Jamie Byng is the CEO and publisher of the independent publishing firm Canongate Books.

When Canongate was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1994, Byng, then in his mid-20s, bought it with a business partner. 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. Over a series of years, the publisher became a radical underdog success story not only publishing wonderful books by Miranda July and The Mighty Boosh but also two books by an, at the time, little-known Senator in Barack Obama—Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope. Jamie continues to be a maverick and taste-maker in the industry, taking chances on bold titles and authors and navigating an industry with an ever-consolidating base of power.

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