 10 January 2005.
-* Catherine Deveney, [http://living.scotsman.com/features/The-mane-man.2671901.jp "The mane man"], ''The Scotsman'', 23 October 2005.
-* Rowena Mason, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/4228396/Barack-Obamas-publisher-Wild-child-Jamie-Byng.html "Barack Obama's publisher: Wild child Jamie Byng"], ''The Telegraph'', 13 January 2009.
-* Lisa Glass, [http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/interview-with-canongate-publisher-of-the-year-lisa-glass-talks-to-jamie-byng/ "Interview with Canongate – Publisher of the Year"], ''Vulpes Libris'', 9 June 2009.
-* Chitra Ramaswamy, [http://living.scotsman.com/books/Interview-Jamie-Byng-publisher.6728703.jp "Interview: Jamie Byng, publisher"], ''The Scotsman'', 6 March 2011.
-{{Persondata
-| NAME              =Byng, Jamie
-| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
-| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British publisher
-| DATE OF BIRTH     = 27 June 1969
-| PLACE OF BIRTH    =
-| DATE OF DEATH     =
-| PLACE OF DEATH    =
-}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Byng, Jamie}}
-[[Category:Scottish book publishers (people)]]
-[[Category:Living people]]
 [[Category:1969 births]]
+[[Category:Living people]]
+[[Category:Byng family]]
+[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
+[[Category:People educated at Winchester College]]
+[[Category:Businesspeople from Winchester]]
+[[Category:Scottish book publishers (people)]]