The Big Five Publishers

In publishing, "The Big Five" refers to five large presses that dominate the publishing industry around the world. They are Simon and Schuster, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Hachette.

Simon and Schuster (History)

Simon and Schuster was third in size as of 2023, and publish about 2,000 titles annually. Founded in 1924, Simon and Schuster originally published puzzle books like crosswords, and the company is credited with publishing the first ever ebook- Stephen King's Riding the Bullet. As of 2023, the company is no longer a part of any other group and stands as an independent publishing group.

Notable Imprints:

• Howard Books
• Scribner
• Emily Bestler Books
• Folger Shakespeare Library
• Aladdin
• Touchstone

Macmillan (History)

Founded in 1843, Macmillan is a UK company that places a heavy importance on education and publishes nearly any kind of book there is, including works of poetry. In the early years of the company, they published works by Lewis Carroll, Christina Rossetti, and Lord Alfred Tennyson. It's a smaller press, but it has over ten imprints and many offices worldwide.

Notable Imprints:

• Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
• Picador
• St. Martin's Press
• Minotaur Books
• Tor/Forge

Hachette Livre (History)

Hachette was originally founded as a French bookshop and publishing company called Brédif in 1826. It grew as a family business until 1981, and as it became a larger company it headquartered in Paris. According to their website, Hachette publishes about 3,000 books and 700 audiobook titles year-round, and they have published works by N. K. Jemisin, Malala Yousafzai, and Gregory Maguire.

Notable Imprints:

• Grand Central Publishing
• Little, Brown and Company
• Mulholland Books
• Workman Publishing
• Perseus

HarperCollins (History)

HarperCollins is the second largest (and oldest) of the Big Five publishers. Founded in 1817, HarperCollins began as a family print shop and went on to publish some of the most beloved and well-know authors in western fiction and fantasy, such as the Brontë sisters, Mark Twain, and J. R. R. Tolkein. They publish about 10,000 works yearly, and they have about 120 imprints.

Notable Imprints:

• AvonBooks
• Harlequin Enterprises
• Harper
• Mariner
• William Morrow

Penguin Random House (History)

Penguin Random House is the largest Big Five publisher, founded as two separate companies in 1924 and coming together as one in 2013. They publish a wide variety of books, with a mission statement to publish material for everyone. They release about 15,000 print titles and 70,000 digital titles per year, and they have over 300 imprints. In 2020, Penguin Random House attempted to buy Simon and Schuster, but the U.S. Department of Justice sued on grounds that the deal could create an unjust monopoly. As of 2022, the deal formally collapsed.

Notable Imprints:

• Knopf Doubleday
• Crown Publishing
• DK
• Viking Penguin
• Penguin Publishing Group

References

“Corporate History | Simon & Schuster.” Simon & Schuster, 2023, www.simonandschuster.biz/p/corporate-history/.

Grace. “The Big Five Publishers and Their Imprints.” 9th Street Books, 23 Nov. 2022, www.9thstreetbooks.com/big-five-publishers-and-imprints/#2-macmillan.

Donovan, Stacey, and Lee Embers. “The Big Five Publishers.” Authors’ HQ, authorshq.com/the-big-5-trade-publishers-and-their-imprints/. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.