Who are the Big Five?
The “Big Five” is the term for the five huge players in book publishing, owning the lion’s share of the global publishing landscape. While publishing houses are physically located and often headquartered in New York, they are owned by global media conglomerates. But who are the Big Five imprints? And how do they differ from publishing houses?
Here are the Big Five publishing houses (you’ve no doubt heard of them):
Under each of these five houses are smaller companies, known as imprints.
What are imprints?
Within each of the Big Five publishing houses, sits a huge network of imprints – over 500 smaller publishing groups and networks that fall under the larger umbrella. You could sell your book to any one of these imprints, and it would still count as being published by the Big Five. In fact, think of it like getting a book deal with the imprint, rather than the house itself. The Big Five imprint will be your book’s home. And as a Big Five author, you are more likely to get the marketing dollars behind you to facilitate becoming a bestseller.
Who are the Big Five imprints?
1. Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House is the world’s largest book publishing company and the single most influential of the publishing houses in New York. It is owned by German media giant Bertelsmann and British educational publisher Pearson, although PRH has a huge influence across the entirety of the North American landscape. In the US, it controls almost half of the market share of books, with over 250 imprints and publishing houses.
Key imprints:
- Ballantine Books
- Berkley
- Dutton
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Penguin Books
- Random House
- Riverhead Books
- Viking Books
All imprints:
Penguin Group
Penguin Group International
- Penguin Australia
- Penguin India
- Penguin New Zealand
- Penguin Scotland
- Penguin South Africa
- Puffin India
Penguin Group UK
-
-
- Dorling Kindersley
- Michael Joseph
-
Penguin General
-
- Fig Tree
- Hamish Hamilton
- Penguin Business (incorporating Portfolio UK)
- Penguin UK (incorporating Arrow and Black Swan)
- Viking UK
Penguin Press
-
- Allen Lane
- Particular Books
- Penguin Classics
- Penguin Press UK
- Reference
Penguin Group USA
-
- DK
Penguin Children’s
- Dial
- Dutton Children’s
- Firebird Books
- Frederick Warne
- Grosset & Dunlap
- Kathy Dawson Books
- Kokila
- Nancy Paulsen Books
- Penguin Workshop
- RISE x Penguin Workshop
- Philomel
- Price Stern Sloan
- Puffin
- Puffin/Speak
- Putnam Children’s
- Razorbill
- Rocky Pond Books
- Viking Children’s
- Flamingo Books
Penguin Publishing Group
- Acento
- Alpha Books
- Avery (incorporating Chamberlain Bros.)
- CA Press
- Current
F+W Books
-
- F+W Media
- Impact Books
- Interweave
- North Light
- TOW Books
- Writer’s Digest Books
- HP Books
- Penguin eSpecials
- Penguin Pintail
- Penguin Press
- Portfolio
- Optimism Press
- Thesis
- Prentice Hall Press
Putnam/Dutton/Berkley
Berkley/NAL
- Berkley
-
- Ace
- Berkley
- Intermix
- Berkley Heat
- Berkley Jam
- Berkley Prime Crime
- Berkley Sensation
- Jove
- Celebra
- InkLit
-
- NAL
- Caliber
- NAL
- Obsidian Mysteries
- Onyx
- Roc
- Signet
- Dutton (incorporating Blue Rider Press and Pi Press)
- Redeemer
- Plume
-
- Tiny Reparations Books
- Putnam
-
- Riverhead
- Sentinel
- Tarcher Perigee (incorporating Perigee and Tarcher)
Viking Penguin
- Pamela Dorman Books
- Pamela Dorman Books Life
- Penguin
- Penguin Life
- The Open Field
- Viking
- Viking Life
- Viking Studio
Penguin Random House Canada Group
- Hamish Hamilton Canada
- Knopf Canada
- Vintage Canada
McClelland & Stewart Doubleday Canada
- Appetite
- Bond Street Books
- Doubleday Canada
- Fenn
- McClelland & Stewart
- Douglas Gibson Books
- Signal Books
- Penguin Canada
Penguin Random House Canada Children’s
-
- Doubleday Children’s Canada
- Penguin Canada Children’s
- Penguin Teen Canada
- Puffin Canada
- Tundra Books
- Random House Canada
- Strange Light
Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial
- Aguilar
- Alfaguara
- Beascoa
- Blok B
- Conecta
- Debate
- Debolsillo
- Ediciones B
- Ediciones B Mexico
- Electa
- Grijalbo
Grupo Compahnia das Letras
-
- Companhia das Letras
- Fontanar
- Objetiva
- Zahar
- La Campana
- Literatura Random House (incorporating Literatura Mondadori)
- Lumen
- Montena
- Objectiva
Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Portugal
-
- 2020 Editora
- Topseller
- Plaza & Janes
- Punto de Lectura
- Random House Mondadori
- Random House Mondadori Mexico
- Reservoir Books
- Rosa dels Vents
- Salamandra
- Salamandra Graphic
- Santillana
- Manderley
- Santillana Mexico
- Santillana USA
- Sudamericana
- Suma de Letras
- Taurus
Penguin Random House UK Children’s
- Little Tiger Press
- Penguin Children’s UK
- Puffin UK
- Random House UK Children’s
- Razorbill UK
- Tamarind
Random House
Random House, Inc.
