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Allison & Busby
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<h2 id="background">Background</h2> <p>Launching as a publishing company in May 1967,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> A & B in its first two decades published writers including <a href="/facts/Sam_Greenlee/knHHVgVa">Sam Greenlee</a>, <a href="/facts/Michael_Moorcock/w01y6Hkv">Michael Moorcock</a>, <a href="/facts/H._Rap_Brown/8YsUPwuN">H. Rap Brown</a>, <a href="/facts/Buchi_Emecheta/JY1Guc02">Buchi Emecheta</a>, <a href="/facts/Nuruddin_Farah/gIcHPFcH">Nuruddin Farah</a>, <a href="/facts/Rosa_Guy/Mb3hjdb7">Rosa Guy</a>, <a href="/facts/Roy_Heath/HHuyjg6d">Roy Heath</a>, <a href="/facts/Aidan_Higgins/1901nIou">Aidan Higgins</a>, <a href="/facts/Chester_Himes/w0hSDefs">Chester Himes</a>, <a href="/facts/Adrian_Henri/juIs3ysx">Adrian Henri</a>, <a href="/facts/Michael_Horovitz/fdrjvnlt">Michael Horovitz</a>, <a href="/facts/C._L._R._James/tuoEyplA">C. L. R. James</a>, <a href="/facts/George_Lamming/rkLtCSlY">George Lamming</a>, <a href="/facts/Geoffrey_Grigson/xga4q3D2">Geoffrey Grigson</a>, <a href="/facts/Jill_Murphy/8AMeQCKk">Jill Murphy</a>, <a href="/facts/Andrew_Salkey/ok4F8eY3">Andrew Salkey</a>, <a href="/facts/Ishmael_Reed/1kneRA3f">Ishmael Reed</a>, <a href="/facts/Julius_Lester/ln1X5JpA">Julius Lester</a>, <a href="/facts/Alexis_Lykiard/oB0KMmSa">Alexis Lykiard</a>, <a href="/facts/Colin_MacInnes/FrzSUES1">Colin MacInnes</a>, <a href="/facts/Arthur_Maimane/J6q5nj6n">Arthur Maimane</a>, <a href="/facts/Adrian_Mitchell/7ouhlQQR">Adrian Mitchell</a>, <a href="/facts/Ralph_de_Boissi%C3%A8re/B0IGUkoA">Ralph de Boissière</a>, <a href="/facts/Gordon_Williams_(writer)/MwhUxK79">Gordon Williams</a>, <a href="/facts/Alan_Burns_(author)/07HKTP1b">Alan Burns</a>, <a href="/facts/John_Clute/T2RE8Ijr">John Clute</a>, <a href="/facts/James_Ellroy/ynwhF65J">James Ellroy</a>, <a href="/facts/Giles_Gordon/qvRgnQbR">Giles Gordon</a>, <a href="/facts/Clive_Sinclair_(author)/q6oSxQhS">Clive Sinclair</a>, <a href="/facts/Jack_Trevor_Story/xe0Bg9Vk">Jack Trevor Story</a>, <a href="/facts/John_Edgar_Wideman/9z444eNM">John Edgar Wideman</a>, <a href="/facts/Val_Wilmer/9Gfc7esA">Val Wilmer</a>, <a href="/facts/Margaret_Thomson_Davis/n3DJqxa7">Margaret Thomson Davis</a>, <a href="/facts/Dermot_Healy/sulSyINL">Dermot Healy</a>, <a href="/facts/Richard_Stark/aFPWHnY1">Richard Stark</a>, <a href="/facts/B._Traven/tV1oKKwA">B. Traven</a>, <a href="/facts/Simon_Leys/FXJWLVo0">Simon Leys</a>, and others.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>Among the imprint's original titles are <i><a href="/facts/The_Spook_Who_Sat_by_the_Door_(novel)/aNBPET2D">The Spook Who Sat by the Door</a></i> (1969), <i><a href="/facts/Behold_the_Man_(novel)/MUARxU8C">Behold the Man</a></i> (1969), <i><a href="/facts/The_Final_Programme/LwNF0SXr">The Final Programme</a></i> (1969), <i><a href="/facts/The_English_Assassin:_A_Romance_of_Entropy/0GpKbPnk">The English Assassin</a></i> (1972), <i><a href="/facts/The_Worst_Witch/1AY256Lq">The Worst Witch</a></i> (1974), <i><a href="/facts/The_Bride_Price/FmPvh9VX">The Bride Price</a></i> (1976), <i><a href="/facts/The_Lives_and_Times_of_Jerry_Cornelius/GFswDIwQ">The Lives and Times of Jerry Cornelius</a></i> (1976), <i><a href="/facts/The_Condition_of_Muzak/1Tnmz9GV">The Condition of Muzak</a></i> (1977), <i><a href="/facts/Gloriana_(novel)/CYlGnXYL">Gloriana</a></i> (1978), <i><a href="/facts/Simon_Leys/FXJWLVo0">The Chairman's New Clothes: Mao and the Cultural Revolution</a></i> (1979), and <i><a href="/facts/The_True_History_of_the_Elephant_Man/ow9qfNuw">The True History of the Elephant Man</a></i> (1980). </p><p>Book series published have included Motive,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> A&B Poetry,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> Allison and Busby Writer's Guides,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> Allison & Busby Twentieth Century Classics,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> and The Blind Detective Series.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p><p>The company was acquired by <a href="/facts/W._H._Allen_Ltd/r43GG9Hl">W. H. Allen Ltd</a> in 1987, was subsequently part of <a href="/facts/Virgin_Publishing/66xsNojy">Virgin Publishing</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> and has since "evolved and thrived under various independent managers",<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> including Peter Day and <a href="/facts/David_Shelley_(publisher)/tSWEEqt8">David Shelley</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> A & B is now owned by Spanish publisher <a href="/facts/Javier_Moll/46gmfYqt">Javier Moll</a>'s Editorial Prensa Ibérica.