HarperCollins Publishers is the world's second-largest consumer book publisher, publishing approximately 10,000 new books a year across 16 languages and every genre. Founded in 1817 by brothers James and John Harper as a small family printing shop, the company has spent more than two centuries in the business and now employs more than 4,000 people across 15 countries. It publishes through 120 distinct imprints and maintains a catalogue of over 250,000 titles.
The scale of that operation is the central fact of the business. Each year's output of some 10,000 titles sits on top of a backlist spanning all genres and every imprint, giving the company one of the largest bodies of consumer publishing content in existence. Growth has come through mergers and acquisitions while the founding mission has been retained.
That mission, in the company's own account, rests on the belief that stories can transform lives and on connecting readers with remarkable voices. HarperCollins has published authors whose work has won Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes, National Book Awards and Booker Prizes, and it describes its culture in terms of dedication to the craft of publishing. Headquarters history traces to New York City; operations now extend to 15 countries. The company's website is harpercollins.com.
