Alistair MacLean signing books
The young Alistair MacLean in 1957 signs a book during a promotional event for The Guns of Navarone. 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
A Woman of Substance
With her unforgettable heroine Emma Harte, Bradford popularized the rags-to-riches family saga. More
Where the Wild Things Are
This winner of the 1964 Caldecott Medal changed the face of children’s literature. More
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Thompson’s highly subjective blend of fact and fiction that popularized what has become known as gonzo journalism. More
Life on Earth
Established Sir David as a foremost naturalist and an iconic and beloved figure in British cultural life. More
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
This 1972 Booker Prize–nominated novel was also made into a 1978 Australian film. More
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
The bestselling American novel of the nineteenth century; an epic tale of betrayal and honor. More
The Fellowship of the Ring
First volume in The Lord of the Rings series, which has sold more than 100 million copies. More
The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly
Memoir offering a haunting, harrowing look inside the cruel prison of locked-in syndrome. More
The Exorcist
The first horror story to reach number one on the New York Times bestseller list. More
Michael Bond
I was brought up in a house where books were an essential part of the furnishings. More
Little House on the Prairie
Third book in the award-winning Little House series, which has sold more than 34 million copies. More
Bernard Cornwell
Born in London in 1944, Bernard Cornwell grew up in Essex and, after a stint as a teacher, moved on to the BBC, where he took a job as a producer in Northern Ireland. More
The Ipcress File
Deighton’s classic first novel broke the mold of the thriller genre. 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
A Christmas Carol
Dickens’s beloved classic of the meaning of Christmas that has inspired countless adaptations. More
Barbara Taylor Bradford
When I say I have the need to write, I do mean need. More
Stuart Little
White’s beloved classic about a small mouse on a big adventure is a perennial bestseller. 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
Room
Winner of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize regional prize; made into a major motion picture. 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
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
Lauren Weisberger
A book that influenced me and why . . . Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume was incredibly influential to me as a child. More
Howl’s Moving Castle
This popular novel stars one of the most beloved and charismatic characters in children’s literature. 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
Wicked
Bestseller that is the basis for the hit Tony Award–winning Broadway musical. More