The Imprint game: The who’s who of publishers (UK edition)
The glorious web of publishing
This week’s Writersphere is inspired by a tweet by Laura Lam who spoke about the various publishers and imprints across the publishing world. An imprint is a subdivision of a publishing house which concentrates its booklist on specific audiences and demographics.
Publishers can vary in size, scope and approach but not all publishers tend to dabble in all segments, in other words, do not do everything. Some specialise in certain genres such as crime, romance and non-fiction etc or across different age groups such as children’s and adult. Having various imprints dedicated to different readers helps publishers to organise their booklists but also be broad in their approach to publishing a variety of books. An example of a publisher with a larger remit would be the publisher, Harper Collins, which has many different imprints underneath it, such as a sci-fi imprint called Harper Voyager and a children’s imprint called Egmont.
As a writer, coming into the industry, one is confronted by all the different publishers and various imprints in this ever-growing sector. Learning which imprint was at which publishing house and what imprint worked on what was definitely an overload of information to wrap my head around.
The huge web of publishers and their imprints make up massive parts of the publishing trade, with newer imprints coming to life when needed or desired by a publisher. It is considered good knowledge for writers to familiarize themselves with who is who within the trade.
Underneath is a non-exhaustive list of publishers and imprints. I have divided it into sections to show a differentiation by genre, age group and publishing method (i.e. digital first) and where applicable I will link an imprint to its parent publisher.
*Please click the links in the captions of the infographics to be taken to their websites
The Big Five (Soon to be Big 4)
1) Penguin Random House UK (PRH)
With nine publishing divisions working underneath this banner, and many more imprints underneath, such as William Heinemann , which focuses on both fiction and non-fiction books. There is also Jonathan Cape, another well-respected imprint publishing literary fiction, commercial fiction as well as poetry and graphic novels (more imprints of PRH will be mentioned later on). With a century-long history behind some it imprints, the current PRH as we know it came to life in 2013 when two juggernauts of publishing, Penguin and Random House merged to become PRH. Fantastic authors based at PRH include Malorie Blackman, Diana Gabaldon, Margaret Atwood and Phillip Pullman.
2) Hachette UK
Hachette’s history stretches back several centuries to 1768 when one its divisions was founded. Today, Hachette has ten publishing divisions which cover a range of genres and age groups. Within these divisions there are many imprints to target specific readers and audiences across genres such as crime, thriller and fantasy. Examples of Hachette imprints include MacLehose Press which deals mainly with works in translation. There is also Wildfire whose list focuses on commercial fiction and non-fiction (will mention more Hachette imprints later on). Standout authors from Hachette include Alexander McCall Smith, Neil Gaiman, Patrice Lawrence and Juno Dawson.
3) Harper Collins
Harper Collins has a long, rich history and is over 200 years old, with many different publishing imprints working underneath the Harper Collins name. Examples of imprints at Harper Collins include 4th Estate whose list focuses on fiction, cookery books and biographies, while Mills & Boon is a publisher of romantic fiction. Amongst Harper Collins’ amazing stable of authors are Karin Slaughter, Aisha Bushby, Michael Morpurgo and Tracy Chevalier.
4) Simon & Schuster UK
Simon and Schuster will soon be part of one of the biggest publishers in the world when it completes its merger with PRH in early April 2021. There are three imprints namely Scribner, Simon & Schuster, and Simon & Schuster Children's Books. Under these imprints, the publisher strategically releases a range of books across numerous genres such as commercial fiction, children’s books and non-fiction. Celebrated authors at Simon and Schuster include Philippa Gregory, Benjamin Zephaniah, Cassandra Clare and Lynda La Plante.
5) Pan Macmillan
Founded by brothers Daniel and Alexander Macmillan in 1843, Pan Macmillan is now home to a roster of well-renowned authors such as Danielle Steel, Raven Leilani, Tomi Adeyemi, David Baldacci and Adrian Tchaikovsky. The various imprints underneath its banner include Mantle, whose list focuses on crime, thrillers and narrative non-fiction as well as Picador who publish a variety of genres such as literary fiction, poetry and non-fiction.
Beyond the Big Five
Independent Alliance
Led by Faber and Faber, this is a group of publishers based around the world who have formed a coalition to share promotion, sales power and administration amongst themselves for greater efficiencies.
Other Adult Fiction Publishers
Beyond the scope of the aforementioned publishers, there are other independent adult publishers based both in London and across the country.
Genre Focus
Commercial Imprints
Commercial Fiction can be hard to define, but it is generally novels that are plot-driven rather than having a focus on prose or focusing in on character-driven stories. Genres which fall into these categories include crime, thriller, comedy and romance. Speculative fiction like science fiction and horror can also fall into this category (but I have done a separate list for those because there are publishers who purely focus on these genres). Bigger publishers have commercial imprints dedicated to solely publishing books which fall underneath this bracket.
* Please note some of these publishers may also produce non-fiction books and other genres of books
SFF Publishers and Imprints
These are publishers and imprints which focus purely on the speculative genre which includes science fiction and fantasy but can also include horror, apocalyptic, dystopian, magical realism, cyberpunk etc.
Children/YA Publishers and Imprints
The wonderful world of children’s books is vast and varied. Several larger publishers have their own children book imprints such as Bloomsbury’s Children Book and previously mentioned Hachette and Pan Macmillan, but there are many others kid publishers. Again not an exhaustive list but here is a list of children’s publishers based in the UK.
Non Fiction Publishers and Imprints
The non-fiction market encompasses many different types of genres including memoir, cookery, science, art, sport, music, humour, autobiographies, factual, TV tie-ins—the list goes on. There are publishers who focus purely on this domain, but some publishers have imprints solely dedicated to these types of books.
Literary Fiction Publishers and Imprints
Like commercial fiction, literary fiction can also be difficult to put down into words but literary fiction is often focused on the prose, style and structure, the overall artistry of how the story comes together and comes to life on the page. Literary fiction also tends to be character-driven.
* Please note some of these publishers and imprints may also books which fall into other categories
Digital-First Publishers and Imprints
The digital-first model is a different way for a book to reach readers. Digital-first publisher release an eBook first which is produced and published for the masses via digital avenues such as Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books and Google Books before a print-run occurs. To my understanding, there is usually no advance but the e-book royalties are higher for authors. All books get the exact treatment of their physical counterparts, e.g. going through editors, design team working on book covers as well as a publicity and marketing campaigns.
What other publishers and imprints are there? Please share in the comments section.
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— Davina Tijani (@dee_tijani)