Doubleday
An American publishing house with a long history in literary fiction, commercial books, nonfiction, children's publishing, and paperback imprints.
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Overview
Doubleday is an American publishing house founded in 1897 by Frank Nelson Doubleday in partnership with newspaper-syndication entrepreneur Samuel Sidney McClure. Initially known as the Doubleday & McClure Company, the firm developed from a small publishing venture into one of the largest English-language publishing businesses of the twentieth century. Its early list included Rudyard Kipling, W. Somerset Maugham, and Joseph Conrad, while the success of Thomas Dixon Jr.'s novels helped provide the commercial foundation for its expansion. After the original partnership ended in 1900, Doubleday and Walter Hines Page operated as Doubleday, Page & Company. The company moved its headquarters and production operations to Garden City, Long Island, in 1910, where it established a substantial publishing community and became closely associated with the area. In 1922, it created a dedicated juvenile department led by May Massee. Five years later, the merger with George H. Doran Company created Doubleday, Doran, then described as the largest publishing business in the English-speaking world. The company also expanded internationally, including through Doubleday Canada, and broadened its specialist publishing activities through acquisitions such as the medical publisher Blakiston. The business adopted the name Doubleday and Company in 1946. Under president Douglas Black, who led the company from 1946 to 1963, Doubleday expanded its editorial, manufacturing, retail, subscription-book, and international operations. Black promoted a broad and sometimes controversial publishing program, introduced Anchor Books as a quality paperback line, opened printing plants and overseas offices, and developed a network of bookstores and book clubs. By 1947, Doubleday was reported to be the largest book publisher in the United States. During the 1960s through the 1980s, Doubleday became a diversified communications company rather than a conventional trade publisher alone. It acquired educational publisher Laidlaw, purchased Dell Publishing, entered broadcasting through Doubleday Broadcasting, operated book clubs and retail stores, and maintained businesses in book manufacturing and advertising. The company also owned the New York Mets for part of the 1980s. Financial pressure and slowing sales led to restructuring and downsizing in the early 1980s. In 1986, Nelson Doubleday Jr. sold the publishing company to Bertelsmann; the transaction excluded the Mets. The company subsequently became part of the Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group and then Random House. In the late 1980s and 1990s, several Doubleday activities were reorganized among Random House divisions. Anchor Books became associated with Vintage and the Knopf group, while other imprints and businesses moved into different corporate units. In 2009, the Doubleday publishing imprint was combined with Knopf Publishing Group to create the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. As of the late 2010s, that group operated within Penguin Random House. Doubleday therefore remains an active publishing identity, although its modern role is principally as an imprint and editorial brand within a larger corporate publishing structure rather than as an independent public company.
History
Doubleday began in 1897 as Doubleday & McClure Company, founded by Frank Nelson Doubleday and Samuel Sidney McClure. Its initial publishing program benefited from the founders' connections to journalism and syndication. Early authors included Rudyard Kipling, W. Somerset Maugham, and Joseph Conrad. The partnership dissolved in 1900, after which Doubleday joined Walter Hines Page in operating Doubleday, Page & Company. Commercial success followed in the early twentieth century, particularly through Thomas Dixon Jr.'s novels. The company moved to Garden City, New York, in 1910 and developed extensive publishing and manufacturing operations there. A juvenile department was established in 1922 under May Massee, and Nelson Doubleday joined the firm the same year. The 1927 merger with George H. Doran Company produced Doubleday, Doran, a major English-language publishing enterprise. Further expansion included Doubleday Canada and the acquisition of the medical publisher Blakiston in 1944. In 1946, the business became Doubleday and Company. Douglas Black's presidency from 1946 to 1963 was marked by editorial expansion and diversification. He recruited prominent public figures as authors, opposed censorship, developed Anchor Books as a quality paperback line, expanded printing capacity, opened international offices, and built retail and subscription-book operations. The company reached the leading position among U.S. book publishers by 1947. Later management continued the diversification program. Doubleday acquired educational publisher Laidlaw in 1964, bought Dell Publishing in 1976, and entered radio and television through Doubleday Broadcasting after acquiring the Trigg-Vaughn group in 1967. It also operated book clubs, retail stores, international subsidiaries, and manufacturing facilities. The broadcasting operation was sold in 1986. Doubleday acquired the New York Mets in 1980, but the baseball club was not included when the publishing business was sold to Bertelsmann in 1986. Following the sale, parts of the company became associated with Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group and later Random House. Doubleday's imprints and divisions were redistributed during corporate reorganizations. Anchor Books moved into the Vintage Anchor structure associated with Knopf, while other activities were placed in separate Random House groups. The Christian publishing business WaterBrook Press, founded in 1996, later acquired Harold Shaw Publishers and Multnomah Publishers. The late-2008 and 2009 reorganization joined Doubleday with Knopf Publishing Group, forming the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Additional divisions, including Broadway and religious and business publishing units, moved to Crown. Knopf Doubleday later became part of Penguin Random House, created through the merger of Random House and Penguin. Doubleday continues as a recognizable publishing imprint within that corporate structure.
