Penguin Books

Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and Allen's brothers, Richard and John, although Allen was the dominant figure in the company. John died in service in 1942 and Richard later sold his share to Allen before the company went public in 1961 as a line of publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large audiences existed for serious books. Penguin also had a significant impact on public debate in Britain, through its books on politics, the arts, and science.

Penguin Books is now an imprint of the worldwide Penguin Random House, an emerging conglomerate which was formed in 2013 by the merger of the two publishers. Formerly, Penguin Group was wholly owned by Pearson PLC, the global media company which also owns the Financial Times, but it now retains only a minority holding of 47% of the stock against Random House owner Bertelsmann who controls the majority stake. It is one of the largest English-language publishers, formerly known as the "Big 6", now known as the "Big Five".

Penguin Group

The Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, part of Penguin Random House. It is owned by Pearson PLC, the global education and publishing company, and Bertelsmann, the German media conglomerate. The new company was created by a merger that was finalized on July 1, 2013, with Bertelsmann owning 53% of the joint venture, and Pearson controlling the remaining 47%.

Penguin Books has its registered office in City of Westminster, London.

Its British division is Penguin Books Ltd. Other separate divisions can be found in the United States, Ireland, New Zealand, India, Australia, Canada, China, and South Africa.

History

Penguin Books Ltd. (est. 1935) of the United Kingdom was bought over by Pearson Longman in 1970.

Penguin Group (USA) Inc. was formed in 1996 as a result of the merger between Penguin Books USA and the Putnam Berkley Group. The newly formed company was originally called Penguin Putnam Inc., but, in 2003, it changed its name to Penguin Group (USA) Inc. to reflect the parent Pearson PLC's grouping of all the Penguin companies worldwide under the supervisory umbrella of Pearson's own Penguin Group division.