Tag: Expanding literature

1978: Harper & Row publishes Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series…

Harper & Row publishes the first book in Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series after it is serialized in the San Francisco Chronicle. The series highlights gay issues and becomes a cultural icon for generations of readers. More

1972: Avon launches the historical romance genre…

Avon launches the historical romance genre when it publishes Kathleen Woodiwiss’s The Flame and the Flower, a historical romance with a strong female lead and sexual situations that go a step beyond the tame romances of earlier eras. More

1932: The Canadian branch of William Collins and Sons is founded in Toronto…

The Canadian branch of William Collins and Sons is founded in Toronto by Franklin F. Appleton. More

Dan Harris

I used to read to lead a lot of fiction, mostly for the escape—to be transported to other places and times. More

Dan Harris

Becoming Children’s Authors: Sendak, Silverstein And Ursula Nordstrom

Neither Maurice Sendak nor Shel Silverstein started their careers with children’s literature as a focus. More

1975: Thomas Nelson commissions the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible…

Thomas Nelson commissions 130 scholars, pastors, and lay Christians to create the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, aiming to “retain the purity and stylistic beauty” of the original King James produced in 1611. More

Publishing Firsts: The VendAvon

Chips, cookies, sodas–and books–from a vending machine. Avon’s entertaining comic books—western, horror, romance, war, science fiction, and gangster titles, mostly—appealed to readers of all ages from 1945 through the mid-1950s. More

Original contract for Thorn-Apple Tree

Grace Campbell’s debut novel, Thorn-Apple Tree, was one of the earliest works of fiction written by a Canadian to be published by William Collins Sons & Co. Canada Ltd. More

Bernie and Pat Zondervan outside their Grand Rapids headquarters

The publishing house of Zondervan was launched during the Great Depression (1931) by brothers Pat and Bernie Zondervan in the spare bedroom of a Michigan farmhouse. More

1848: Harper & Brothers publishes the first American editions of the Brontë’s works

Harper & Brothers publishes the first American editions of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, and Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. More

Social Change: African American Identity in the U.S.

HarperCollins has published a number of books that explore the racial identity of African Americans during periods of great social conflict. 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

Crime & Mystery At HarperCollins

In 1860, Harper & Brothers had paid Wilkie Collins £750 for The Woman in White, which heralded the publisher’s entry into the crime and mystery genre. More

A planning meeting at Collins Canada, circa 1940s

In this photograph, Charles H. Sweeny, Editorial and Production, F. F. Appleton, publisher (center), and Margaret V. Paull, staff artist and typographer, plan the first Canadian production of Little Grey Rabbit Books. More

2017: HarperCollins celebrates its 200th anniversary…

HarperCollins Publishers celebrates its 200th anniversary. More

Publishing Firsts: The Historical Romance Genre

At the time of its publication in 1972, nothing like Kathleen Woodiwiss’s The Flame and the Flower had ever been published. More

Wuthering Heights

A Gothic classic and one of the world’s greatest tales of unrequited love. 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

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

Page from the original manuscript of “The Man from Snowy River”

A handwritten page from the original manuscript of “The Man from Snowy River” by Banjo Paterson. More

Founded on Religion

Though a shared love of the written word inspired those who laid the foundation of HarperCollins, spreading Christian principles was a calling for them. More

2008: HarperCollins India publishes The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga…

HarperCollins India publishes The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, which wins the 2008 Man Booker Prize. More

1999: William Morrow, Avon, Ecco Press, Amistad and 4th Estate are acquired…

HarperCollins acquires William Morrow, mass market romance imprint Avon, independent publisher Ecco Press, and Amistad Press, the pre-eminent publisher of African-American authors. A year later Collins acquires independent press 4th Estate. More

1862: Collins becomes the publisher for the Scottish School Book Association and Irish National Schools

Collins becomes the publisher for the Scottish School Book Association and Irish National Schools, by 1875 buying out the Scottish School Book Association and supplying books directly to schools. More

Pushing the Boundaries of Children’s Literature

Children’s books explored uncharted territory in the mid-1960s as Harper & Row began to champion boundary-pushing children’s and young adult books. 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

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