Faber & Faber
Corporate brand
UnclaimedFaber & Faber is an independent London publishing house known for influential poetry, fiction, drama, nonfiction, translated literature, digital publishing, and creative-writing education.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Faber & Faber, commonly known as Faber, is an independent British publishing house based in London. Founded in 1929 after the earlier Faber and Gwyer partnership was reorganized, it developed an unusually distinguished list in poetry, literary fiction, drama, biography, memoir, criticism, politics, religion, art, architecture, children's books, and ecology. The company is particularly associated with literary quality, long-term author relationships, carefully designed books, and the cultivation of writers whose reputations have endured across generations. The business grew out of the Scientific Press, which was owned by Sir Maurice and Lady Gwyer and earned much of its income from the weekly Nursing Mirror. Seeking to enter trade publishing, the Gwyers joined with Geoffrey Faber, a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, to establish Faber and Gwyer in 1925. After the Nursing Mirror was sold, the parties separated. Geoffrey Faber retained the publishing venture and chose the name Faber and Faber, although there was no second Faber in the company. The firm is generally dated from 1929. T. S. Eliot became one of the formative figures in the early company after joining as a literary adviser. He was an editor and director and helped shape a list that included major modernist and contemporary writers. Faber published Eliot's Poems 1909–1925 during its first season, alongside books by Ezra Pound, Jean Cocteau, Herbert Read, Vita Sackville-West, Charles Williams, and others. Its early commercial breakthrough was Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man, initially issued anonymously and subsequently identified as a work by Siegfried Sassoon. Poetry became the house's most celebrated area. The catalogue later expanded through writers such as W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender, Louis MacNeice, Marianne Moore, John Gould Fletcher, David Jones, and Walter de la Mare. Faber also became a major drama publisher, issuing or acquiring work by Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, T. S. Eliot, Alan Bennett, Alan Ayckbourn, Brian Friel, Tony Harrison, David Hare, and many other playwrights. Its fiction and nonfiction lists included William Golding, Lawrence Durrell, Philip Larkin, P. D. James, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Seamus Heaney, and later Kazuo Ishiguro, Peter Carey, Orhan Pamuk, and Barbara Kingsolver. Faber's international literary role also rests on translation and rights publishing. Its catalogue has included translated works by Milan Kundera, Thomas Bernhard, Günter Grass, Nikos Kazantzakis, Wisława Szymborska, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Czesław Miłosz. Numerous authors published by Faber have received Nobel Prizes in Literature, including Eliot, Samuel Beckett, William Golding, Seamus Heaney, Günter Grass, Orhan Pamuk, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Kazuo Ishiguro. The company has diversified beyond conventional print publishing. Faber Finds, launched in 2008, uses print-on-demand and later electronic formats to return out-of-print works to circulation. Faber Digital, launched in 2009, developed book-related apps and digital projects, including The Waste Land for iPad. Faber Factory, introduced in 2011, provided ebook conversion and digitization services for publishers. Faber Academy, launched in 2008, offers creative-writing courses and since 2018 has provided annual scholarships intended to support under-represented writers. Faber previously operated an American branch. That business was sold in 1998 to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, part of Holtzbrinck, and continued as an imprint focused on arts, entertainment, media, and popular culture. Faber ended its distribution and publishing partnership with FSG in 2015 and thereafter began distributing its books directly in the United States. The London company moved from its historic Bloomsbury premises to The Bindery in Hatton Garden in 2023. It remains an active independent publisher with a broad literary, theatrical, educational, and digital presence.
