Tor Publishing Group

Overview

Created in 1980 by Tom Doherty, Tor Publishing Group began with a focus on the genre of fantasy and science fiction. With the expansion of various imprints, science fiction and fantasy, while still the prominent genre published under this group, became two in the many genres they publish. Some of these include, romance, horror, contemporary fiction, thrillers, and mysteries.

With this expansion in published genres, Tor Publishing Group has been able to successfully grow a welcoming environment in which authors can not only receive many opportunities but get a chance to grow their voice, accomplishing the goal they set out to do.

History & Mission Statement

Tom Doherty has both an accomplishing and impressive career in the publishing field that directly lead to the foundation of the prominent and major publishing house that is now Tor Publishing Group. Over the span of his career Doherty worked for various publications such as, Select Magazines, Simon & Schuster, Grosset & Dunlap and Ace Books. Doherty later left his postion for Ace Books, bringing some of his fellow coworkers, in order create his own publshing house. With the vision of a publishing house whose focus was on science fiction and fantasy, Doherty successfully founded Tom Doherty Associates, now known as Tor Publishing Group.

Mission Statement

Tor Publishing Group strives to be an environment in which all genres can have a voice. Their goal is to not only provide authors with many opportunities but to allow their voices to both grow and be heard in any and all genres. The manner in which this goal is achieved varies with each imprint and their individual mission statements.

Structure

Tor Publishing Group is owned by the larger and international books seller, Macmillan Publishers. Tor Publishing Group is one of the eight U.S. divisions under Macmillan. Though Tor Publishing Group has its own president and staff, Macmillan oversees and operates Tor Publishing Group. With Macmillan Publishers being one of the Big 5 publishing houses, Tor Publishing Group is a well sized company with a variety of employees spanning all six imprints. Located below are some of the well known staff members within Tor Publishing Group. However, it is important to note that there are many more staff members and positions such as editorial assistant, which also play an integral role within this publishing house.

Staff

As a major publishing house, Tor Publishing Group has various employees that span its six imprints. One of these very important employees is none other than its president. Devi Pillai became the president of Tor Publishing Group in April 2021 after Doherty stepped down. In addition to this position, Pillai maintains the role as publisher. Her career in the publishing field has spanned almost thirty years in which she has worked for publishing houses such as, Hachette Book Group, Orbit Books, and Warner Books which falls under the publishing house named Time Warner Book Group. Within these publishing houses Pillai has held positions such as executive and senior editor allowing her to work with a variety of authors and pieces of science fiction and fantasy, which Tor Publishing Group focuses on. Beginning her Tor career in 2016, as publisher she worked on publications of major authors such as, V.E. Schwab and currently works for well known authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Christopher Paolini. Though beginning her Tor career as associate publisher Pillai quickly worked her way up the corporate latter, becoming vice president in 2018 and later president in 2021.

Vice president and editorial director of Bramble, an imprint of Tor Publishing Group, Monique Patterson is another notable staff member. Starting her publishing career as an assistant editor for HarperCollins Publishers, Patterson worked her way up the publishing industry, becoming executive editor for publishing houses such as St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Publishers. While Patterson has nearly thirty years of experience in the publishing industry, she specializes in the genre of romance, which Bramble entirely focuses on.

Some other notable staff members include Bella Pagan, Gillian Green, and Sophia Robinson. Bella Pagan is currently publisher for Tor Publish Groups imprint Tor Books in the UK. Her career with Tor began in 2015 starting with the position of editor director and later publishing director. Some of the major authors she has worked for are Cassandra Clarke, Alix E. Harrow, Olivie Blake, Adrian Tchaikovsky and more. Leading up to her role in Tor Books Pagan worked for Little Brown Book Group, in London, in which she held positions such as commissioning editor.