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Anchor
- Doubleday (incorporating Harlem Moon and Morgan Road Books)
- Everyman’s Library
- Flying Dolphin
- Knopf
- Nan A. Talese
- Pantheon
- Schocken Books
- Vintage
- Vintage Espanol
Random House Children’s Group
- Anne Schwartz Books (incorporating Schwartz & Wade)
- Bright Matter Books
- Crown Children’s
- Delacorte
- Underlined
- Disney Books for Young Readers
- Doubleday Children’s
- Dragonfly
- Golden Books
- Joy Revolution
- Knopf Children’s
- Labyrinth Road
- Make Me a World
- Random House Children’s
- Random House Graphic
- Random House Studio
- Robin Corey Books
- Rodale Kids
- Wendy Lamb Books
- Yearling
Random House Publishing Group
- Alibi
Ballantine Books
- Ballantine
- Ballantine Trade Paperbacks
- Fawcett
- Ivy
- Ballantine Bantam Dell
- Bantam Dell
- Bantam Discovery
- Bantam Spectra
- Delacorte Press
- Del Rey
- Del Rey Manga
- Delta
- ESPN Books
- Loveswept
- Presidio
- Villard
Crown Publishing Group
- Broadway
- Clarkson Potter
- Pam Krauss Books
- Potter Craft
- Potter Gift
- Potter Style
- Convergent
- Crown
- Crown Archetype
- Crown Forum
- Currency (incorporating Crown Business and Doubleday Business)
- Harmony
- Deepak Chopra Books
- Hogarth
- Image Books (incorporating Doubleday Religion)
- Random House Information
- Rodale (incorporating Modern Times)
- Goop Press
- Sugar23
- Ten Speed Press
- 4 Color Books
- Celestial Arts
- Crossing Press
- Lorena Jones Books
- Tricycle Press
- Watson-Guptill
- Amphoto Books
- Back Stage Books
- Billboard Books
- Lone Eagle Publishing
- Three Rivers Press
- Tim Duggan Books
- WaterBrook Multnomah (incorporating Multnomah and WaterBrook Press)
- Flirt
- Hydra
- Random House
-
- Dial Press
- Lenny
- Modern Library
- One World (incorporating Strivers Row)
- Random House Trade Paperbacks
- Random House Worlds
- Sasquatch Books
-
- Random House Asia
Random House Group (UK)
Cornerstone Publishing
- #Merky Books
- Century
- Cornerstone
- Del Rey UK
- Hutchinson Heinemann (incorporating Heinemann; Hutchinson; and Windmill)
- Preface
- Random House UK
Ebury Publishing
-
- BBC
- Black Lace Books
- Ebury
- Ebury Fiction
- Rider
- Vermilion
- Virgin
- W.H. Allen
- Mainstream
- Random House Australia
- Random House India
- Random House New Zealand
- Random House Struik (South Africa)
Transworld
- Bantam Press
- Bantam UK
- Channel 4
- Doubleday UK
- Transworld
Vintage Publishing
- Bodley Head
- Chatto & Windus
- Hogarth UK
- Harvill Secker
- Jonathan Cape
- Pimlico
- Square Peg
- Vintage UK
- Yellow Jersey
Verlagsgruppe Random House
- Ansata
- Arkana
- Bassermann
- Bertelsmann
- Bertelsmann Children’s
- Blanvalet
- Blessing
- BtB
- CBJ
- Diana
- DVA
- Gerth Medien
- Goldmann
- Mosaik
- Heyne
- Hugendubel
- Integral
- Irisiana
- Kailash
- Knaus
- Limes
- Luchterhand
- Page & Turner
- Prestel
- Random House Germany
- CBT
- Riemann
- Siedler
- Sphinx
2. HarperCollins
HarperCollins was originally two separate companies: US-based JJ Harper, and the UK-based Collins & Sons. The two merged, and these days, it is owned by Australian media conglomerate News Corp, with Rupert Murdoch at its helm. To its credit, HarperCollins has over 100 diverse imprints and smaller houses across a wide range of genres and categories.
