Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln ("Max") Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers and publishing houses, alongside Random House, Penguin, and HarperCollins. It publishes over two thousand titles annually under 35 different imprints.

Early years
Crossword puzzles first appeared in the New York World in 1913, and soon became a popular feature in newspapers. In 1924, Simon's aunt, a crossword puzzle devotee, asked Simon whether there was a book of these puzzles that she could give to a friend. Simon discovered that none had been published, and, with Schuster, launched a company to exploit the opportunity.

To attract attention, the book came with a pencil attached. The advertising campaign implied that it was about to become a new fad:


 * 1921: Coué
 * 1922: Mah Jong
 * 1923: Bananas
 * 1924: The first crossword-puzzle book

The ad proved prophetic, and crossword puzzles were indeed the craze of 1924. Simon & Schuster continues to be the preeminent U.S. publisher of crossword puzzle books.

Expansion
In 1939, with Robert Fair de Graff, Simon & Schuster founded Pocket Books, America's first paperback publisher.

In 1942, Simon & Schuster, or "Essandess" as it is called in the initial announcement, launched the Little Golden Books series in cooperation with the Artists and Writers Guild. Simon & Schuster's partner in the venture was the Western Printing and Lithographing Company which handled the actual printing. Western Printing bought out Simon & Schuster's interest in 1958.

In 1944, Marshall Field III, owner of the Chicago Sun newspaper, purchased Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books. Following Field's death, in 1957 his heirs sold the company back to Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster, while Leon Shimkin and James M. Jacobson acquired Pocket Books.

Corporate ownership


In 1975, Gulf+Western acquired the company, and nine years later, Prentice Hall was brought into the company fold, followed by mapmaker Gousha in 1987. G+W would change its name to Paramount Communications in 1989.

In 1994, Paramount was sold to the original Viacom, allowing S&S to launch several new imprints in conjunction with channels owned by Viacom's MTV Networks. Simon & Schuster's first move under Viacom was the acquisition of Macmillan USA.

In 1998, Viacom sold Simon & Schuster's educational operations, including Prentice Hall and Macmillan, to Pearson PLC, the global publisher and owner of Penguin and Financial Times.

Viacom would split into two companies at the end of 2005: one called CBS Corporation (which inherited S&S), and the other retaining the Viacom name. Despite the split, National Amusements retains majority control of both firms.

As part of CBS, Simon & Schuster is the primary publisher for books related to various media franchises owned by CBS, such as How I Met Your Mother, Star Trek, CSI, and Halo

In April 2012, the United States Department of Justice filed United States v. Apple Inc., naming Apple, Simon & Schuster, and four other major publishers as defendants. The suit alleged that they conspired to fix prices for e-books, and weaken Amazon.com's position in the market, in violation of antitrust law.

In December 2013, a federal judge approved a settlement of the antitrust claims, in which Simon & Schuster and the other publishers paid into a fund that provided credits to customers who had overpaid for books due to the price-fixing.

Editors
Some of its prominent editors have been William Cole, Robert Gottlieb, and Michael Korda.

North America

 * Andrew Solomon
 * Annie Proulx
 * Audrey Niffenegger
 * Becca Fitzpatrick
 * Bob Dylan
 * Bob Woodward
 * Brad Thor
 * Cassandra Clare
 * Dan Brown
 * Dave Ramsey
 * David McCullough
 * Delischa Reddic
 * Dick Cheney
 * Doris Kearns Goodwin
 * Ernest Hemingway
 * F. Scott Fitzgerald
 * Frank McCourt
 * Gilda Radner
 * Glenn Beck
 * Hilary Duff
 * Hillary Clinton
 * Holly Black
 * Holly Goddard Jones
 * Hunter S. Thompson
 * Ian Falconer
 * Isaac Marion
 * James Wesley
 * Janet Evanovich
 * Jeannette Walls
 * Jimmy Carter
 * Jodi Picoult
 * John Irving
 * Joy of Cooking
 * Kay Thompson
 * Ke$ha Sebert
 * Larry McMurtry
 * Lauren Weisberger
 * Mark R. Levin
 * Mary Higgins Clark
 * Nickelodeon/Nick Jr. (1995–2012)
 * Philippa Gregory
 * Rachel Renee Russell
 * Rhonda Byrne
 * Richard Rhodes
 * R. L. Stine
 * Sandra Brown
 * Shel Silverstein
 * Siddhartha Mukherjee
 * Sister Souljah (Emily Bestler/Atria)
 * Sloan Wilson
 * Stephen E. Ambrose
 * Stephen King
 * Sylvia Nasar
 * Taylor Branch
 * Todd Glass
 * Thomas Wolfe
 * Ursula K. Le Guin
 * Vince Flynn
 * Walter Isaacson

United Kingdom

 * Jackie Collins
 * Joan Collins
 * Mark Gatiss
 * Richard Madeley
 * Mark Radcliffe

Logo


The sower, the logo of Simon & Schuster was inspired by the 1850 Jean-François Millet painting of the same name.

Imprints
In addition to the main Simon & Schuster imprint are the following:

Adult publishing

 * Atria
 * 37 Ink
 * Atria Español
 * Atria Unbound
 * Beyond Words Publishing (specializes in publishing new age, self-help, and inspiration stories with a spiritual focus.)
 * Cash Money Content
 * Emily Bestler Books
 * Howard Books
 * Marble Arch Press
 * Strebor Books International
 * Washington Square Press
 * Gallery Books
 * Karen Hunter Publishing
 * Mercury Ink
 * MTV Books
 * Pocket Books
 * Pocket Star
 * Threshold Editions (specializes in publishing politically right-of-center books, including Jerome R. Corsi's controversial The Obama Nation)
 * Scribner
 * Touchstone
 * Simon & Schuster
 * Folger Shakespeare Library
 * Free Press

Children’s publishing

 * Aladdin
 * Atheneum: initially (1959) a publishing house and adult imprint, it now publishes children's titles, formerly just part of its output.
 * Beach Lane Books
 * Little Simon
 * Margaret K. McElderry Books
 * Paula Wiseman Books
 * Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
 * Simon Pulse
 * Simon Spotlight

Audio

 * Pimsleur Language Programs
 * Simon & Schuster Audio

Former Imprints

 * Earthlight (UK science fiction imprint, discontinued)
 * Fireside Books
 * Green Tiger Press
 * Linden Press
 * Long Shadow Books
 * Poseidon Press (operated 1982–1993)
 * Richard Gallen Books
 * Sonnet Books
 * Wallaby Books