Gillian Green began her career with Pan Macmillan, Tor Publishing Groups owner, in 2021. She currently holds the position of publisher for Bramble and Nightfire, which are two of Tor's imprints. Before joining Tor Publishing Group, Green worked as fiction publishing director at Penguin Random House UK. Through this role Green was able to successfully launch and commission best selling books including The Librarian of Auschwitz. Greens current author list includes, K.A. Linde, TJ Klune, Carissa Broadbent, and more.

Lastly, Sophia Robinson is currently the editorial director of Tor Books and Nightfire. Some of the authors she currently works for are Lucy Holland, Ann Liang, and Freya Marske.

Finances

While there isn't any explicit financial information regarding Tor Publishing Group an assessment on their financial health can still be made. That is, considering their various bestselling authors and the recent expansion of their imprints, it is clear that Tor Publishing Group is growing financially. Furthermore, Macmillan Publishing, the owner of Tor Publishing Group, as of 2024 has been having record-breaking sales numbers. In fact Macmillan's sales in 2024 went up nearly 20%, showing the success that this publishing house has. While there are various imprints under Macmillan, Tor Publishing Group and their imprints, especially the recent creation of Bramble, has played a role in the financial success of both publishing groups.

News

After being named Tom Doherty Associates for almost forty years, new president Devi Pillai changed the name to Tor Publishing Group. With the growth and advancement of Tor in which a variety of genres, not just fantasy and science fiction, are published, Pillai decided it was time for a new name which communicated this message. As Pillai stated, "the Tor name will now stand for quality in various types of genre publishing, with each imprint representing a distinct voice."

In 2023, Tor Publishing Group created the new imprint Bramble, which is tailored for modern readers through a wide variety of romantic stories. Tor Publishing Group announced the creation of Bramble on Valentine's Day, making it the perfect news for romance lovers. Along with this announcement president Devi Pillai announced that Monique Patterson would be joining Tor Publishing Group as Vice President and Editorial Director of Bramble.

Imprints

Within Tor Publishing Groups there are six imprints. Each imprint has a slightly different goal or purpose which directly connection the Tor Publishing Groups mission statement on allowing authors to grow both heir voice and opportunities. With each imprint also comes different specialized genres. These imprints include Tor Books, Forge Books, Bramble, Tordotcom Publishing, Nightfire, and Tor Teen/Starscape.

Tor Books

With their goal of including more diverse authors, Tor Books as a wide range of published science fiction and fantasy books. As their mission statement says, they strive to "publish out-of-this-world genre fiction and bring readers books that fuel imagination." While located in New York City, there is also a base in the UK, further expanding their list of authors. Some of their notable authors include Holly Black, Olivie Blake, V.E. Schwab, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Sung-il Kim.

Forge Books

Forge Books focuses on publishing commercial reads, or works that appeal to a wide range of audiences. Forge Books looks for pieces of fiction which can of course span a wide range of genres. This can induce genres such as thrillers, mysteries, history or fantasy and science fiction which crosses over with its sister imprint Tor Books. Much like Tor Books, Forge Book strives to have a wide range of diverse authors and works, showing the level of inclusivity that Tor Publishing Group as a whole strives to obtain. Some Forge Books authors include Spencer Quinn, Rita Woods, Ward Larsen, and more.

Bramble

Founded in 2023, Bramble is the newest imprint of Tor Publishing Group. Bramble's target audience is the modern reader which is achieved through its focus on romance books. Bramble believes that whether it be science fiction, fantasy or contemporary fiction, romance is found everywhere, showing the importance of publishing this genre. Some titles and authors under this imprint are The Serpent & The Wings Night and Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent, Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne, and The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch.

Tordotcom Publishing

As their mission statement says, they are dedicated to publishing "cutting-edge and experimental speculative publishing." Some of the major authors included in this imprint are George R.R. Martin, Paul Cornell, Martha Wells, and K.J. Parker. Forge Books includes many best-selling and even critically-acclaimed novels in addition to being renowned for their publishing of novella sized books. From their publication of series, standalones, and novellas, Forge Books strives to "deliver stories at their right length."