History
Faber & Faber's origins lie in the Scientific Press, a business owned by Sir Maurice and Lady Gwyer. The Scientific Press derived substantial income from the Nursing Mirror, but the Gwyers wanted to develop a broader trade-publishing operation. In 1925 they formed Faber and Gwyer with Geoffrey Faber, an Oxford academic and fellow of All Souls College. When the Nursing Mirror was sold four years later, the partners separated. Geoffrey Faber continued with the publishing business and selected the name Faber and Faber, despite there being no second Faber. The company is conventionally regarded as founded in 1929. From its earliest years, Faber established a strong literary identity. T. S. Eliot joined as a literary adviser after leaving Lloyds Bank and became an influential editor and director. The first season included Eliot's Poems 1909–1925, while the wider list featured modernist poets, critics, artists, biographers, and essayists. The firm's first notable commercial success was Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man by Siegfried Sassoon, initially published anonymously and quickly reissued with the author's name. Poetry was central to Faber's reputation. Under Eliot's influence, the house published or developed relationships with W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender, Louis MacNeice, Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, Wyndham Lewis, David Jones, and other major poets. Faber also published The Criterion, Eliot's literary review. Its scope extended to biography, memoir, fiction, political and religious writing, art and architecture, children's publishing, and ecology. During the Second World War, paper shortages produced high profits for the business, although much of the resulting income was absorbed by taxation. After the war, Faber built an important list of novelists, poets, and dramatists. The company published William Golding, Lawrence Durrell, Robert Lowell, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Philip Larkin, P. D. James, and Seamus Heaney, among others. It expanded its commitment to contemporary drama through works by Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, and T. S. Eliot, later adding Alan Ayckbourn, Alan Bennett, Brian Friel, Tony Harrison, David Hare, Frank McGuinness, and Timberlake Wertenbaker. The company acquired rights to the remainder of Samuel Beckett's oeuvre from John Calder in 2007. In later decades, Faber added internationally prominent contemporary authors such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Peter Carey, Orhan Pamuk, and Barbara Kingsolver. It also became an important publisher of translations, with works by Milan Kundera, Thomas Bernhard, Günter Grass, Nikos Kazantzakis, Wisława Szymborska, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Czesław Miłosz appearing in its catalogue. The Nobel Prizes awarded to many Faber authors reinforced the house's international literary profile. Faber diversified its operations during the digital era. Faber Academy began in 2008 as a creative-writing education business, while Faber Finds used print-on-demand to restore out-of-print titles and began releasing ebooks in 2009. Faber Digital developed applications and enhanced digital books, including The Waste Land for iPad. In 2011, Faber Factory added ebook conversion and digitization services for other publishers. In 2013, Faber Digital and Bloomsbury launched Drama Online, a subscription platform for libraries, educators, students, and researchers. The company's American history also changed during this period. Faber's former American branch was sold in 1998 to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, which became part of Holtzbrinck. Faber ended that partnership in 2015 and moved to direct distribution in the United States. In London, the publisher occupied offices at 24 Russell Square, later moved to 3 Queen Square and Bloomsbury House, and relocated to The Bindery in Hatton Garden in 2023. Faber remains an independent publishing house whose identity combines literary prestige, specialist editorial expertise, cultural programming, and selected digital and educational services.
- 2023
London headquarters moves to The Bindery
[1]Faber relocates from Bloomsbury to The Bindery in Hatton Garden.
- 2018
Faber Academy scholarship begins
[1]The Academy starts offering two annual scholarships focused on expanding access for under-represented writers.
- 2013
Drama Online launches
[1]Faber Digital and Bloomsbury create a subscription platform for digital drama content.
- 2011
Faber Factory and Sixty Years in Sixty Poems
[1]Faber introduces a digitization service and later participates in a Jubilee poetry project using recordings, generative sound design, and archive film.
- 2009
Faber Digital is launched
[1]A dedicated digital operation begins producing applications and enhanced electronic publishing projects.
- 2008
Faber Academy and Faber Finds are launched
[1]The company expands into creative-writing education and print-on-demand recovery of out-of-print books.
- 2007
Faber acquires additional Samuel Beckett rights
[1]The publisher acquires rights to the remainder of Beckett's oeuvre from John Calder.
- 2006
Faber is named KPMG Publisher of the Year
[1]The company receives the KPMG Publisher of the Year recognition.
- 1998
American branch is sold
[1]Faber's American operation is sold to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, a Holtzbrinck company.
