HarperCollins Publishers

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

Internal memo from Collins Canada announcing a hot air balloon publicity stunt

To launch the new Canadian trade paperback imprint Totem, in September 1975, Collins Canada’s head of publicity Lucinda Vardey organized the release of hot air balloons over Toronto and neighboring suburbs. More

Alistair MacLean signing books

The young Alistair MacLean in 1957 signs a book during a promotional event for The Guns of Navarone. More

1830: John Inman is hired by the Harper brothers as their first “reader”

John Inman is hired by the Harper brothers as their first official “reader.” More

1926: William Morrow is founded and publishes its first book…

William Morrow is founded and publishes its first book, On to Oregon! by Honoré Morrow. 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

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

Textbook Publishing: Row, Peterson & Co.

Title page for Open the Door by Mabel O’Donnell, illustrated by Florence and Margaret Hoopes, which was part of the Alice and Jerry Reading Program.

Robert Row was a textbook author and teacher. More

Protectors Of Authors’ Rights

The first installment of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens published in Harper’s Weekly.

In the early 1800s, American publishers were notorious for reprinting titles from overseas at a fraction of the price, and without payment to authors. 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

Amistad

HarperCollins’s Amistad Press is the oldest imprint devoted to titles for the African American market at any major New York publishing house. More

HarperOne

In 1977, a handful of Harper & Row employees from the Religious Books Department moved from New York to San Francisco to focus on titles pertaining to mind, body, and spirit. 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

2013: HarperCollins partners with digital book subscription services…

HarperCollins is the first major publisher to partner with digital book subscription services. 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

Judith Kerr: Beyond The Tiger Who Came to Tea

Collins author Judith Kerr may be best known in the UK for her classic children’s picture books The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Mog the Forgetful Cat, but she is also renowned for her powerful autobiographical novels about her childhood and young adulthood. More

Periodicals: Harper’s Weekly, Harper’s New Monthly and Harper’s Bazaar

The Harper brothers consistently sought ways to reach more readers with less expensive publications, and in 1850 they revolutionized the concept of the modern literary magazine with Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. More

Geronimo Johnson

I write to unread what has been written about me in error and with malice. More

Geronimo Johnson

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

Education and Publishing

Title pages of several books featured in Harper’s Family Library in the 1830s, including The History of the Bible and The Lives of Celebrated Travelers.

Beginning in 1830, the Harper brothers believed that the increasingly literate populace might clamor for turnkey collections. More

Social Change: Civil Rights

A page from the Fall 1937 Harper & Brothers catalog touting This Is My Story by Eleanor Roosevelt.

Beginning with This Is My Story (1937), Harper & Brothers published many works by Eleanor Roosevelt that promoted civil rights and the need for government action, including This I Remember (1949), On My Own (1958), and Tomorrow Is Now (1963). More

Tag: Expanding literature