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> The current Publishing Director, appointed in 2005,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> is Susie Dunlop,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> and the imprint publishes "an array of books, from crime and thrillers to literary, historical and women's fiction, to fantasy, memoirs, and books on popular culture."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p><p>At the time of the company's founding, Margaret Busby was the UK's youngest and the first black woman publisher;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> she left the company in 1987.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> Clive Allison died on 25 July 2011.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Kate Kingshill, "Clive Allison" (obituary),<i><a href="/facts/The_Independent/g1P75Mfz">The Independent</a></i>, 7 September 2011, p. 70.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.allisonandbusby.com/">Allison & Busby website.</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AllisonandBusbyBooks">Allison & Busby Books</a> on Facebook.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Busby, Margaret (3 August 2011). "Clive Allison obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 November 2018. <a href="/wiki/Margaret_Busby" target="_blank">/wiki/Margaret_Busby</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Kingshill, Katie (7 September 2011). "Clive Allison: Publisher whose eclectic imprint was in the vanguard of independent houses". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2018. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/clive-allison-publisher-whose-eclectic-imprint-was-in-the-vanguard-of-independent-houses-2350183.html" target="_blank">https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/clive-allison-publisher-whose-eclectic-imprint-was-in-the-vanguard-of-independent-houses-2350183.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Margaret Busby remembers Clive Allison". Poetry Book Society. 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2012. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160602105811/http://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/news/141/margaret_busby_remembers_clive_allison/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20160602105811/http://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/news/141/margaret_busby_remembers_clive_allison/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Independent Publisher of the Month: Allison & Busby". amazon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090208042456/https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000268283" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090208042456/https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000268283</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Saipan Elegy and Other Poems by James Grady; A Stained Glass Raree Show by Libby Houston; Selected Poems by James Reeves — Allison & Busby, May 1967. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saipan-Elegy-Other-Poems-James/dp/0850310024" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saipan-Elegy-Other-Poems-James/dp/0850310024</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Allison & Busby list of books, archINFORM. <a href="https://www.book-info.com/publisher/Allison+%26+Busby.htm#MenueRESU" target="_blank">https://www.book-info.com/publisher/Allison+%26+Busby.htm#MenueRESU</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Motive (Allison & Busby) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 1 November 2024. <a href="https://www.publishinghistory.com/motive-allison-and-busby.html" target="_blank">https://www.publishinghistory.com/motive-allison-and-busby.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Allison Busby Poetry, worldcat.org. Retrieved 1 November 2024. <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=%22A+%26+B+Poetry%22&itemSubType=book-printbook&itemSubTypeModified=book-printbook" target="_blank">https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=%22A+%26+B+Poetry%22&itemSubType=book-printbook&itemSubTypeModified=book-printbook</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Allison & Busby writers' guides, worldcat.org. Retrieved 1 November 2024. <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/923983882" target="_blank">https://search.worldcat.org/title/923983882</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>P. G. Wodehouse: A Biography, worldcat.org. Retrieved 1 November 2024. <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/611362332?oclcNum=611362332" target="_blank">https://search.worldcat.org/title/611362332?oclcNum=611362332</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>2023 Catalogue, allisonandbusby.com. Retrieved 1 November 2024. <a href="https://www.allisonandbusby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2023-catalogue-final.