Constable & Robinson Ltd. is an imprint of
Little, Brown
Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown (publisher), James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Ear ...
which publishes fiction and non-fiction books and ebooks.
Founded in Edinburgh in 1795 by
Archibald Constable
Archibald David Constable (24 February 1774 – 21 July 1827) was a Scottish publisher, bookseller and stationer.
Life
Constable was born at Carnbee, Fife, son of the land steward to the Earl of Kellie.
In 1788 Archibald was apprenticed to P ...
as Constable & Co., and by Nick Robinson as Robinson Publishing Ltd in 1983, is an imprint of Little, Brown, which is owned by
Hachette Hachette may refer to:
* Hachette (surname)
* Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing
** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary
** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm
See also
* Hachett ...
.
History
Constable & Co. was founded in 1795 by
Archibald Constable
Archibald David Constable (24 February 1774 – 21 July 1827) was a Scottish publisher, bookseller and stationer.
Life
Constable was born at Carnbee, Fife, son of the land steward to the Earl of Kellie.
In 1788 Archibald was apprenticed to P ...
, and became
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
's publisher. In 1897, Constable released the most famous horror novel ever published,
Bram Stoker's ''The Un-Dead'', albeit with a last-minute title change to ''
Dracula''.
In 1813, the company was the first to give an author advance against royalties. In 1821, it introduced the standard three-decker novel, and in 1826, with the launch of the book series
Constable's Miscellany
''Constable's Miscellany'' was a part publishing serial established by Archibald Constable. Three numbers made up a volume; many of the works were divided into several volumes. The price of a number was one shilling. The full series title was ' ...
, it became the first publisher to produce mass-market literary editions.
By 1921, it advertised books on the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
, another first for a publishing house.
In 1993, Constable & Co. pioneered the series-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy self-help publishing, and in 2000, they became the first ad-supported, online book publisher. Lastly, in 2013, Constable & Robinson were a key partner in Digital Innovation Contest 2013.
Robinson Publishing Ltd was founded in 1983 by Nick Robinson. The two companies merged in December 1999. Constable & Robinson continue to publish non-fiction books under the Constable imprint and is therefore probably the oldest independent publishing house in the English-speaking world still trading under the name of its founder. In June 2007, Elliot Right Way Books, a successful small publisher of "how-to" titles and the publisher of compendia of speeches by
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...
, came under the umbrella of Constable & Robinson Ltd.
A new fiction imprint, Corsair, was launched in October 2009, dedicated to publishing groundbreaking
debut fiction alongside established authors. On the back of its success, the company launched the Canvas imprint in December 2011 to focus on commercial fiction. A bijou imprint of Corsair, Much-in-Little, was launched in April 2012 and will become home to quirky and imaginative new children's and YA fiction.
Constable & Robinson also publishes a non-fiction list including current affairs, history and biography, humour and psychology, as well as crime fiction, and literary fiction in both hardback and paperback. Best known are the longstanding Mammoth paperback list of anthologies and collections, the ''Overcoming'' CBT self-help titles, and the history series of Brief Guides and Brief Histories.
Constable & Robinson is the UK publisher of the
Agatha Raisin and
Hamish Macbeth
Hamish Macbeth is the lackadaisical police constable of the fictional Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, in a series of murder mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney).
Considered by many to be a useless, lazy moocher, Macbeth ...
crime fiction titles by
M. C. Beaton.
In 2013, Constable & Robinson created controversy when it responded to a manuscript submission by
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...
by suggesting that she attend a writing course. The novel, ''
The Cuckoo's Calling
''The Cuckoo's Calling'' is a 2013 crime fiction novel by J. K. Rowling, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It is the first novel in the '' Cormoran Strike'' series of detective novels and was followed by ''The Silkworm'' in 2014, ...
'', was published by a competitor, reprinted three times, and was adapted for television.
In 2014, Constable & Robinson was purchased by the
Little, Brown Book Group
Little, Brown Book Group is a UK publishing company created in 1992, with multiple predecessors. Since 2006 Little, Brown Book Group has been owned by Hachette UK, a subsidiary of Hachette Livre. It was acquired in 2006 from Time Warner of New ...
.
Awards
In 2011, ''
A Visit from the Goon Squad
''A Visit from the Goon Squad'' is a 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning work of fiction by American author Jennifer Egan. The book is a set of thirteen interrelated stories with a large set of characters all connected to Bennie Salazar, a record compan ...
'' by
Jennifer Egan
Jennifer Egan is an American novelist and short-story writer. Egan's novel '' A Visit from the Goon Squad'' won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. As of February 28, 2018, she is the Preside ...
, published under the Corsair imprint in the UK, won the
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 2012, Constable & Robinson was named the
IPG Independent Publisher of the Year, calling it "a publisher on a roll — a rising star in a difficult market". The same year, the company was also named Independent Publisher of the Year at ''
The Bookseller
''The Bookseller'' is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. Philip Jones is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine and the website. The magazine is home to the ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddest ...
'' Industry Awards. Constable & Robinson also won the IPG Trade Publisher of the Year award in 2013.
IPG Trade Publisher of the Year in 2013.
See also
* Thomas Constable (printer and publisher)
Thomas Constable FRSE (29 June 1812 – 26 May 1881) was a Scottish printer and publisher.
Early life and career
Thomas Constable was born on 29 June 1812 in Craigcrook Castle, west of Edinburgh. He was the fourth son of the Scottish publishe ...
References
External links
www.constablerobinson.com Archived website
Little, Brown Book Group
C&R Crime
Agatha Raisin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constable and Robinson
1999 establishments in England
Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom
British companies established in 1999
Companies based in Edinburgh
Companies based in the London Borough of Camden
Publishing companies established in 1999