Nightfire

Whether it be modern classics, novellas, series or standalone, Nightfire focuses on the genre of horror. Nightfire strives to be the community for readers and lovers of horror as well as writers of this genre. Some recent releases under Nightfire include Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin and What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher.

Tor Teen/Starscape

Tor Teen/Starscape specializes in teen and kids fiction. With this target audience in mind, Tor Teen has made it their goal to teens and kids to grow a love and enthusiasm for reading. Some of their newest releases include Abeni and the Kingdom of Gold by P. Djèlí Clark and Jasmine is Haunted by Mark Oshiro.

Notable Authors and Titles

With the growth of imprints and genres, Tor Publishing Group has various well known titles and authors. These widely known authors span genres and stories, connecting back to Tor Publishing Group's goal of allowing a multitude of diverse voices to be heard.

One of these authors includes Brandon Sanderson. As a science fiction and fantasy writer, Tor Books, whose focus is on these very genres, was the right publishing house for Sanderson. With an expansive and wide range amount of books, all with their own unique and complex worlds and characters, Sanderson's books fuel one's imagination, aligning with Tor Books mission statement. Some of these unique stores include, international best seller Mistborn Series, The Wax and Wayne Series (which follows the aftermath of the Mistborn series), Tress of the Emerald Sea, and most recently released, Wind and Truth, the fifth book in the epic fantasy series The Stormlight Archives.

Winner of various award such as the World Fantasy Award, internationally acclaimed author George R.R. Martin is another notable author under Tor Publishing Group. Though his main series, A Song of Ice and Fire Series, otherwise known as Game of Thrones, is not published through Tor, his editorial work on the Wild Card's Series, is published through Tor Teen/Starscape. However, The Ice Dragon, an illustrated novel, does center around a creature which is found in the A Song of Ice and Fire Series, which is to be published under Tor Teen/Starscape within the next few years.

Two other notable authors include Olive Blake and V.E. Schwab. Blake has various bestselling books such as The Atlas Series, One for my Enemy, and Alone with you in the Ether. While these books are all published through Tor Books, Blake's novel Januaries, a collection of short fiction stories, is published through Tordotcom. As a #1 New York Times bestselling author, V.E. Schwab is another notable author under Tor Books. These bestselling books include, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Shades of Magic Series, and the Villain Series.

Another well known author is Carissa Broadbent. Originally a self-published author whose work gained attention on social media, Broadbent is now a traditionally published author. Her fantasy books are published through Tor Books while her more romantic fantasies are published through Bramble. Though Broadbent isn't as wide known as the perviously mentioned authors, Broadbent is an author tailored for modern readers, making her well known amongst this particular audience. Some of her books include, The War of Lost Hearts Series and the Crowns of Nyaxia Series.

Formats

Tor Publishing Group offers various different formats for their books. When looking at a particular novel through Tor's website, there is a section of hardcover, trade paperback, e-book, and even audiobook. It is important to note however, that these various formats all vary by book. For instance, Brandon Sanderson's latest book Wind and Truth is available in hardback, trade paperback, audiobook, and e-book. On the other hand, one of Nightfire's novel Black Flame, is available in all formats except hardback. Therefore, though Tor Publishing Group does offer a variety of formats, the accessibility or available formats varying by book. For example, Tor offers books in collections in which the entire series in included, however this also includes from e-books. For instance, New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune's Carulean Chronicles is available on e-book. While it is not clear exactly how many authors have similar deals with Tor Publishing Group, it is evident that both digital and physical books are sold through Tor.

In regards to cost of Tor Publishing Group's books, there are a variety of options in which to purchase them. Tor Publishing Group directly links the follow stores to purchase their books, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Indigo, Target, Book-A-Million, and more. The specific prices of Tor's books of course vary by novel and the store in which the purchase is made. With the cheaper options usually being Amazon and Target, the price of a Tor Book really varies on the selected store and format. For instance, hardbacks are much more expensive than trade paperbacks. However, it can be estimated that Tor's books, including all imprints, range anywhere from $15 to $35.