Publisher to cash in as book becomes film

AN Edinburgh publisher is set to benefit to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds after one of its most famous novels was adapted for the big screen.

Edinburgh-based Canongate published Yann Martel’s Life of Pi in 2002 and the novel went on to become one of the best-selling Man Booker Prize-winners.

But profits at the firm are set to surge still further after the book – a philosophical tale about a boy named Pi – was turned into a film by Fox Movies and Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee.

The film will be released in the UK on December 20.

Canongate editorial director Francis Picken said: “Thanks to Fox, Ang Lee and the movie, a whole host of new readers will discover the book.

“In the past months in the run-up to the release, [a movie tie-in] edition has already sold more than 100,000 copies. We expect it will sell more as the excitement builds.”