- 2009
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group formed
[1]Doubleday and Knopf Publishing Group were brought together within Random House.
- 1996
WaterBrook Press founded
[1]Doubleday established the Christian publishing imprint that later became WaterBrook Multnomah.
- 1986
Publishing business sold to Bertelsmann
[1]The publishing company was sold to Bertelsmann, while ownership of the Mets remained outside the transaction.
- 1980
New York Mets acquired
[1]Doubleday acquired the baseball club, which later won the 1986 World Series.
- 1976
Dell Publishing acquired
[1]The acquisition strengthened Doubleday's position in paperback publishing.
- 1964
Laidlaw acquired
[1]Doubleday expanded into educational publishing through the acquisition of Laidlaw.
- 1947
Reportedly becomes the largest U.S. book publisher
[1]Reference material identifies Doubleday as the largest book publisher in the United States at this point.
- 1946
Company adopts Doubleday and Company name
[1]The business was reorganized under the Doubleday and Company name.
- 1927
Merger with George H. Doran Company
[1]The merger created Doubleday, Doran, a major publishing business in the English-speaking world.
- 1922
Juvenile department established
[1]Doubleday created an early dedicated children's publishing department, headed by May Massee.
Products and positioning
A broad-based American publishing brand combining literary prestige, commercial fiction, general nonfiction, children's books, and historically significant paperback and book-club programs.
Trade publishing · 1897
Doubleday trade books
The core Doubleday list has historically covered literary fiction, commercial fiction, biography, memoir, history, current affairs, and other general-interest nonfiction. The imprint has published both established public figures and commercially successful authors, with its modern identity operating inside the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Paperback publishing · 1948
Anchor Books
Introduced during Douglas Black's leadership, Anchor Books was designed as a quality paperback line for bookstores. It became an important part of the company's paperback strategy and was later associated with the Vintage Anchor unit within the Knopf publishing structure.
Literary imprint · 1990
Nan A. Talese/Doubleday
Established in 1990, this literary imprint was led by editor and publisher Nan A. Talese. It formed part of Doubleday's effort to maintain a distinct high-literary publishing program within a broad commercial house.
Mystery and detective fiction
The Crime Club
The Crime Club was a long-running Doubleday imprint devoted to mystery and detective fiction. Its list included books associated with Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu series and Leslie Charteris's Saint series.
Christian publishing · 1996
WaterBrook Press
Founded in 1996, WaterBrook Press extended Doubleday's activity into Christian publishing. The business later acquired Harold Shaw Publishers and Multnomah Publishers and was subsequently moved into Crown's publishing operations.
Children's publishing · 1922
Doubleday children's publishing
Doubleday established a dedicated juvenile department in 1922, one of the early specialist children's departments in American publishing. Its historical children's activities included original story anthologies and youth-oriented imprints.
Brand decisions
2009
Combine Doubleday with KnopfStrategyBackground
Random House reorganized several publishing businesses to consolidate related editorial and operating functions.
Action taken
The Doubleday imprint was merged with Knopf Publishing Group to form Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Aftermath
Doubleday continued as a publishing identity within a larger Random House, and later Penguin Random House, structure.
1986
Sell publishing company to BertelsmannM&ABackground
Sales and earnings had weakened in the early 1980s, prompting restructuring and a search for a new ownership structure.
Action taken
Nelson Doubleday Jr. sold the publishing company to Bertelsmann.
Aftermath
Doubleday became part of the corporate publishing groups that later evolved into Bantam Doubleday Dell and Random House.
1927
Merge with George H. Doran CompanyM&ABackground
Doubleday sought greater scale in trade publishing and combined with another major English-language publisher.
Action taken
The companies formed Doubleday, Doran.
Aftermath
The combined business became one of the largest publishing enterprises in the English-speaking world.
Sources2 sources
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