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.allisonandbusby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2023-catalogue-final.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Virgin Group History, Funding Universe. <a href="http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/virgin-group-history/" target="_blank">http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/virgin-group-history/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Co-founder of Allison & Busby dies". Allison & Busby website. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2011. Retrieved October 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161003065358/http://www.allisonandbusby.com/info/news-events/clive-allison-co-founder-of-allison-busby-dies/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20161003065358/http://www.allisonandbusby.com/info/news-events/clive-allison-co-founder-of-allison-busby-dies/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Caroline Dawnay and David Shelley, "Peter Day: a man of unerring human and literary insight", BookBrunch, 23 July 2014. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140804013316/http://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/article_free.asp?pid=peter_day_a_man_of_unerring_human_and_literary_insight" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20140804013316/http://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/article_free.asp?pid=peter_day_a_man_of_unerring_human_and_literary_insight</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"New face at Allison & Busby", Publishing News Digital Archive, Kingston University Information Services, 25 February 2005. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190507172259/http://www.ehaus2.co.uk/pnarchive/display.asp?m=62&dc=2000&mw=7&natural=True&st_01=meet%20author%20publishing%20news%20david%20freeman%20bookbeat&sf_01=keyword" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190507172259/http://www.ehaus2.co.uk/pnarchive/display.asp?m=62&dc=2000&mw=7&natural=True&st_01=meet%20author%20publishing%20news%20david%20freeman%20bookbeat&sf_01=keyword</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"New face at Allison & Busby", Publishing News Digital Archive, Kingston University Information Services, 25 February 2005. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190507172259/http://www.ehaus2.co.uk/pnarchive/display.asp?m=62&dc=2000&mw=7&natural=True&st_01=meet%20author%20publishing%20news%20david%20freeman%20bookbeat&sf_01=keyword" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190507172259/http://www.ehaus2.co.uk/pnarchive/display.asp?m=62&dc=2000&mw=7&natural=True&st_01=meet%20author%20publishing%20news%20david%20freeman%20bookbeat&sf_01=keyword</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"Contact Us", A&B website. <a href="http://www.allisonandbusby.com/contact" target="_blank">http://www.allisonandbusby.com/contact</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Allison & Busby Books – Overview, Facebook. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AllisonandBusbyBooks/info?tab=overview" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/AllisonandBusbyBooks/info?tab=overview</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"Margaret Busby Profile". The Guardian. Retrieved December 2014. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/profile/margaret-busby/" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/profile/margaret-busby/</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Carole Boyce Davies, "Women and Literature in the African Diaspora", in Melvin Ember, Carol R. Ember, Ian Skoggard (eds), Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World., Springer, 2005, p. 384. <a href="/wiki/Carole_Boyce_Davies" target="_blank">/wiki/Carole_Boyce_Davies</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Shereen Ali, "Sharing Our Voices" Archived 2 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Trinidad Guardian, 29 April 2015. <a href="http://m.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2015-04-29/sharing-our-voices" target="_blank">http://m.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2015-04-29/sharing-our-voices</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>Kingshill, Katie (7 September 2011). "Clive Allison: Publisher whose eclectic imprint was in the vanguard of independent houses". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2018. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/clive-allison-publisher-whose-eclectic-imprint-was-in-the-vanguard-of-independent-houses-2350183.html" target="_blank">https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/clive-allison-publisher-whose-eclectic-imprint-was-in-the-vanguard-of-independent-houses-2350183.html</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>