Viking Press

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications.
Primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of the article are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please include more appropriate citations from reliable sources, or discuss the issue on the talk page.
This article has been tagged since March 2008.

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (January 2007)

Viking Press is an American publishing company currently owned by Penguin Books. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925 by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim. The firm's name and logo –- a Viking ship drawn by Rockwell Kent -– were meant to evoke the ideas of exploration and enterprise implied by the word "Viking".

The house has been home to many prominent authors of fiction, non-fiction, and play scripts. Viking authors have received five Nobel Prizes for Literature and one Nobel Peace Prize; their books have won numerous Pulitzer Prizes, National Book Awards, and other important literary prizes.

Viking currently publishes approximately 100 books a year. It is notable for publishing both successful commercial fiction and acclaimed literary fiction and non-fiction. Viking's paperbacks are published by Penguin Books. Viking's current president is Clare Ferraro.

The Viking Children's Book department was established in 1933; its founding editor was May Massee. Its books have won the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, and include such perennial favorites as Corduroy, Make Way for Ducklings, The Outsiders, Pippi Longstocking, and The Story of Ferdinand. Its paperbacks are published by Puffin Books, which includes the Speak and Firebird imprints. Viking Children's current president and publisher is Regina Hayes.