Mary Karr
I read to save my life, to take communion, to enter a community of fellow sufferers and rejoicers. More
C.S. Lewis and Christianity
Born in 1898 in Belfast, Clive Staples Lewis lost his faith in Christianity at a young age after his mother died and he was sent away to boarding school. More
Danny and the Dinosaur
I Can Read! classic that was named a 1958 New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year. More
One Hundred Years of Solitude
This landmark of magical realism sparked a wave of interest in Central and South American literature. More
The Hobbit
In October 1936, Stanley Unwin, chairman of British publishers George Allen & Unwin (later acquired by HarperCollins), received a children’s book submission. More
Pilgrim
A finalist for the Giller Prize and a Canadian bestseller that surpassed the author’s own impressive sales records. More
Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt regarding a new autobiographical book
Harper editor and chairman of the board Cass Canfield sent this letter, dated April 10, 1951, to Eleanor Roosevelt... More
What Do People Do All Day?
Over 100 million Scarry books have sold worldwide; a favorite in his classic Busytown series. More
1923: The Harper Prize Novel is introduced as a competition to discover unknown authors…
The Harper Prize Novel is introduced as a competition to discover unknown authors, and receives more than 700 submissions in its first year. The first winner, The Able McLaughlins by Margaret Wilson, is later awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel (1924). More
Charlotte’s Web
Considered a classic of children’s literature; a novel of friendship, love, life, and death. More
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
The beloved multimillion-copy-selling British picture book no childhood should be without. More
Mark Twain
In 1866, with mostly newspaper articles and other short works to his name, Mark Twain accepted an assignment from the Sacramento Union to produce a weekly column from Hawaii. More
1953: William Collins and Sons gains the rights to publish C. S. Lewis…
William Collins and Sons purchases the religious publishing firm of Geoffrey Bles, Ltd., gaining the rights to the works of C. S. Lewis, including his Chronicles of Narnia fantasy books. More
Doctor Zhivago
Collins was the first to publish this epic romantic drama by the Nobel Prize winner in English. More
Candy package with Timothy Findley’s plans for his novella You Went Away
Canadian author Timothy Findley’s only novella, You Went Away (1996), was based on his parents’ marriage. More
A Bear Called Paddington
In 1958, an editor at Collins named Barbara Ker Wilson received a manuscript submission about a talking bear, which she opened with “initial suspicion” —as the publisher had received many other proposals featuring humanized animals that “are invariably either whimsy-whamsy, written down, or filled with adult innuendoes.” More
A Christmas Carol
Dickens’s beloved classic of the meaning of Christmas that has inspired countless adaptations. More
Middlemarch
Ranked number one in a 2015 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British novels. More
1956: Harper & Brothers publishes Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy…
Harper & Brothers publishes Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy, which wins the Pulitzer Prize in 1957 and helps propel the young senator to the White House. More
Amelia Bedelia
The first book featuring the now-classic, hilariously literal-minded character Amelia Bedelia. More
Letter from C. S. Lewis
In this letter to Collins publisher Billy Collins, dated November 1954, C. S. Lewis—author of The Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, and The Screwtape Letters, among others—outlines what he sees as his three types of “literary output”: “A. Religious and General. B. Fiction. C. Academic.” More
The Graveyard Book
Winner of the Newbery Medal, the Carnegie Medal, and the Hugo Award for Best Novel. More
Original editorial correspondence regarding Joni Eareckson Tada
A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson, then seventeen, a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, without the use of her hands. More
Becoming Children’s Authors: Sendak, Silverstein And Ursula Nordstrom
Neither Maurice Sendak nor Shel Silverstein started their careers with children’s literature as a focus. More
Kitten’s First Full Moon
Its brief text, large type, and luminescent pictures evoke the classic picture book era; Caldecott Medal winner. More
The Complete Works of Mark Twain: Authorized Edition
Twain worked directly with Harper & Brothers to produce this authorized edition of his works. More
Social Change: African American Identity in the U.S.
HarperCollins has published a number of books that explore the racial identity of African Americans during periods of great social conflict. More