Native Son
Wright’s unsparing reflection on what it means to be black in America. More
Our Town
Pulitzer Prize–winning drama; hailed by Edward Albee as “The finest play ever written by an American.” 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
Letter from Stella Miles Franklin submitting her novel My Brilliant Career
Stella Miles Franklin submitted this letter along with the manuscript of her first novel, My Brilliant Career, to Angus & Robertson in Australia, in March 1899, when she was just nineteen years old. More
The Sheltering Sky
Bowles’s landmark literary novel, a classic work of psychological terror. More
To Kill a Mockingbird
Much-loved Pulitzer Prize–winning classic, voted by librarians across America as the best novel of the twentieth century. 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
Sounder
Newbery Award–winning book that became an influential children’s work on race and class. More
The Hospital in Buwambo
First Mills & Boon romance novel published by Harlequin; established the iconic relationship between the two companies. More
A Bear Called Paddington
The original story of the bear who arrived at Paddington Station from darkest Peru. More
Stuart Little
White’s beloved classic about a small mouse on a big adventure is a perennial bestseller. More
The Zondervans on their silver anniversary
Bernie and Pat Zondervan, founders of the religious publishing firm Zondervan, review some of their early publications on the silver anniversary of their company in 1956. More
Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt regarding a new autobiographical book
Harper editor and chairman of the board Cass Canfield sent this letter, dated April 10, 1951, to Eleanor Roosevelt... More
Thomas Nelson: Growth
By 1844, Thomas Nelson’s company had grown large enough to open an office in London, under the leadership of Thomas Nelson Jr. and William Nelson. More
The Carrot Seed
An early classic in children’s literature about perseverance; never out of print. 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
The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book
An innovative landmark from “one of the really great cooks of all time” (James Beard). 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
At the Mountains of Madness
Lovecraft’s work has influenced the whole spectrum of those working in the horror genre. More
Social Change: Sex in the 20th Century
In between the two world wars, Harper authors tackled the then taboo subject of sex. 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
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
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
The Intelligent Investor
The stock market bible, hailed by Warren Buffett as “the best book on investing ever written.” More
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
The beloved multimillion-copy-selling British picture book no childhood should be without. More
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
An American classic called “one of the books of the century” by the New York Public Library. More
Ursula Nordstrom
When Anne Carroll Moore, the powerful and opinionated superintendent of children’s work at the New York Public Library, asked Harper & Brothers editor Ursula Nordstrom why she felt qualified to produce children’s books, Nordstrom said only this: “Well, I am a former child, and I haven’t forgotten a thing.” More