Alice Munro - Writing Her Lives

which, in the current nationalist style, singled out as the enemy American books, American publishers, American distributors, and American-influenced bookstores. The charter committed the union to campaign against the dominance of American books in Canadian schools, libraries, and bookstores, without presenting specific proof of such dominance.” Further, it “committed itself to press for legislation requiring Canadian ownership of publishing firms, distributors, bookstores and book clubs, to end what it called an ‘essentially colonial system.’ In other words it wants the McGraw-Hills, Prentice Halls and so on to be repatriated. That puts some of the union members in an odd position – Alice Munro, for example, is published by McGraw-Hill, and Harry Boyle’s publisher is Doubleday. Now their union wants those publishers, in effect, to be dismantled.”
    Munro had begun with Ryerson, the most Canadian of publishers, and ended up through no fault of her own having her second and third books published by the “Canadian” house that in the minds of many writers most symbolized what was wrong with Canadian publishing. This anomalous position came about mostly because of Munro’s loyalty to Audrey Coffin. When Toivo Kiil became editor-in-chief of the newly constituted trade department at McGraw-Hill Ryerson, he saw that Munro’s writing had commercial potential both within Canada andwithout. Given the timing of
Real Life
, Munro seemed especially to demand his attention. Writing to Munro in November 1972, Kiil commented that the week before at a press reception McGraw-Hill Ryerson had held for two of their Canadian writers (Eric Nicol and Don Harron), he had spoken “to several of your colleagues. I must say, there is a lot of discontentment among Canadian writers – some of which I hope can be remedied by stronger pro-Cnd. Policy on our part. I think next year’s list will reflect the outcome of a lot of pressuring of M-H, Int’l from here.”
    As the editor of the trade division of the American company that had swallowed Ryerson in 1970 – and that is really what happened, since McGraw-Hill primarily sought Ryerson’s textbook business – and as a person from the United States himself, Kiil was certainly in a vulnerable position in relation to the nationalists. Given the times and his own position, there is little wonder that many writers expressed discontent to Kiil. Remembering this time in 2003, Kiil proudly noted the large number of Canadian writers he was able to publish at McGraw-Hill Ryerson before he left for McClelland & Stewart in 1975. Understandably, he was proud of the role he played in making Munro’s career. In many ways, Kiil set the stage for Alice Munro as a writer with an international following. More than this, the years in which he was largely responsible for her business interests, 1971 to 1975, finally convinced her to hire a literary agent and, there again, he played a role. 15
    Once McGraw-Hill Ryerson had received
Real Life
from Munro and come to terms with her on a contract – one in which, as already noted, she asked for no advance against royalties – they were able to go into production for the Canadian edition. While Kiil and other editors at McGraw-Hill Ryerson knew and had working relationships with their counterparts at McGraw-Hill New York, editorial decisions regarding U.S. editions of titles acquired by McGraw-Hill Ryerson rested wholly with American editors. That is, the Canadian company had to stock books published in the U.S., but this arrangement was not reciprocal. Moreover, rights for any United Kingdom edition were sold by the New York office, as were first serial rights to American magazines. Thus when Kiil wrote to Munro that “next year’s list will reflect the outcome of a lot of pressuring of M-H, Int’l from here” he wasasserting his own efficacy in getting head-office editors to decide to publish Canadian writers in the United States, and to sell rights for these titles abroad. Put simply, Munro’s
Lives
and, a few years later,
Something
found themselves in just the colonial relationship with McGraw-Hill New York that Canadian nationalists were decrying. As it happened, McGraw-Hill watched the sales of
Lives
in Canada and, based on them, decided on their own edition the next year, in fall 1972. Its real success – three U.S. printings by March 1973 and selection as an alternate by the Book-of-the-Month Club – led them to decide to bring