Connery to publish "Connery's Scotland"

Thursday, July 06, 2006
Edinburgh (Reuters): Sean Connery, who has said he would not live in Scotland again until it became independent, is writing a book about his native country mixed with autobiographical anecdotes, his publishers said. Canongate Books of Edinburgh said it had acquired world English-language rights to the film star's memoirs, ''Connery's Scotland'', in conjunction with Polygon.

''Our goal is to produce a very readable, visually stimulating and hopefully intriguing history of Scotland, with personal discoveries'' Connery said in a statement. Best known for his screen portrayal of fictional British spy James Bond, Connery will work in collaboration with writer and film-maker Murray Grigor. Connery, the Edinburgh-born son of a truck driver, worked together with Grigor on an award-winning documentary, ''Sean Connery's Edinburgh''. The star now lives in the Bahamas.

The Herald newspaper quoted Grigor as saying: ''The content of the book is not quite all settled, and we have just been discussing exactly what will go into it.'' Canongate said the book would be published in September next year to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the political union of Scotland and England in 1707. Canongate said it would include ''his unique take on the individuals, often unrecognised, who have played their part in Scotland's extraordinary history.'' The 75-year-old actor, who rose from milkman and local model to superstardom, has been a keen backer of the Scottish National Party (SNP) which seeks Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.

Canongate declined to say what Connery would be paid. The Scotsman newspaper suggested two years ago, when reporting Connery was interested in writing his memoirs, that he could expect bids of three million pounds ($5.5 million) or more from publishers. Canongate publisher Jamie Byng said his firm was ''absolutely thrilled'' to be publishing Connery.

''Not only is it going to be a fascinating and revelatory book about Scotland, but Sir Sean is a natural storyteller with his own great story to tell. ''Co-publishing with Hugh Andrew and his team at Polygon adds another exciting dimension to what is going to be one of the biggest publishing projects Canongate has ever been involved in.''

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