Launched in 1964 as the Perennial Library, what came to be known as Harper Perennial made its debut with eight bestselling titles in low-cost, pocket-sized editions that had been originally published by Harper, including a "memorial edition" of Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy, Tomorrow Is Now by Eleanor Roosevelt, two books about Soviet Russia by John Gunther, Old Yeller by Fred Gipson, No Room in the Ark by Alan Moorehead, The Day Lincoln Was Shot by Jim Bishop and Only Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen.
From this fortuitous start, Harper Perennial and Harper Perennial Modern Classics have gone on to publish such literary giants as Harper Lee, Doris Lessing, Zora Neale Hurston, Howard Zinn, Barbara Kingsolver, Sylvia Plath, Gabriel García Márquez, Milan Kundera, Richard Wright and Thornton Wilder.
"Harper Perennial has published some of the most widely read, studied and lasting books of the ages," said Michael Morrison, president and publisher of HarperCollins U.S. General Books Group and Canada. "To this day, Harper Perennial's innovation in marketing, art and features such as our P.S. sections continue the excellence in publishing for today's readers."
In celebration of Harper Perennial's 50th anniversary the company is relaunching Olive Editions, pocket-sized limited editions of bestselling titles with hand-drawn cover illustrations, and launching Legacy Editions, a deluxe series of public domain titles all first released by Harper & Bros. in the United States, which include some of the most important books published in the 19th and 20th centuries. (See more about these two lines below.)
Among other components of the celebration: print and online advertising, social media promotion including an Olive Editions sweepstakes, and the launch of a 50th anniversary website. Promotional materials include an Olive Edition floor display and bookmarks and commemorative tote bags that were given out at BookExpo America, the fall regional booksellers association trade shows and Brooklyn Book Festival. On September 23, Harper Perennial hosted a celebratory event at Housing Works Bookstore Café featuring authors Roxane Gay, Kate Zambreno, Marcy Dermansky, Simon Van Booy, Darragh McKeon and Ben Greenman. They discussed their favorite classics from Harper Perennial's history, what makes great literature endure and what publishing might look like in the future.