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
Employees in the Collins Canada mailroom, circa 1940s
Collins Canada employees working in the general office during the 1940s More
2000: Gao Xingjian becomes the first Chinese author to win the Nobel Prize for Literature…
Gao Xingjian becomes the first Chinese author to win the Nobel Prize for Literature after HarperCollins Australia publishes his novel Soul Mountain. More
1969: Sam Moore’s Royal Publishing acquires Thomas Nelson and Sons…
After founding the religious publishing firm Royal Publishing in 1962, Sam Moore acquires Thomas Nelson and Sons and adopts the company’s name. More
1853: William Collins introduces new steam presses
William Collins introduces new steam presses, allowing Collins and Sons to publish Shakespeare and The Pilgrim’s Progress in affordable editions available to the masses. 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
1962: Harper & Brothers merges with Row, Peterson & Co. to form Harper & Row…
Harper & Brothers merges with textbook publisher Row, Peterson & Co. to form Harper & Row. 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
Social Change: Civil Rights
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
1957: The I Can Read! series launches with the publication of Little Bear…
The I Can Read! series launches with the publication of Little Bear, written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, and becomes the number one beginning reader series in the United States. 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
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
Wuthering Heights
A Gothic classic and one of the world’s greatest tales of unrequited love. More
“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
Employees in the Collins Canada general office, circa 1940s
Collins Canada employees working in the general office during the 1940s 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
2003: HarperCollins partners with an e-book loan service catering to public libraries…
HarperCollins becomes the first major trade publisher to partner with an e-book loan service catering to public libraries. More
Zondervan
Launched during the Great Depression in the spare bedroom of a Michigan farmhouse, the publishing house of Zondervan was never a conventional religious publisher. More
2015: HarperCollins expands into a global publisher…
HarperCollins expands from a primarily English-language publisher to one publishing in 17 languages, with operations in 18 countries around the world. More
Social Change: Women Writers
In the mid-late 1800s, Harper & Brothers reprinted several milestone titles in the history of British feminist literature as well as the global canon, such as Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847), Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847), and Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), as well as George Eliot’s Middlemarch (1872). 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
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
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
George Eliot
Mary Anne Evans, born in 1819, led a turbulent life that often broke with Victorian social norms. More
1888: Collins opens its first branch in Auckland, New Zealand
Collins opens its first branch in Auckland, New Zealand. 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
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
Sam Moore with Ronald Reagan
Sam Moore was the founder of Royal Publishing, which acquired Thomas Nelson in 1969 and adopted its name. More