Mary Karr

I read to save my life, to take communion, to enter a community of fellow sufferers and rejoicers. 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

Henry Huggins

The debut novel from Newbery Medal–winning author Beverly Cleary. More

Donna Hay

I read Patrick Süskind’s Perfume: The Story of a Murderer at twenty-three years old on the plane on my way to Paris, on the beginning of my first big overseas adventure. More

Wild Swans

Popular bestseller that has sold more than 13 million copies. More

Rosemary Sullivan

I write out of compulsion. “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,” as Alan Sillitoe remarked—the exhilaration and discipline of the run; the finish line unknown until you get there. More

The Growth of Harlequin Romance

Lawrence Heisey, a former soap salesman who had been appointed president of Harlequin in 1971, revolutionized romance publishing by distributing Harlequin romances to supermarkets and department stores, where they would be right at the fingertips of Canadian and American homemakers. 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

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Pulitzer Prize winner; considered one of the classic works of creative nonfiction of the late twentieth century. More

Born Free

Its remarkable interaction between the author and a lion cub named Elsa enchanted generations. More

Agatha Christie

The house of Collins acquired “Queen of Crime” Agatha Christie after she disagreed with her former publisher over the spelling of “coco”/”cocoa” in her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. More

Sharon Kendrick

I read to remind myself of the power of words and what they’re capable of when the subtle alchemy of a good storyteller kick-starts the imagination and flies you into a different world. More

Goodnight Moon

Every child’s must-have bedtime classic; beloved by generations of readers and listeners. More

Anne Hillerman

I read to take a mini-vacation in my own living room, to go back in history, forward in time, or to a place I love and had forgotten. More

Room

Winner of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize regional prize; made into a major motion picture. More