Collins Reference and Education
William Collins spent his earliest years teaching before starting his publishing venture in 1819. 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
1936: Collins is the first major publishing house to create its own font…
Collins is the first major publishing house to create its own font. More
The Harper Fire of 1853
The Harper offices in New York City were claimed by fire in 1853, when a plumber lit a lamp with a roll of paper and then attempted to extinguish the burning roll in a tub of water. More
Ben-Hur
Lew Wallace, a Union general in the Civil War, wrote the biblical novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ in 1880. More
Signed copy of the first book ever published by Mills & Boon
A copy of the first book ever published by Mills & Boon, Arrows from the Dark by Sophie Cole (1909), signed by Messrs. Gerald Mills and Charles Boon. More
George R. R. Martin
It was in 1993 that George R. R. Martin–already an acclaimed author of science fiction and horror novels, and well known for his work in Hollywood as a screenwriter on The Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast–decided he needed a broader outlet for his creativity and conceived of A Song of Ice and Fire, a truly monumental fantasy series. More
Hilary Mantel
I read out of hope and avid curiosity, and in an attempt to live in other times, and inhabit bodies that are not my own. 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
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
Publishing Firsts: Producing Books Electronically
Although word-processing programs and electronic typewriters had been around since the late 1960s, Harper & Row was the first to help pioneer electronic publishing with Andrew Garve’s The Long Short Cut in 1968, which was, according to the New York Times, “the first book set into type completely by electronic composition.” More
1917: Harper & Brothers releases the first-ever book and phonograph record “bundles”…
Harper & Brothers releases a series of 12 Bubble Books, the first-ever book and phonograph record “bundle,” featuring nursery rhymes like “Jack and Jill” and “Simple Simon.” More
1908: Collins obtains New Zealand Post Office Box #1…
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
Building Literary Identities: Canada, Australia, India
In the mid-1800s, William Collins took his UK publishing business international–from the Americas, through Australia, to Africa. More
Social Change: Thomas Nast, Illustrator
Illustrator Thomas Nast first made his name documenting the Civil War in all its gruesome reality, but he is best known for developing the political cartoon form and our modern depictions of Santa Claus. More
2012: Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel wins the Man Booker Prize…
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, published by HarperCollins in the UK, wins the Man Booker Prize. Mantel becomes the first woman ever to win the prize twice, having first won for Wolf Hall in 2009. More
2012: Thomas Nelson and Zondervan combine to create HarperCollins Christian Publishing…
Thomas Nelson and Zondervan combine to create HarperCollins Christian Publishing, a new Christian division within HarperCollins. More
1818: Thomas Nelson expands his secondhand bookstore into a publishing business
Thomas Nelson expands his secondhand bookstore into a publishing business… 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
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
“The Most Beautiful Printing Ever Done”
James Harper went to Europe in 1835 to compile a set of fairy tales for publication, and Harper & Brothers enlisted Joseph A. Adams to make 81 detailed wood-cut engravings for the collection. More
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Christie’s first book to be published by William Collins; known for its startling reveal. More
The New Kid on the Block
Prelutsky was named America’s first Children’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. More
Bring Up the Bodies
Winner of the Man Booker Prize and the first to win as a sequel. More
Riders of the Purple Sage
Often called “the most popular Western novel of all time,” this classic helped shape the Western genre. More
The God of Small Things
Winner of the 1997 Man Booker Prize, making Roy the first Indian woman to receive the award. More
1903: Collins is the first to publish illustrated shilling-priced paperbacks…
Collins is the first to publish a series of illustrated, shilling-priced pocket size classics with the introduction of Collins Illustrated Pocket Classics. Included in this series are a maroon cloth-bound David Copperfield, many other Charles Dickens favorites, Sir Walter Scott’s Kenilworth, George Eliot’s Adam Bede, and Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley. More