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.
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]
In 2013 Constable & Robinson created controversy when it responded to a manuscript submission by JK Rowling by suggesting that she attend a writing course. The novel, The Cuckoo's Calling, was published by a competitor, was reprinted three times, and adapted for television.[6]
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.'[7] The same year, the company was also named Independent Publisher of the Year at The Bookseller Industry Awards.[8] Constable & Robinson also won the IPG Trade Publisher of the Year in 2013.[9]
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
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35899243
- ↑ 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