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 Tor Publishing Group. Over the span of his career Doherty worked for various publications such as, Select Magazines, Simon & Schuster, Grosset & Dunlap and Ace. After a change in leadership in Ace, Doherty left his postion of publisher and founded Tom Doherty Associates which later adopted the name 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.

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.

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. There are also various positions below editorial director such as editor and editorial assistant who make up a major portion of the staff.

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 The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw.