The Hobbit
J. R. R. Tolkien’s enchanting tale became an instant success when it was first published. More
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943), a story about growing up poor in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn, was originally an entry for a Harper & Brothers memoir contest. More
Wicked
Bestseller that is the basis for the hit Tony Award–winning Broadway musical. More
To Kill a Mockingbird
Much-loved Pulitzer Prize–winning classic, voted by librarians across America as the best novel of the twentieth century. More
Inventing the Western
Zane Grey and A. B. Guthrie Jr. were considered two of the foremost writers on the American West. More
Jane Eyre
Brontë’s masterpiece of Gothic romance; a milestone title in the history of British feminist literature. More
From Clerk to Chairman of the Board
One summer day in 1884, Horatio Harper, grandson of founder John Harper, began talking with a bright young boy during his regular steamboat commute from Long Island to Manhattan. More
Doctor Zhivago
Collins was the first to publish this epic romantic drama by the Nobel Prize winner in English. 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
Little Bear
The very first I Can Read! book has sold more than one million copies. More
The Ipcress File
Deighton’s classic first novel broke the mold of the thriller genre. More
1971: William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist is published…
William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist becomes the first horror story to reach number one on the New York Times bestseller list and helps initiate the modern horror film movement. More
Room
Winner of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize regional prize; made into a major motion picture. More
American Gods
An instant classic and winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. 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
And Then There Were None
The bestselling crime novel of all time. More
Papillon
A bestselling phenomenon and classic memoir of prison breaks and adventure. 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
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
This 1972 Booker Prize–nominated novel was also made into a 1978 Australian film. More
The Fellowship of the Ring
First volume in The Lord of the Rings series, which has sold more than 100 million copies. More
Ben-Hur
Lew Wallace, a Union general in the Civil War, wrote the biblical novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ in 1880. More
The Other Side of Midnight
This suspenseful, glamorous thriller was a genre-busting bestseller from Sheldon, an acclaimed master storyteller. More
Fahrenheit 451
Though set in a dystopian world without books, Bradbury’s most famous work has never gone out of print. More
Neil Gaiman
I read to travel, and to learn. More
Barbara Taylor Bradford
When I say I have the need to write, I do mean need. More
The Cat in the Hat
This iconic Dr. Seuss book is one of the bestselling children’s books of all time. More
Riders of the Purple Sage
Often called “the most popular Western novel of all time,” this classic helped shape the Western genre. More