The ‘Big Five’ publishers

Did you know that about 60% of English-language books are produced by the ‘Big Five’ publishers? With such a staggering market share, and being responsible for a flood of high-quality literature, the Big Five publishers are set apart from the rest for a reason.

But where did they come from, and how did they manage to carve out their niches? I’ll cover the origins of these dominant behemoths, as well as some important information about their process and previously published catalogues.

Penguin Random House

Penguin Books began its life in 1934, creating inexpensive paperbacks which brought fiction and factual writing to a wider UK audience. With a particular impact on British culture as a whole, due to its coverage of arts, politics and sciences, Penguin Random House still remains a monolith in the UK publishing market to this day. In 2013, a merger between Penguin Books and the American Random House resulted in Penguin Random House, and Penguin Books remains an imprint.

The industry was narrowed by the formation of Penguin Random House, and following their adaption of digital media, Penguin Random House held a colossal market share. Their founder originally decided to create inexpensive paperbacks after struggling to find good reading material for sale at a train station, and despite being a relatively late entrance into a market that was already well-saturated at the time, they found commercial success.

During the Second World War, Penguin published many informational books, such as ‘Aircraft Recognition’ which was popular at a time where books were extremely sought-after. Even a paper shortage couldn’t stop their success! Credited with being one of their most designing features, as well as perhaps an essential component of their success, Penguin’s cover design was simple compared to the other offerings on the market at the time, and still remains a recognisable beacon for their brand.

Hachette UK

Hachette Livre formed in France in 1992, from the bookshop and publishing company founded in 1826, after being grouped into a subsidiary from its parent company. In 2002 John Murray, a UK publisher, was acquired by the company, which was transformed into what we now know as Hachette UK.

The parent company of Hachette UK (also the world’s third-largest trade and education publisher) deals with three main aspects of the book trade: publishing, partworks and distribution. They publish books in multiple countries, as well as their other offerings like audiobooks, graphic novels and many more. Their partworks, which take the form of magazine-like issues released incrementally to form reference works when the set is complete, are also distributed in multiple countries.

Their publishing divisions are incredibly wide-reaching, having incredibly prominent authors and departments across a wide range of genres. Hachette Children’s Group is one of the UK’s largest children’s publishers, Little, Brown Book Group offers hugely diverse and dynamic offerings – and that’s only 2 of their 10+ different divisions!

HarperCollins UK

HarperCollins UK publishes about 1,500 books a year, across a wide range of genres, types and target audiences. Their history stretches back around 200 years, when James Harper founded J & J Harper with his brother in 1817. In 1962, they merged into Harper & Row, which was then bought by NewsCorp in 1987 – which had a 40% stake in the company since 1981.

However, the company has also been involved in a few scandals and issues – such as revealing the identity of the Stig, a cancelled book about O.J. Simpson called ‘If I Did It’ which received too much outcry to be published, plagiarism in their published novel, What The (Bleep) Just Happened?, and many more.

Responsible for prominent publications such as The Collins English Dictionary, The History of Middle Earth, compiled by Christopher Tolkein, or children’s books like the Warrior Cats series, the Ruby Redfort series or the Skulduggery Pleasant series, the publisher remains a stoic company with more than 120 imprints. They also release around 700 audio books every year!

PanMacmillan

Founded in London, in 1843 by Scottish brothers Daniel and Alexander MacMillan, the publisher started off strong by publishing some of the most well-known Victorian-era literature – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll in 1865, and The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, in 1894.

In the late 1960s, PanMacmillan featured serious academic and educational publishing, following the baby boom market, leading to significant growth in reference programmes and college textbooks. In addition to this, their scientific journals grew and branched out into an educational provider, offering resources to institutions and educational authorities in the form of Macmillan Education.

In 1999, Macmillan became a subsidiary of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group after they purchased the company. The company has widespread offices in 41 worldwide countries, with operations in many others.

Simon and Schuster

Originally founded in New York, Simon and Schuster started by filling a gap in the 1924 market for puzzle books. They’ve continued this trend of focusing on the latest fads as part of their strategy – first coming up with ideas aligned with current popular subjects, and then getting writers to create stories around them, instead of signing authors based on their individual manuscripts.

Simon and Schuster UK is based in London, although they operate globally. They also act as the sales and distribution partner for many independent and international publishers. Like the other companies, they have many other imprints and target markets for their books.

I thought you said pub…

That was our foray into the world of publishing – and you don’t get much bigger than the Big Five! Commercial publishing remains an option for many writers looking to get their books out in the world, and its oppositions are either self-publishing or indie publishing.