Penguin Classics

Spines of a few older Penguin Classics.

Penguin Classics Logo

Grand Overview

Mission and history

Penguin Classics, which is a sector of Penguin Random House, was originally founded in 1946 in the United Kingdom. The publisher’s original mission was to publish exclusively classic works, such as Penguin Classic’s first publication, E. V. Rieu’s translation of The Odyssey.  After that book’s publication in 1946, E. V. Rieu actually went on to become editor of the press until 1964. There have been a few different editors over time. After E. V. Rieu’s editorship from approximately 1944-1964, Betty Radice and Robert Baldick became joint editors on Penguin Classics. In 1974, Betty Radice became the solo editor and remained in her position until 1995. The current executive editor of Penguin Classics is John Siciliano.

E.V. Rieu

A portrait of E.V. Rieu, the first editor and contributor to Penguin Classics.

E.V. Rieu (1887-1972) was the editor of Penguin Classics for 20 years, and was a celebrated translator of Latin and Greek literature in the early days of Penguin Classics. Within the press, Rieu personally contributed to the publication of The Illiad, The Odyssey, and The Voyage of Argo.

Ownership and structure

Penguin Classics is ultimately owned by Penguin Random House. Penguin Random House, a member of the publishing “Big 5,” is one of the most successful and large publishing houses in the world. Penguin Random House has over 300 imprints, and Classics is one of the oldest and most beloved. According to the press itself, Penguin Random House partners with various non-profit organizations, including many library associations and literacy programs. In terms of size, Penguin Random House is notably large, employing approximately 10,000 people globally and publishing about 15,000 books each year.

Financial information (Penguin as a whole...)

While it is hard to find extensive financial information about Penguin Classics specifically, there is an abundant amount of information online about Penguin Publishing, in which Penguin Classics is an imprint.

According to Publishers Weekly, Penguin Random House, which encapsulates Penguin Classics, had a very successful financial year in 2024. Overall, worldwide sales increased by 8.5%, and collective profits increased by 11.3%. Based off of this information, it is evident that Penguin Classics, which is an imprint of the overarching Penguin Random House publisher, is thriving financially.

According to D&B Hoovers, Penguin Random House LLC. has books available in over 160,000 retailers around the world, making it one of the most common and successful suppliers worldwide.

In 2018, Bertelsmann stated that "the book division generated total revenues of €3.4 billion, up about 2% from the prior year, and an operating profit of €528 million, a 1.3% increase from the previous year." With this information in addition to the previously stated 2024 statistics, observers can gather that Penguin is an extremely stable and rising company.

Mergers and Acquisitions (Still talking about Penguin as a whole...)

According to D&B Hoovers, in May of 2020, Penguin Random House "acquired a 45% stake in Sourcebooks, a Naperville, Illinois-based independent publisher with a strong portfolio of children's titles such Sandra Magsamen's Welcome Little One. More recently famed children's book author Eric Carle announced plans to sell his company to Penguin Random House." On top of that, in 2019, Penguin Random House purchased three other publishing companies: Little Tiger Group, Ediciones Salamandra, and La Campana Lliabres.

Recent News

Comics!

Since 2023, Penguin Classics has started including comics in their catalog, which is seen by Publishers Weekly as “a groundbreaking example of comics representation in literature.” This is the first time that Penguin Classics has published anything of the sort, and so far, they’ve published a Marvel Collection, which includes The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, and the X-Men.

90th Anniversary

In 2025, Penguin Classics released a "Penguin Archive" series, which included 90 short works. This collection was released to commemorate Penguin Random House's 90th anniversary. The collection included many valued classic authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and H.G. Wells.

Analyzation of the Publishing Program

Catalog

On the Classics sector of the Penguin Random House online shop, printed editions of books are primarily sold. Most books additionally come with an option to purchase the title as an E-Book. In terms of genres, it appears that Penguin Classics publishes all genres, with an emphasis on fiction works. As of October third, 2025, their "New Releases" page consists of pieces by Mary Shelley, Hermann Hesse, Ernest Hemingway, Jane Austen, Joan Didion, and George Orwell. While purchasing a book from the publisher's site, you are given the option to alternatively buy the physical book/E-book from a distributor, such as Barnes & Noble or Powell's.

Notable Titles and Authors

A collection of clothbound editions from Penguin Classics.

Penguin Classics has published a countless number of notable authors, such as John Steinbeck, Jane Austen, and Langston Hughes. Almost all of Penguin Classics' most popular books are immediately recognizable and have some sort of academic, societal, or historic merit. One of the most popular collections from Penguin Classics is their Clothbound Classics collection, which offers classic novels encased in beautiful, thoughtfully designed hardcovers. The covers of these books are known to be highly artistic and collectible to some.

