The Pre-Packaged Library
The Harper brothers created collections of titles that allowed readers to amass an entire library instead of buying just a single book. More
King James Version Bible (KJV)
Since granted the license to print the Bible in 1839, Collins has sold tens of millions of copies. More
2012: Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel wins the Man Booker Prize…
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, published by HarperCollins in the UK, wins the Man Booker Prize. Mantel becomes the first woman ever to win the prize twice, having first won for Wolf Hall in 2009. More
The Fellowship of the Ring
First volume in The Lord of the Rings series, which has sold more than 100 million copies. More
A Game of Thrones
First volume in the internationally bestselling series that has sold upward of 70 million copies. More
Doctor Zhivago
Collins was the first to publish this epic romantic drama by the Nobel Prize winner in English. More
Michael Bond
I was brought up in a house where books were an essential part of the furnishings. More
The Guns of Navarone
Classic World War II thriller from MacLean, acclaimed master of action and suspense. More
1990: HarperCollins becomes the new global company name…
On May 29, 1990, HarperCollins becomes the new global name for the combined Harper & Row and Collins. More
New Naturalists
William Collins V (known as Billy Collins) and the printers AdPrint came up with the idea of the New Naturalist Library in 1942.
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1930: Collins establishes the Collins Crime Club…
Collins establishes the Collins Crime Club, which continues for six decades. Members receive quarterly newsletters that list the best new releases as selected by a panel of experts. More
Education and Publishing
Beginning in 1830, the Harper brothers believed that the increasingly literate populace might clamor for turnkey collections. More
Alistair MacLean signing books
The young Alistair MacLean in 1957 signs a book during a promotional event for The Guns of Navarone. More
1958: Collins publishes the first English translation of Doctor Zhivago…
Collins publishes the first English translation of Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. More
Letter from “Padington”
Signed with a paw print, this letter from “Padington” (circa 1966) was sent to Australian booksellers and sales staff, encouraging them to sell the latest Paddington title. More
1903: Collins is the first to publish illustrated shilling-priced paperbacks…
Collins is the first to publish a series of illustrated, shilling-priced pocket size classics with the introduction of Collins Illustrated Pocket Classics. Included in this series are a maroon cloth-bound David Copperfield, many other Charles Dickens favorites, Sir Walter Scott’s Kenilworth, George Eliot’s Adam Bede, and Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley. More
1856: The first Collins Atlas is published
The first Collins Atlas is published. More
1819: Chalmers & Collins Bookshop and Printing Works opens and prints its first book
Chalmers & Collins Bookshop and Printing Works opens and prints its first book… More
200 Years of HarperCollins Publishers
HarperCollins Publishers began as J. & J. Harper, a small family printing shop run by brothers James and John Harper in New York City in March 1817. More
Collins Reference and Education
William Collins spent his earliest years teaching before starting his publishing venture in 1819. More
Collins Operations during WWII
Collins maintained combined office and warehouse space at Bridewell Place in London for many years, and in 1917, its new London publishing office at 48 Pall Mall was complemented by printing works in Mayfair that included a state-of-the-art bindery, warehouse, and distribution center. More
1902: Collins publishes the first Gem…
Collins publishes the first Gem, a Pocket Pronouncing Dictionary that has 608 pages and is 2½" x 4½" in size. More
Sharpe’s Eagle
The first Sharpe novel published in Cornwell’s classic series. More
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Christie’s first book to be published by William Collins; known for its startling reveal. 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 HarperCollins Logo
The HarperCollins logo represents the 1990 consolidation of Harper & Row, based in New York, and Collins Publishers, based in London and Glasgow. More
Publishing Firsts: The Rotary Press
American inventor Richard Hoe’s 1847 four-cylinder rotary press helped increase printing output tenfold, to 8,000 pages per hour. More