Lecture 1 (of 3): The Golden Age: Book Publishing after World War II

It was a time of optimism, fuelled by a rapidly expanding consumer market and the energy unleashed by the end of the War. Many of the great figures of early 20th-century publishing were still in command of their own companies and were publishing with passion and verve. A Jewish diaspora from Germany and Austria was reinvigorating London publishing. American publishers were readily expanding and flourishing. New technologies and formats were gradually democratizing the book industry. Scale began to drive much of the business, enabled by a generation of great writers with powerful stories to tell, assisted by eager media and enthusiastic publics. The first lecture in this series sketches the UK and US horizons against which specifically Canadian developments set out in the second will stand out.

Biography: Scott is the founding partner and recently retired Publisher and Chairman of Douglas & McIntyre Publishers which during his tenure published some 2000 Canadian books. For over 40 years Scott has been actively involved in government relations and industry association work in the cultural industries, both provincially and federally. He has served on many cultural boards, both in Canada and Internationally, and recently completed a term as President and Program Chair of the Vancouver Institute. He is Past- Chair of the BC Achievement Foundation, and on the Advisory Boards of the Global Reporting Centre, the Museum of Anthropology and Green College, all at UBC, and PEN Canada in Toronto. His many other board involvements have included the Writer’s Trust of Canada, the BC Arts Council, the UBC School of Journalism, the Association of Canadian Publishers, and Logos:The Journal of of the World Book Community. In 1996, Scott received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Simon Fraser University. The following year, he became a member of the Order of Canada, which recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement and dedication to the community. His contributions to cultural life in Canada have been further recognized by a Queen’s Golden Jubilee medal in 2002, and her Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. In 2012 Scott was honoured with the inaugural IVY Award for his substantial contributions of Canadian publishing from the International Festival of Authors in Toronto. In 2016, he received the Gray Campbell Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the British Columbia book publishing industry. In 2019, he was awarded the Order of British Columbia.