William Collins
Born on the south side of Glasgow in the village of Pollokshaws in 1789, William Collins left school to work as a weaver and clerk in a local cotton mill. More
The Transformation of Harlequin
By the 1990s, Harlequin had become synonymous with romance novels, grown the category into a score of successful subgenre lines, opened offices around the world, and seen its books made available in more than 100 countries and 30 languages. More
Publishing Firsts: Collins Illustrated Pocket Classics
At the turn of the century, William Collins III combined innovative packaging and distribution with innovative aesthetics by creating shilling-priced illustrated paperbacks. More
1891: Harper & Brothers purchases rights to Conan Doyle’s Adventures of Sherlock Holmes…
Enabled by the 1891 International Copyright Treaty, Harper & Brothers purchases the rights to Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. 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
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
1970: Harlequin acquires Mills & Boon…
Harlequin acquires Mills & Boon and brings Harlequin books beyond bookstores and into supermarkets, drugstores, and other places women frequent. More
Angus & Robertson in Australia
Ten thousand miles from his homeland, Scotsman David Mackenzie Angus paid £50 to open a small bookshop on Market Street in Sydney, Australia. More
1886: David Angus and George Robertson form a bookselling partnership in Sydney
David Angus and George Robertson form a bookselling partnership in Sydney, going on to publish Australian authors like Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson to much acclaim and success. More
1839: Collins receives a license to publish the King James Version of the Bible
Collins receives a license to publish the King James Version of the Bible. 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
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
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
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
Nelson and Sons at Work
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
1973: William Collins and Sons secures the rights to Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago…
William Collins and Sons secures the rights to Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago, an eye-opening work that exposes in startling detail the horrors of the communist regime in Russia. More
The Rise and Fall of the Harper Rule
In the early 1800s, American printers had no qualms about pirating books from abroad and selling them at discount prices. More
Anthony Doerr
We are all mapmakers: We embed our memories everywhere, inscribing a private and intensely complicated latticework across the landscape. More
I’m OK—You’re OK
A defining work of self-help with more than 15 million copies in print. More
1941: Avon Books is established…
Avon Books is established by New York businessman Joseph Meyers in association with Edna B. Williams. Now renowned for widely popularizing the historical romance category, the publisher originally begins with a focus on paperback reprints. More
1943: Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is published…
Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a story about growing up poor in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn, shines a light on first- and second-generation Americans living in poverty. 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
Alistair MacLean signing books
The young Alistair MacLean in 1957 signs a book during a promotional event for The Guns of Navarone. 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
1992: John Gray’s Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus is published…
John Gray’s Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus is published and becomes one of the bestselling nonfiction books of the 1990s, launching an era of gender and relationship dialogue. More
1978: Zondervan publishes the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible…
Zondervan publishes the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible, a contemporary English translation that provides an accurate and understandable alternative to the King James Version. 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