Formats

Penguin Classics produces both traditional, physical books and E-Books. Both are available on the publisher's website, ranging from approximately $12 USD - approximately $35 USD for individual books. The Penguin Classics online shop also provides shoppers with the option to purchase the books from their other distributors, and prices can vary slightly depending on which distributor is utilized.

Brand Identity

In terms of looks, books produced by Penguin Classics are throughtfully and artfully designed. Standard Penguin Classic editions come complete with a work of art on the front cover, which is always visually appealing. Aside from the normal Penguin Classics, the Penguin Clothbound Editions (shown above) are known to have aesthetically pleasing spines and hard covers. The general design of Penguin Classics books gives the company a respectable and formal connotation. Additionally, books from this publisher tend to be extremely uniform, with nearly all books from each collection looking somewhat the same with personalized stylistic differences. Throughout brand history, their designs have been slightly changing and evolving, but always consistent in a collection's given time.

Editorial Staff

John Siciliano

Portrait of John Siciliano, executive editor of Penguin Classics.

Currently, John Siciliano is the executive director of Penguin Classics. Additionally, Siciliano is also the executive editor of Penguin Books, Penguin Life, and Viking. All of these publishing companies are imprints of Penguin Random House. According to Frankfurter Buchmesse, "he publishes writers from around the world—classic and contemporary, famous and forgotten and first-time—and is especially interested in literary fiction, the literary supernatural, memoir, travel, cultural history, humor, food, and wellness." He has published a multitude of best-selling books, such as The Perfect Nanny by Lelia Slimani, which was one of the New York Times Book Review's Ten Best Books of 2018. In terms of his personal life and background, little to no information is available online, hinting at the fact that he prefers a privacy.

Elizabeth Vogt

Portrait of Elizabeth Vogt, associate editor of Penguin Classics.

Elizabeth Vogt is the current associate editor of Penguin Classics. Prior to her start with Penguin Classics in 2016, Vogt dabbled in academic writing and magazines, which remain unnamed on her biography page. According to that same biography, "while she is constantly working to strengthen Penguin Classics’ impressive roster of feminist voices, she is also excited about expanding the traditional idea of the “canon” to include more underrepresented voices, and is especially interested in publishing more Latinx, Black, Asian, and Indigenous authors in Penguin Classics." In short, Elizabeth Vogt has many admirable goals to strengthen the diversity and representation of the publishing industry. On top of being the associate editor of the publisher, Vogt also manages the Penguin Classics Instagram page.

Gabriel Rivera

Portrait of Gabriel Rivera, editorial assistant at Penguin Classics.

Gabriel Rivera is an Editorial Assistant at Penguin Classics. There is minimal information available about Rivera online, but it is evident that he joined the company in 2025 following his graduation from CUNY Baruch College with degrees in journalism and political science. According to his online biography provided by Penguin, "his interests include literary fiction (primarily 20th century Latin American literature), short stories, and longform narrative journalism, as well as anything that is experimental, metaphysical, or surreal."

Penguin Classics in the Community

Newsletter

Penguin Classics offers readers and fans the opportunity to subscribe to the publisher's newsletter, which is accessible to anyone with a valid email address. This newsletter provides readers with monthly recommendations, updates, and news about Penguin Classic's newest projects and releases.

Social Media

Penguin Classics holds pages on Instagram and Facebook in order to keep readers in the loop about what's going on with the company in real time. Specifically, their Instagram page is very robust and active, keeping fans updated about events, new releases, and anniversaries on a frequent basis. As of October fourth, 2025, the newest update available on Penguin Classics' Instagram page announces Guillermo Del Toro's upcoming Netflix adaptation of Frankenstein, which is based off of a book that Penguin Classics publishes, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Merchandise

While Penguin Classics itself does not sell merchandise, Penguin Random House does, and some of the products available in the catalog are connected to the Classics sector. For example, the Penguin shop offers prints of some of the company's most notable and successful book covers, such as works by Jane Austen and Lewis Carroll, which are book that are currently produced by Penguin Classics.

Loyal Fans and Readers

Instagram post by @booktographer, posing with books from Penguin Classics.

Collectors and General Abundance

Over the years that Penguin Classics has existed, they have gained an impressive following from those who read their books. Many of their collections have become collectable, and many people indirectly advertise the company just by going out of their way to buy from them. Penguin Classics are very abundant in bookstores and thrift stores, and therefore, readers consider it to be a "familiar" company. Additionally, Penguin Classics has released a countless amount of collections since their debut, and many people strive to collect all of the books from any given one. For example, readers tend to collect the Clothbound Classics (mentioned earlier in the article: see Notable Titles and Authors tab).

Influencers

Lastly, there is a small community of literary-minded people on social media who discuss their current reads and favorite books, and those influencers, especially those who are focused in classic literature, almost always speak positively upon Penguin Classic editions. This indirectly advertises the company, and influences other readers to purchase Penguin Classics.