HarperCollins Publishers

“A Word of Apology” from Harper & Brothers regarding the Harper fire of 1853

In this “Word of Apology” published in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine in January 1854, the Harper brothers address the devastating fire that ruined their New York City offices on Cliff Street in late 1853. More

1937: Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God is published…

J. B. Lippincott publishes Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God. More

1931: Pat and Bernard Zondervan start a religious publishing firm…

Pat and Bernard Zondervan start a religious publishing firm out of their mother’s farmhouse. More

1908: Collins obtains New Zealand Post Office Box #1…

Auckland's First Sky-Scrapper. The Wyndam Street Building.

During a time of expansion for Collins in New Zealand, the company obtains New Zealand Post Office Box #1 (which it continues to use to this day) and moves to a new building on Wyndham Street, which at eight stories high, was then Auckland’s tallest building. More

The History of HarperCollins Children’s Books in the U.S.

The Department of Books for Boys and Girls at Harper was established in the U.S. in 1926. More

1877: Thomas Nelson introduces the Royal Readers and Royal School series

Thomas Nelson introduces the Royal Readers and Royal School series in response to the enactment of compulsory schooling laws and increased demand for instructional books. More

Nelson and Sons at Work

Employees working in the Nelson and Sons bindery.

In 1845 Thomas Nelson and Sons moved its operations to a printing works at Hope Park in Scotland, big enough for its growing staff of more than 400. More

Sam Moore with Ronald Reagan

Sam Moore was the founder of Royal Publishing, which acquired Thomas Nelson in 1969 and adopted its name. More

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

First edition of I’m OK—You’re OK by Thomas A. Harris from 1969.

While giving a talk to a group of men and women about relationships, author John Gray realized he had a hook for a new book. More

Queen Elizabeth II visiting the Collins Glasgow offices

Billy Collins, William Collins Sons & Co.’s incumbent chairman, greets Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at the Collins Glasgow offices as part of the company’s celebration of its 150th anniversary in 1969. More

1860: Harper & Brothers enters into the crime fiction genre

The Woman in White. A Novel. By Wilkie Sollins, author of

Harper & Brothers pay Wilkie Collins £750 for The Woman in White, which heralds the firm's entry into the crime fiction genre. More

2000: Gao Xingjian becomes the first Chinese author to win the Nobel Prize for Literature…

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian. Translated by the Chinese by Mabel Lee. (Cover).

Gao Xingjian becomes the first Chinese author to win the Nobel Prize for Literature after HarperCollins Australia publishes his novel Soul Mountain. More

I Can Read!

Inspired by an occasion in which she attempted to find an appropriate book for a young boy who had just learned to read, Boston librarian Virginia Haviland telephoned her friend Ursula Nordstrom, the head of children’s publishing at Harper & Brothers. More

The Growth of Harlequin Romance

Lawrence Heisey, a former soap salesman who was appointed president of Harlequin in 1971.

Lawrence Heisey, a former soap salesman who had been appointed president of Harlequin in 1971, revolutionized romance publishing by distributing Harlequin romances to supermarkets and department stores, where they would be right at the fingertips of Canadian and American homemakers. More

Ursula Nordstrom

When Anne Carroll Moore, the powerful and opinionated superintendent of children’s work at the New York Public Library, asked Harper & Brothers editor Ursula Nordstrom why she felt qualified to produce children’s books, Nordstrom said only this: “Well, I am a former child, and I haven’t forgotten a thing.” More

Letter from John Donovan submitting the manuscript for I’ll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip.

In June 1968, author John Donovan wrote to Ursula Nordstrom, head of the U.S. Harper Children’s division, asking her to read the manuscript... More

1963: Maurice Sendak receives the Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are…

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is published. It is awarded the 1964 Caldecott Medal. More

1970: Zondervan publishes the number one nonfiction bestseller of the decade…

The Late Great Planet Earth. The National Best Seller by Hal Lindsey with C.C. Carlson. A penetrating look at incredible prophecies involving this generation. (Cover)

Zondervan publishes The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey, which becomes the number one nonfiction bestseller of the decade. More

Collins Reference and Education

Title page of an 1869 Collins atlas, printed for the Scottish School Book Association and featuring Bartholomew maps.

William Collins spent his earliest years teaching before starting his publishing venture in 1819. More

Canada Post stamp honoring Harlequin

This stamp from Canada Post was created in 2000 to honor Harlequin’s history in the country. More

Original cover design for a Collins Crime Club title

Here you can see the progression of the cover art for the Collins Crime Club title Nothing is the Number When You Die by Joan Fleming (circa 1940s). More

1839: Collins receives a license to publish the King James Version of the Bible

The Hole Bible. According to the authorized version, with the marginal readings and parallel references, printed at Length. (Cover)

Collins receives a license to publish the King James Version of the Bible. More

Incidents of Travel in Yucatán

In 1839, American diplomat John Lloyd Stephens and British artist Frederick Catherwood—both already celebrated for their adventures in Egypt, the Holy Land, Greece, and Rome—sailed together out of New York harbor on an expedition into the forbidding rain forests of present-day Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. More

Tag: Expanding literature