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| Sir Allen Lane | |
In 1935, Allen Lane had the revolutionary idea of offering affordable, quality paperback books through outlets such as railway stations and newsagents as well as bookshops. On July 30, 1935, he launched Penguin Books by publishing 10 inexpensive paperbacks. Within a year, the innovative publishing model was a success: his new company, Penguin, had sold more than three million books.
Now celebrating its 80th anniversary, Penguin Books continues to publish the types of books that have made it famous and an instantly recognized brand, but it's also expanded to include hardcovers and e-books with titles that range from paperback editions of blockbuster bestsellers to striking paperback originals, from the esteemed Penguin Classics to gift books as well as mysteries--all with the aim of "bringing intelligent, accessible books to readers who know that what you read matters."
Penguin now has a list of some 4,000 titles, which include many titles that Penguin has long been known for, particularly its Classics. Kathryn Court, president and publisher of Penguin Books, noted that many readers first get to know Penguin when they read Penguin Classics during college years. "That's when they begin to feel that when they want the best edition of Great Expectations or anything by Jane Austen that Penguin is the publisher to turn to," Court said. Those Classics editions are updated regularly with modern scholarship and continue to expand their reach into different eras and cultures. (See story below.)
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| Kathryn Court (photo: Lynn Rogan) |
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At the same time, the company has expanded in a variety of ways. One highly visible iteration: in the last half dozen years, the company has published some books that are "more visual, less obviously Penguin," as Court put it. The key example is Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford, the adult coloring book that appears October 27 (see below). Other more visual titles have included The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman, which was illustrated and in full color and did very well, and Paris vs. New York by Vahram Muratyan. Upcoming visual titles include The Wander Society by Keri Smith and The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith (see below).
The Penguin Originals program started with Waiting for the Barbarians by South African author J.M. Coetzee, a 1980 title that exemplified the idea of publishing originals that "can reach more people more quickly," Court said. Penguin Originals include both literary and commercial titles. One of them, The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker, was a lead title and bestseller last year. This year's Originals include 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad (see below).
Penguin is also interested in titles that are "a little odd or eccentric or different," Court said. One of those, published on May 5, is Playing to the Gallery: Helping Contemporary Art in Its Struggle to Be Understood, "an irreverent book about modern art" by Grayson Perry, "a very out-there British artist and cross-dresser," Court said.
Penguin also works closely with sister imprints Viking and Penguin Press, publishing paperback editions of their titles and coordinating pub dates to give authors greater visibility. For example, recently Viking published Music for Wartime, a new story collection by Rebecca Makkai. A few weeks earlier Penguin Books published the paperback edition of Makkai's The Hundred-Year House, which Viking had published in hardcover a year ago.
The only genre that Penguin publishes in is mystery, and most of these are translations. A recent example is the Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri, who is turning 90 on September 6. A Beam of Light, the 19th book in the series, is being published here on September 1.
Penguin's extensive backlist allows it to tie in with current events, other media and anniversaries. "It means that lots of things come back," as Court said. One example Court has been delighted by: Hamilton, a play based on Ron Chernow's 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton, which began preview performances on Broadway on July 13, with its official opening night scheduled for August 8. Already the show's given "a whole new life to the book."
In all cases, the key for Penguin Books is the quality of the writing. Court commented: "If the writing's good enough, we can do many different things and we can reach all sorts of age groups." What better way to honor Allen Lane's tradition of publishing for the widest possible audience?