Key imprints:
All imprints:
HarperCollins
- Harlequin Books
- Harlequin (incorporating Nocturne and Silhouette)
- Harlequin Canada
- Harlequin Canada
- Harlequin Trade
- Canary Street
- Carina Press
- Graydon House
- Hanover Square Press
- HQN
- Inkyard Press (incorporating Harlequin Teen)
- Mira
- Park Row Books
- Harlequin UK
-
- HQ (incorporating Harlequin UK and Mira UK)
- HQ Digital
- Mills & Boon
- Heartsong Presents
- Kimani (incorporating BET)
- Love Inspired (incorporating Steeple Hill)
- Love Inspired Trade
- Luna
- Spice
- Worldwide Mystery
-
Harper Children’s
- Balzer & Bray
- Clarion Group
- Allida
- Clarion (incorporating Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s)
- Versify
- Greenwillow
- Harper Alley
- Etch
- Harper Children’s (incorporating Bowen Press)
- Harper Festival
- Harper Teen
- Harper Teen Impulse
- Harper Trophy
- Heartdrum
- Joanna Cotler Books
- Julie Andrews Collection
- Katherine Tegen Books
- Laura Geringer Books
- Quill Tree
Harper Christian
- Harper Focus
- Amacom
- Blink
- Cider Mill Press
- Harper Celebrate
- Harper Horizon
- Harper Leadership
- Harper Muse
- Harper Leadership
- Thomas Nelson (incorporating Integrity House; Integrity Publishers; Nelson Business; Nelson Current; Rutledge Hill Press; and Tommy Nelson)
- Emanate Books
- Nelson Books
- W Publishing
- Magnolia Publications
- Zondervan
- Thrive
- Zondervan Children’s
- Zondervan Gift Books
- Zondervan Reflective
Harper Morrow
- Harper Group
- Broadside
- Ecco
- Anthony Bourdain Books
- Harper (incorporating Collins)
- Collins Reference (incorporating Harper Information and Harper Resource)
- Harper Business (incorporating Collins Business)
- Harper Design (incorporating Collins Design)
- Harper Paperbacks
-
- Bourbon Street Books
- Harper Paperbacks
- Harper Perennial
- Harper Wave
- Infinitum Nihil
-
- Harper One Group
- Amistad
- Harper One (incorporating Harper San Francisco)
- Harper Elixir
- Harper Via
- Rayo
- Harvest
- Mariner (incorporating Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
- Custom House
- John Joseph Adams Books
- Rux Martin Books
- Morrow Group
- Avon
- Avon A
- Avon Impulse
- Avon Red
- Dey Street Books (incorporating Harper Entertainment and It Books)
- Voyager (incorporating Eos)
- Voyager Impulse
- William Morrow (incorporating Collins Living)
- Dennis Lehane Books
- Witness Impulse
- Avon
Harper (Global Divisions)
- Harper Australia
- Harper Australia Children’s
- Harper Brasil
- Agir
- Ediouro
- Nova Fronteira
- Relume Dumará
- Thomas Nelson Brasil
- Harper Canada
- Collins Canada
- Harper Avenue
- Harper Canada
- Harper Canada Children’s
- Patrick Crean Editions
- Phyllis Bruce Books
- Harper Espanol
- Harper France
- Harlequin France
- Harper Germany
- Schneiderbuch
- Harper Holland
- Harper Iberica
- Harper India
- Harper Italia (incorporating Harlequin Mondadori)
- Harper Japan
- Harper Netherlands
- Harper New Zealand
- Harper Nordic
- Harper Poland
- Egmont Poland
Harper UK
- Collins
-
- Collins UK
- Jane’s
- Times
- Collins Geo
- Collins Language
- Farshore (incorporating Egmont UK)
- Fourth Estate
- Harper Children’s UK
- Harper Fiction
- Avon UK
- Blue Door
- The Borough Press
- The Friday Project
- Harper Press
- Magpie
- Voyager UK
- Harper Nonfiction
- Element (incorporating Thorsons)
- Harper Entertainment UK
- Harper Sport
- Mudlark
- Harper North
- Harper UK
-
One More Chapter
-
- Harper Impulse
- Killer Reads
- One More Chapter
Pavilion
-
- Collins & Brown
- Pavilion
- Portico
- Robson
- William Collins
3. Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster was founded in New York in1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Today, the company is the publishing arm of entertainment giant ViacomCBS, although CBS made a move to sell it to Penguin Random House in late 2020, a deal that was hotly debated, but ultimately rejected by the court. S&S publishes around 2,000 titles each year, under 35 autonomous imprints.
