Arbor House was an independent

publishing house Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

founded by Donald Fine in 1969. Specializing in hard cover publications, Arbor House published works by

Hortense Calisher Hortense Calisher (December 20, 1911 – January 13, 2009) was an American writer of fiction and the second female president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Biography Personal life Born in New York City, and a graduate of Hunter Co ...

Ken Follett Kenneth Martin Follett, (born 5 June 1949) is a British author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160 million copies of his works. Many of his books have achieved high ranking on best seller lists. For example, in the ...

, Cynthia Freeman,

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense th ...

and

Irwin Shaw Irwin Shaw (February 27, 1913 – May 16, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: '' The Young Lions'' ...

before being acquired by the

Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, telev ...

in 1979 to move into paperback publishing. Arbor House became an

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

William Morrow & Company William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation (now News Corp) in 1999. The ...

in 1988.

History

Publisher Donald Fine founded Arbor House in

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a great ...

in 1969, using a $5,000 loan. Fine was vice president of

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...

and a co-founder of

Delacorte Press Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...

, before starting his own business. Arbor House was acquired by the Hearst Corporation in 1978 for $1.5 million. Industry officials had previously speculated that Arbor House would merge with William Morrow & Company, another company subsequently acquired by the Hearst Corporation, unless it published a number of best selling books. Arbor House published Elmore Leonard's ''Bandits'' and

Sydney Biddle Barrows Sydney Biddle Barrows (born January 14, 1952) is an American businesswoman and socialite who became known as an escort agency owner under the name Sheila Devin; she later became known as "The Mayflower Madam". She has since become a management co ...

' ''The Mayflower Madam'', which were best sellers, but in January 1987, Arbor House reduced its publishing list from 70 books per annum to approximately 40 books. In June 1987, it was announced that Arbor House would become an imprint of William Morrow & Company from January 1988. Arbor House's employees transferred to William Morrow & Company.

Works published

Notable works and authors published by Arbor House include: *''The Mayflower Madam'', Sydney Biddle Barrows (1984) *'' Blood Music'',

Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict ('' Forge of God'' books), parallel universes ('' The Way'' series), c ...

(1985) *'' The Pianoplayers'',

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...

(1986) *''The Bridge of Lost Desire'' (alternate title of ''

Return to Nevèrÿon ''Return to Nevèrÿon'' is a collection of three sword and sorcery stories by American writer Samuel R. Delany: "The Game of Time and Pain", "The Tale of Rumor and Desire", and "The Tale of Gorgik", and "Appendix: Closures and Openings". It is the ...

''), Samuel R. Delany (1987) *'' Replay'',

Ken Grimwood Kenneth Milton Grimwood (February 27, 1944 – June 6, 2003) was an American author, who also published work under the name of Alan Cochran. In his fantasy fiction, Grimwood combined themes of life-affirmation and hope with metaphysical conce ...

(1987) *''Bandits'', Elmore Leonard (1987) *''No More Vietnams'',

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

(1985) *''

Kiteworld ''Kiteworld'' is a novel by Keith Roberts published in 1985. Plot summary ''Kiteworld'' is a novel in which men fly in kites at the borders of their land to defend against demons of legend. Reception Dave Langford reviewed ''Kiteworld'' for ''Wh ...

'',

Keith Roberts Keith John Kingston Roberts (20 September 1935 – 5 October 2000) was an English science fiction author. He began publishing with two stories in the September 1964 issue of ''Science Fantasy'' magazine, "Anita" (the first of a series of stor ...

(1986) *'' A Door into Ocean'',

Joan Slonczewski Joan Lyn Slonczewski is an American microbiologist at Kenyon College and a science fiction writer who explores biology and space travel. Their books have twice earned the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel: '' A Door ...

(1986) *''The Frozen Lady'',

Susan Arnout Smith Susan Arnout Smith (born October 31, 1948 in Anchorage, Alaska), is a novelist, television scriptwriter, playwright, and essayist. Writing career Smith’s writing deals primarily with the theme of redemption: coming back from a dark place int ...

(1982) *''A Father's Word'',

Richard G. Stern Richard Gustave Stern (February 25, 1928 – January 24, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and educator. Stern was born in New York City on February 25, 1928. He attended the University of North Carolina from which he gra ...

(1986) *''Power on Earth:

Michele Sindona Michele Sindona (; 8 May 1920 – 22 March 1986) was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a member of Propaganda Due (#0501), a secret lodge of Italian Freemasonry, and had clear connect ...

's Explosive Story'',

Nick Tosches Nicholas P. Tosches (; October 23, 1949 – October 20, 2019) was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, '' Hellfire'', was praised by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as "the best rock and roll ...

(1986) *''

Trumps of Doom ''Trumps of Doom'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Roger Zelazny, the first book in the second ''Chronicles of Amber'' series and the sixth book in the Amber series. Whereas the first series was narrated by Corwin, this series is narrated ...

'',

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nomin ...

(1985) *'' Blood of Amber'', Roger Zelazny (1986) *'' Sign of Chaos'', Roger Zelazny (1987)

Anthologies published

Notable anthologies and editors published by Arbor House include: *''The Arbor House Celebrity Book of Horror Stories'', editors

Martin H. Greenberg Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 – June 25, 2011) was an American academic and anthologist in many genres, including mysteries and horror, but especially in speculative fiction. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned ov ...

and Charles G. Waugh (1982) *''The Arbor House

Necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

- Voodoo! Mummy! Ghoul!'', editor

Bill Pronzini Bill Pronzini (born April 13, 1943) is an American writer of detective fiction. He is also an active anthologist, having compiled more than 100 collections, most of which focus on mystery, western, and science fiction short stories. Pronzini is ...

(1981) *''The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural'', editors Martin H. Greenberg,

Barry N. Malzberg Barry Nathaniel Malzberg (born July 24, 1939) is an American writer and editor, most often of science fiction and fantasy. Biography Malzberg originated from a Jewish family and graduated from Syracuse University in 1960. He worked as an invest ...

, and Bill Pronzini (1982) *''Specter! A

Chrestomathy A chrestomathy ( ; from the Ancient Greek (, “desire of learning”) = (, “useful”) + (, “learn”)) is a collection of selected literary passages (usually from a single author); a selection of literary passages from a foreign language ...

of Spookery'', editor Bill Pronzini (1982) *''The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction'', editors Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1980) *''The Arbor House Treasury of Great Science Fiction Short Novels, editors Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1980) *''The Arbor House Treasury of Science Fiction Masterpieces'', editors Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1983)

References

Defunct book publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies established in 1969 Book publishing company imprints {{US-publish-company-stub