Constable & Robinson
 | |
| Founded | 1999 (Constable & Co. founded 1795, Robinson Publishing Ltd founded 1983) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Nick Robinson |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | Russell Square, London |
| Distribution | The Book Service |
| Publication types | Books |
| Imprints | Constable, Robinson, C&R Crime, Right Way, Corsair, Canvas, Much-in-Little |
| Official website |
www |
Constable & Robinson Ltd. is a leading independent publisher of fiction and non-fiction books and ebooks.
Founded in Edinburgh in 1795 by Archibald Constable as Constable & Co., and by Nick Robinson as Robinson Publishing Ltd in 1983, it is probably the oldest independent publisher in the English-speaking world still operating under the name of its founder.
History
Constable & Co. was founded in 1795 by Archibald Constable, and became Sir Walter Scott's publisher. In 1897 Constable published the most famous horror novel ever published, Bram Stoker's The Un-Dead, albeit with a last minute title change to Dracula.
Constable & Robinson has become synonymous for pioneering change within the publishing world.
In 1813, the company was the first to give an author advance against royalties. In 1821, they introduced the standard three-decker novel, and in 1825, Constable & Robinson became the first publisher to produce mass-market literary editions.
By 1921, they advertised books on the London Underground, another first for a publishing house.
In 1993 Constable & Robinson pioneered the series-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy self-help publishing, and in 2000, they became the first ad-supported, online book publisher. Lastly, in 2013, Constable & Robinson were a key partner in Digital Innovation Contest 2013.
Robinson Publishing Ltd was founded in 1983 by Nick Robinson. The two companies merged in December 1999. Constable & Robinson continue to publish non-fiction books under the Constable imprint and is therefore probably the oldest independent publishing house in the English-speaking world still trading under the name of its founder. In June 2007 Elliot Right Way Books, a successful small publisher of "how-to" titles, came under the umbrella of Constable & Robinson Ltd.[1]
A new fiction imprint, Corsair, was launched in October 2009, dedicated to publishing groundbreaking debut fiction alongside established authors.[2] On the back of its success, the company launched the Canvas imprint in December 2011 to focus on commercial fiction.[3] A bijou imprint of Corsair, Much-in-Little, was launched in April 2012 and will become home to quirky and imaginative new children's and YA fiction.[4]
Constable & Robinson also publishes a non-fiction list including current affairs, history and biography, humour and psychology, as well as crime fiction, and a growing list of literary fiction in both hardback and paperback. Best known are the popular and longstanding Mammoth paperback list of anthologies and collections, the hugely successful and well-respected Overcoming CBT self-help titles, and the history series of Brief Guides and Brief Histories.
Constable & Robinson is the UK publisher of the hugely popular and Hamish Macbeth crime fiction titles by M. C. Beaton.
In 2014 Constable & Robinson was purchased by Little, Brown Book Group.[5]
Awards
In 2011, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, published under the Corsair imprint in the UK, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 2012 Constable & Robinson was named the IPG Independent Publisher of the Year, calling it 'a publisher on a roll — a rising star in a difficult market.'[6] The same year, the company was also named Independent Publisher of the Year at The Bookseller Industry Awards.[7] Constable & Robinson also won the IPG Trade Publisher of the Year in 2013.[8]
References
- ↑ C&R buys Elliot Right Way – The Bookseller Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ Our new fiction imprint, CORSAIR, sets sail Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ Constable & Robinson to launch new commercial fiction list, Canvas Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ New fiction books imprint for children and young adults: Much-in-Little Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ http://www.constablerobinson.com/?section=about_us
- ↑ Awards | Independent Publishers Guild in the UK Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ Harper & Foyles triumph at Bookseller Awards – The Bookseller Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ IPG Trade Publisher of the Year in 2013