1971: William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist is published…
William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist becomes the first horror story to reach number one on the New York Times bestseller list and helps initiate the modern horror film movement. 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
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez drew on his childhood experiences in Colombia when crafting the story of the fictional Buendía family in the classic One Hundred Years of Solitude. More
1949: Harper & Brothers publishes the Pulitzer-Prize winning Annie Allen by Gwendolyn Brooks…
Harper & Brothers publishes Annie Allen by Gwendolyn Brooks, which wins the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and makes Brooks the first African American writer to receive the award. More
The Crying of Lot 49
This highly original satire is a classic of postmodern literature. More
1990: HarperCollins becomes the new global company name…
On May 29, 1990, HarperCollins becomes the new global name for the combined Harper & Row and Collins. 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: 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
Wicked
Bestseller that is the basis for the hit Tony Award–winning Broadway musical. More
Geronimo Johnson
I write to unread what has been written about me in error and with malice. More
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Pulitzer Prize winner; considered one of the classic works of creative nonfiction of the late twentieth century. 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
1952: Caedmon Audio is founded…
Caedmon Audio, the first company to sell audio versions of works by writers such as Dylan Thomas, e. e. cummings, and Robert Frost, is founded. More
1923: Harper & Brothers moves to 49 East 33rd Street in New York City…
Harper & Brothers sells the buildings and grounds at Franklin Square and moves its publishing enterprise to 49 East 33rd Street in New York City. 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
C.S. Lewis and Christianity
Born in 1898 in Belfast, Clive Staples Lewis lost his faith in Christianity at a young age after his mother died and he was sent away to boarding school. More
Summer of ’49
Halberstam’s classic chronicle of baseball’s most magnificent season. More
1972: Harper & Row moves to 10 East 53rd Street in New York City…
Harper & Row moves from 49 East 33rd Street, where it had been since 1923, to the new “Harper & Row” building designed by Emery Roth at 10 East 53rd Street. More
Herman Melville and Moby-Dick
Harper & Brothers turned down Herman Melville’s first book, Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, and it was released to strong sales by another publisher. More
Good to Great
One of the most influential management bestsellers; explores how companies transition from average to extraordinary. More
1862: Thomas Nast documents the Civil War and politics in Harper’s Weekly
Thomas Nast begins documenting the Civil War and politics through caricature in Harper’s Weekly. More
Black Boy
A powerful and eloquent autobiography that has sold more than a million copies since publication. 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
Neil Gaiman
I read to travel, and to learn. More
The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book
An innovative landmark from “one of the really great cooks of all time” (James Beard). More
1860: Harper & Brothers enters into the crime fiction genre
Harper & Brothers pay Wilkie Collins £750 for The Woman in White, which heralds the firm's entry into the crime fiction genre. More
Our Town
Pulitzer Prize–winning drama; hailed by Edward Albee as “The finest play ever written by an American.” More