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Random House of Canada was the Canadian distributor for Random House, Inc. from 1944 until 2013. On July 1, 2013, it amalgamated with Penguin Canada to become
Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...
Canada.


Company history

Random House of Canada was established in 1944 as the Canadian distributor of
Random House Books In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of pattern or predictability in events. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Individual rand ...
. In 1986, Random House launched its Canadian publishing program. In 1998, Random House (USA) merged with another major publishing company,
Bantam Doubleday Dell Doubleday is an American publishing company. It was founded as the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897 and was the largest in the United States by 1947. It published the work of mostly U.S. authors under a number of imprints and distributed th ...
. Due to this international merger, both companies' Canadian branches merged as well, publishing international titles in this country as well as maintaining their Canadian publishing program. In 2012, Random House of Canada became the sole owner of fellow Canadian publishing company
McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...
, having purchased the 75% it didn't already own from the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. In 2013, Random House's parent company, Bertelsmann, entered into a joint venture with Pearson PLC (the parent company of the Penguin Group) to form a new trade publishing company called Penguin Random House. As part of this venture Random House of Canada and Penguin Canada were amalgamated as Penguin Random House Canada. Random House of Canada, as a legal entity, is defunct.


Imprints

In 2013, when Random House of Canada become defunct, it published under several imprints. Those included Anchor Canada (paperbacks), Bond Street Books (international), Doubleday Canada, Knopf Canada, Random House Canada, Seal Books, and Vintage Canada. Anchor Canada was created in 2001. It publishes trade paperback editions of many of Doubleday Canada's titles. In 2002, Anchor Canada published its first original trade paperback titled ''The Notebooks: Interviews and New Fiction from Contemporary Writers''. Bond Street Books was launched in 2006. Bond Street Books publishes international fiction and non-fiction.
Doubleday Canada Doubleday Canada is an imprint of the publishing company Penguin Random House Canada. The company used to be known as Forboys. It was incorporated in 1936, and since 1945 it has been known as Doubleday Canada Limited. In 1986 parent company Doubl ...
publishes Canadian and international fiction and non-fiction titles from both new and established writers. Knopf Canada was established in 1991 as an editorially independent Canadian branch of
Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
. The founding editor was Louise Dennys. Dennys was already the publisher of many major Canadian books, through her work at the Toronto publishing house
Lester & Orpen Dennys Lester & Orpen Dennys was a Canadian book publishing company based in Toronto, originally as Lester & Orpen. It operated as a publisher from 1973 to 1991. Writers who published with the company included Graham Greene, P.D. James, June Callwood, ...
. In 1996, Knopf Canada established a program called "The New Face of Fiction". Each year editors choose between 1 and 4 books and promote them through the campaign in order to bring some of Canada's most talented new authors to national and international attention. The Random House Canada imprint published works by Canadian and international authors starting in 1986. Seal Books was founded in 1977, stemming from a partnership between
Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...
(an American-based company) and
McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...
. This imprint specializes in reprints of major fiction hardcover titles. However, Seal has always published original books; it is just not the imprint's main endeavor. In the 1980s, there was a Seal Books First Novel Award. Many Seal Books were originally published as Doubleday hardcovers. When Seal Books merged with Random House of Canada, they began publishing mass-market titles from Random House of Canada and Knopf Canada as well. Vintage Canada was established in 1993. It takes its name from the New York-based publishing house,
Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Hous ...
, which was formed in 1954 by Alfred A. Knopf. Vintage Canada publishes paperback editions, choosing primarily from titles originally published by Knopf Canada and Random House Canada. They also publish new books and modern classics originally published elsewhere, as well as some "Vintage Originals".


Speakers House Canada

Speakers House Canada was launched in 2008 as a joint business and marketing venture between Random House of Canada and
McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...
. It was meant to serve as a vehicle for showcasing authors who were also in-demand speakers.


Adaptations to contemporary technology

In October 2010, Random House of Canada introduced the "Conversation Starters" application for
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
's iPhone and
iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
. In February 2011, Random House of Canada announced a partnership with
OverDrive Overdrive may refer to: Organizations * OverDrive, Inc., a digital distributor of entertainment media ** OverDrive Media Console, a media player developed by OverDrive, Inc. * Overdrive PC, a subsidiary of Velocity Micro Technology * Overdrive ...
, a digital distributor of downloadable
e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
s. Through this the distribution agreement, Canadian libraries, schools and colleges were able to access Random House titles through OverDrive's e-book catalog. In 2012, the company launched the online magazine ''Hazlitt'', which features both fiction and non-fiction writing."Random House of Canada launches new digital strategy with Hazlitt"
''
National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'', August 23, 2012.


References

{{Authority control Book publishing companies of Canada
Companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...
Random House 1944 establishments in Ontario Publishing companies established in 1944