Key imprints:
All imprints:
Simon & Schuster, Inc.
- Adams Media
- Crimson Romance
- Merit Press
- Polka Dot Press
- Tyrus Books
Atria Publishing Group
- Atria
- Black Privilege
- One Signal (incorporating Signal Press)
- Skybound Books
- Emily Bestler Books
- Enliven
- Howard Books (incorporating Howard Publishing)
- Keywords
- Marble Arch Press
- Simon Element
- Strebor Books
- Washington Square Press
- Avid Reader Press
Gallery Publishing Group
- 13A
- Gallery (incorporating Simon Spotlight Entertainment)
- Gallery 13
- Jeter Publishing
-
- Downtown Press
- G-Unit Books
- Juno
- Karen Hunter Publishing
- Paraview Pocket
- Pocket Star
- VH1 Books
- Saga Press
- Scout Press
- Threshold
Scribner Publishing Group
- Marysue Rucci Books
- North Star Way
- Scribner
Simon & Schuster Children’s
Branded Publishing Group
- Aladdin
- Beyond Words
- Simon MIX
- Little Simon
- Little Simon Inspirations (incorporating Howard Kids)
- MTV Books
- Simon Scribbles
- Simon Spotlight
Trade Publishing Group
- Atheneum (incorporating Ginee Seo Books)
- Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
- Richard Jackson Books
- Beach Lane Books
- Denene Millner Books
- Jeter Children’s
- Margaret K. McElderry Books
- Paula Wiseman Books
- Salaam Reads
- Simon & Schuster Children’s
- Simon Pulse
Simon & Schuster Publishing Group
-
- Free Press
- Simon & Schuster
- Simon451
- Tiller Press
- Simon & Schuster Australia
- Scribner Australia
- Simon & Schuster Canada
Simon & Schuster UK
- Scribner UK
- Simon & Schuster UK
- Simon & Schuster UK Children’s
- Simon Pulse UK
4. Hachette Livre (Hachette Book Group)
Hachette Book Group is owned by Lagardère Group, is a French media corporation worth around two billion Euros with global reach. Hachette Livre, France’s largest book publisher, and the world’s second-largest publishing conglomerate, owns the company.
Key imprints:
All imprints:
Grand Central Publishing
- 5 Spot
- A Chelsea Handler Book
- Forever
- Forever Yours
- GCP Balance
- Grand Central (incorporating Business Plus; Grand Central Life & Style; Warner; and Warner Business)
- Grand Central Life & Style (incorporating Springboard; Warner Wellness; and Wellness Central)
- Solana
- Twelve (incorporating Warner Twelve)
- Vision
HBG Nashville
- Center Street
- Faith Words (incorporating Warner Faith)
- Jericho Books
- Worthy
- WorthyKids
Little, Brown
- Back Bay
- BookShots
- Bulfinch
- Jimmy Patterson
- Little, Brown (incorporating Lee Boudreaux Books)
- Little, Brown Spark
- Mulholland Books
- Reagan Arthur Books
- Voracious
Little, Brown Children’s
- Christy Ottaviano Books
- Disney-Hyperion (incorporating Disney and Hyperion Children’s)
- Freeform
- LB Kids
- Little, Brown Children’s
- Little, Brown Ink
- Megan Tingley Books
- Poppy
- Octopus USA
Orbit
- Orbit
- Redhook
- Yen Press
Perseus Books
- Basic Books
-
- Basic (incorporating Avalon and Carroll & Graf)
- Bold Type Books (incorporating Nation Books)
- Public Affairs
- Seal Press
- Hachette Books (incorporating Da Capo)
- Da Capo (incorporating Marlowe & Company and Thunder’s Mouth)
-
- Merloyd Lawrence Books
- Hachette Go
- Legacy LitHachette Books (incorporating Da Capo)
-
- Da Capo (incorporating Marlowe & Company and Thunder’s Mouth)
-
Running Press
-
- Avalon Travel
- Black Dog & Leventhal
- Running Press
- Running Press Kids
- Vanguard Press (incorporating CDS Books)
- Westview Press
Workman Publishing
- Algonquin
- Algonquin Young Readers
- Artisan
- Storey
- Timber Press
- Workman
Hachette Livre
-
- Bragelonne
- Calmann-Levy
- Fayard
- Fayard Noir
- Grasset
- Hachette