- 1929
Faber & Faber begins as an independent publishing firm
[1]After the Gwyers and Geoffrey Faber separate, Geoffrey retains the business and adopts the Faber and Faber name.
Products and positioning
Independent, author-focused literary publisher with a heritage in modernist poetry and a strong position in contemporary poetry, fiction, drama, translated literature, and cultural nonfiction.
Books · 1929
Poetry
Poetry has historically been the defining strength of Faber's catalogue. The list developed under T. S. Eliot and came to include major modernist and contemporary poets such as W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender, Louis MacNeice, Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Seamus Heaney, and many others. Faber publishes both individual collections and selected or collected editions.
Books and theatrical rights · 1929
Drama
Faber's drama publishing covers plays, playwright editions, and theatrical works. Its authors have included Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, T. S. Eliot, Tom Stoppard, Alan Bennett, Alan Ayckbourn, Brian Friel, Tony Harrison, David Hare, and other significant dramatists. The drama list is also the foundation for associated digital and educational licensing.
Books · 1929
Literary fiction and nonfiction
The general literary list includes novels, short fiction, biography, memoir, criticism, essays, political and religious writing, and cultural nonfiction. Notable authors associated with the house include William Golding, Lawrence Durrell, P. D. James, Kazuo Ishiguro, Peter Carey, Orhan Pamuk, and Barbara Kingsolver.
Print-on-demand and ebooks · 2008
Faber Finds
Faber Finds is an imprint created to make selected out-of-print books available again through print-on-demand technology. Its recovered catalogue has drawn on literary, historical, scientific, social-observation, and cultural works, and the program later expanded into ebooks.
Creative-writing education · 2008
Faber Academy
Faber Academy provides structured courses for aspiring and developing writers. Subjects have included novel writing, advanced poetry, and introductory fiction. Tutors have included established writers and filmmakers, and the Academy has offered annual scholarships intended to support writers from under-represented communities.
Digital publishing · 2009
Faber Digital
Faber Digital develops book-related applications and enhanced digital works. Projects have included applications associated with Malcolm Tucker, QI, Harry Hill, and The Waste Land, as well as a collaboration on Solar System. The unit also participated in the development of Drama Online.
Publishing services · 2011
Faber Factory
Faber Factory is an ebook conversion and digitization service intended for publishers. It extended Faber's technical capabilities beyond its own catalogue and received industry recognition from the Independent Publishers Guild.
Subscription digital platform · 2013
Drama Online
Drama Online is a digital subscription platform created with Bloomsbury Publishing. It provides drama-related content for libraries, educational institutions, students, researchers, and other academic users.
Marketing campaigns
- 2012Sixty Years in Sixty Poems
United Kingdom
To coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Faber launched a digital poetry project based on Carol Ann Duffy's Jubilee Lines. The project presented poems through actors' recordings, generative sound-based design, and archive film footage as part of The Space, an Arts Council and BBC digital arts initiative.
Outcome. A digital cultural-literacy and poetry presentation project.
Brand decisions
2015
End of FSG partnership and move to direct United States distributionStrategyBackground
Faber had maintained a relationship with Farrar, Straus and Giroux following the sale of its American arm.
Action taken
Faber ended the partnership and began distributing its books directly in the United States.
Aftermath
The change gave the London company a direct distribution approach in the United States, although no financial results are provided in the reference material.
2007
Acquisition of additional Samuel Beckett rightsM&ABackground
Faber had published Samuel Beckett's theatrical works for several years.
Action taken
The company acquired rights to the remainder of Beckett's oeuvre from John Calder.
Aftermath
Faber strengthened its position as a principal publisher of Beckett's work.
1998
Sale of the American branchM&ABackground
Faber's former American branch operated as the company's United States arm before being sold to Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Action taken
The American business was sold to FSG, which was part of Holtzbrinck.
Aftermath
The business continued as an FSG imprint focused on arts, entertainment, media, and popular culture.
Sources1 sources
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