1954: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is published…
Publisher George Allen & Unwin, later purchased by HarperCollins, publishes the 9,250-page manuscript of The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. More
The Guns of Navarone
Classic World War II thriller from MacLean, acclaimed master of action and suspense. More
1932: Laura Ingalls Wilder publishes Little House in the Big Woods…
Virginia Kirkus, inaugural department editor of Harper’s Department of Books for Boys and Girls, launches Laura Ingalls Wilder with the publication of Little House in the Big Woods. More
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
An American classic called “one of the books of the century” by the New York Public Library. More
Fahrenheit 451
Though set in a dystopian world without books, Bradbury’s most famous work has never gone out of print. More
A Soldier’s Tale
Enduring novel that has met with critical acclaim and been reprinted many times since its first release. More
The War of the Worlds
The much-adapted classic from “the father of science fiction.” More
Meg Cabot
I write because of readers like Diana Moreno, who handed me a letter recently telling me that, as the firstborn daughter of immigrants, she felt lonely and shy when she arrived here in 2004 . . . until she found my books. More
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
This 1972 Booker Prize–nominated novel was also made into a 1978 Australian film. More
I, Robot
Asimov’s science fiction masterpiece that influenced a legion of future authors. More
1960: The Pulitzer Prize–winning To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is published…
J. B. Lippincott publishes the Pulitzer Prize–winning To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of the most influential books on race in America, which goes on to sell more than 40 million copies. 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
Gregory Maguire
One of the reasons HarperCollins has been my most frequent publisher for thirty-three years is that I admired three children’s books published by Harper & Row within a year of each other (the year I was turning nine). More
Divergent
First book in the Divergent trilogy, which has sold more than 32 million copies worldwide. More
A Game of Thrones
First volume in the internationally bestselling series that has sold upward of 70 million copies. More
Katherine Paterson
I read because I want more than one life, and books give me a limitless number of lives—lives that are different from the one I was born into. More
Veronica Roth
I read because reading changes you. More
Angela’s Ashes
The phenomenal worldwide bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner. More
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
The bestselling American novel of the nineteenth century; an epic tale of betrayal and honor. More
Empire of the Sun
Winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. More
Tracy Chevalier
I read because I want to know what it’s like to look at the world through someone else’s eyes, and reading is a remarkably efficient and vigorous way of doing that. More
Freaky Friday
Classic comedic children’s novel that is so funny it has been adapted into film three times. More
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia #1)
First book written in the world-celebrated Narnia series; captivating readers for more than sixty years. More
Longitude
Story of an epic scientific quest, which won British Book of the Year in 1997. More
The Exorcist
The first horror story to reach number one on the New York Times bestseller list. More
The Other Side of Midnight
This suspenseful, glamorous thriller was a genre-busting bestseller from Sheldon, an acclaimed master storyteller. 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