- Hachette Jeunesse
- Hachette Poland
- Hachette Pratique
- Hachette Romans
- Lattes
- Livre de Poche
- Marabout
- Stock
- Hachette Phoenix Cultural Development
Hachette Spain
- Algaida
- Alianza
- Anaya
- Boveda
- Patria
- Patria Mexico
Hachette UK
- Dialogue
- Hachette Australia
 Hachette Children’s Group
-
- Hachette Children’s
- Hodder Children’s
- Little Brown Children’s UK
- Orchard Books
- Orion Children’s
- Wren & Rook
- Hachette India
- Hachette Ireland
- Hachette New Zealand
- Hachette Scotland
Headline Publishing Group
- Headline (incorporating Business Plus UK)
- Headline Eternal
- Headline Home
- Headline Review
- Headline Springboard
- Tinder Press
- Wildfire
Hodder & Stoughton
- H&S
- Coronet
- Hodder & Stoughton
- Hodder & Stoughton Faith
- Hodderscape
- Hodder Studio
- Mulholland UK
- Sceptre
- Yellow Kite
- John Murray Press
- Jessica Kingsley
- John Murray
- Saltyard
- Two Roads
- Quercus Books
- Jo Fletcher Books
- MacLehose Press
- Arcadia Books
- Quercus
- Heron
- Quercus Children’s
- Riverrun
- Silver Oak
Little Brown
-
- Abacus
- Atom
- Bookouture
- Constable & Robinson
- Corsair
- Little Brown UK (incorporating Time Warner Books UK)
- Fleet
- Orbit UK
- Piatkus
- Sphere
- Trapdoor
- Virago
- Nicholas Brealey
- Octopus
- Bounty
- Cassell
- Cassell-Illustrated
- Conran Octopus
- Gaia
- Godsfield Press
- Hamlyn
- Kyle Cathie Books
- Mitchell Beazley
- Monoray
- MQP
- Philip’s
- Short Books
- Summersdale
Orion
- Gollancz
- Laurence King
- Orion
- Orion Spring
- Phoenix UK
- Seven Dials
- Trapeze
- Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Welbeck Publishing Group
- Carlton
- Welbeck
- Welbeck Children’s
5. Macmillan
Originally an influential U.K. publisher, Macmillan is now owned by the privately-held German company Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. Macmillan is the smallest Big Five publisher in terms of market share, but it still holds significant weight in the publishing world, with Holtzbrink owning many more publishing companies around the world, including Palgrave, Picador, and the Nature publishing group.
Key imprints:
All imprints:
Macmillan
- Celadon Books
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
-
- Farrar, Straus (incorporating Faber)
- Hill & Wang
- MCD/FSG
- Picador USA
- Sarah Crichton Books
- Scientific American
- Flatiron Books
- An Oprah Book
Henry Holt
- Holt
- John Macrae Books
- Metropolitan
- Times Books
Macmillan Children’s
- Farrar, Straus Children’s
- Frances Foster Books
- Melanie Kroupa Books
- Feiwel and Friends
- Swoon Reads
- First Second
- Holt Children’s
- Godwin Books
- Kingfisher
- Priddy Books
- Roaring Brook Press
- Square Fish
- Starscape
- Tor Children’s
- Odd Dot
St. Martin’s Press
- Griffin
- Minotaur
- SMP Swerve
- St. Martin’s (incorporating Palgrave)
- St. Martin’s Essentials
- Thomas Dunne Books
- Truman Talley
- Wednesday Books
- Weight Watchers
Tor/Forge
- Forge
- Nightfire
- Orb
- Tor
- Tor.com
- Tor Teen
Macmillan Publishers (UK)
-
- Palgrave UK
- Pan Macmillan
- BlueBird
- Boxtree
- Campbell Books
- Kingfisher UK
- Macmillan
- Macmillan New Writing
- Macmillan UK Children’s
- Mantle
- Pan Macmillan
- Picador
- Sidgwick & Jackson
- Think Books
- Tor UK
- Young Picador
- Pan Macmillan Australia
- Picador Australia
von Holtzbrinck
- Droemer Knaur
- Droemer Knaur
- Droemer Profile
- Kiepenheuer & Witsch
- Rowohlt
- Kindler
- Rowohlt
- Rowohlt Taschenbuch
- Wunderlich
- S. Fischer
- Fischer
- Fischer Schatzinsel
- Fischer Scherz
- Fischer Taschenbuch
- Krueger
- Scherz
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