Hay House is a publisher founded in 1984 by author

Louise Hay Louise Lynn Hay (October 8, 1926 – August 30, 2017) was an American motivational author and the founder of Hay House. She authored several New Thought self-help books, including the 1984 book ''You Can Heal Your Life''. Early life and ...

, who is known for her books on

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...

. Hay House has its headquarters in Carlsbad, California, and is (as of 2018) run by Reid Tracy. Hay House describes itself as a " mind-body-spirit and transformational enterprise". Their target audience are readers interested in

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subs ...

personal growth Personal development or self improvement consists of activities that develop a person's capabilities and potential, build human capital, facilitate employability, and enhance quality of life and the realization of dreams and aspirations. Person ...

, and

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and al ...

History

Hay House was founded in 1984, and incorporated in 1987, to market Louise Hay's self-help books, including, ''Heal Your Body'' and ''

You Can Heal Your Life ''You Can Heal Your Life'' is a 1984 self-help and new thought book by Louise Hay. It was the second book by the author, after ''Heal Your Body'' which she wrote at age 60. After Hay appeared on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' and ''Donahue'' in the ...

''. Soon after, Hay House began publishing for other authors that fall into the category of mind-body-spirit such as

Wayne Dyer Wayne Walter Dyer (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) was an American self-help author and a motivational speaker. Dyer completed a Ed.D. in guidance and counseling at Wayne State University in 1970. Early in his career, he worked as a high sch ...

Suze Orman Susan Lynn "Suze" Orman ( ; born June 5, 1951) is an American financial advisor, author, and podcast host. In 1987, she founded the Suze Orman Financial Group. Her work as a financial advisor gained notability with ''The Suze Orman Show'', which ...

Deepak Chopra Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternativ ...

Marianne Williamson Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, spiritual leader, and political activist. She has written 14 books, including four ''New York Times'' number one bestsellers in the "Advice, How To, and Miscellaneous" cate ...

Sylvia Browne Sylvia Celeste Browne (''née'' Shoemaker; October 19, 1936 – November 20, 2013) was an American author who claimed to be a medium with psychic abilities. She appeared regularly on television and radio, including on '' The Montel Willia ...

, Tavis Smiley, Esther Hicks and Doreen Virtue. Reid Tracy joined Hay House as an accountant in 1988. He went on to take over as the CEO in 1990 at the age of 25. They are headquartered in Carlsbad, California, with auxiliary offices in New York City, London, Sydney,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, and New Delhi. According to ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

'', the publisher sold more than 6 million books and other products in 2007, bringing in US$100 million in revenues. As of 2018, Hay House reports that they publish books by more than 130 authors and sells their products and services in over 35 countries and that they employ over 100 full time staff members.

Mission and practice

Hay House publishes authors who write on such topics as psychic reading, energy healing,

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

tarot cards The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...

numerology Numerology (also known as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, of the letters in ...

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

, and holistic health. Hay House hosts group events where fans can pay for admission to seminars by the authors who can then make presentations. They also publish CDs, DVDs, calendars and card decks. The publisher also offers a radio station, Hay House Radio, which provides live radio shows by Hay House authors. They also have spin off websites such as Hay House Online Learning, a place to take online classes by their authors, and Heal Your Life, an online self-help and personal growth program. These services are available as applications for phones and tablets. They also have a division called Balboa Press, a self publishing company, which was created in partnership with

Author Solutions Author Solutions is the parent company of the self publishing companies/imprints AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford Publishing, Xlibris, Palibrio, and Booktango. Author Solutions also maintains partnerships with traditional book publishers Simon ...

in 2010. Hay House promotes the idea that "traditional Western learning, as codified by universities that bestow fancy degrees, is woefully incomplete, sometimes harmful, and must be supplemented by other ways of knowing". Hay House founder, Louise Hay, explains that Hay House does not actually endorse everything their authors write. They also do turn away some authors and work hard to stay on trend with the latest fashions in self-help. In a 2008 article, Oppenheimer quotes current CEO, Reid Tracy, as saying: "As of right now we’ve sold over 40 million products in the U.S., and we think a lot of those people have been helped." Hay House does not test the claims made by their authors. The authors gain merit with the publisher based on the testimonials they receive as opposed to the credibility or accuracy of their claims.

References

{{Authority control New Thought literature Publishing companies established in 1984 Book publishing companies based in California Companies based in Carlsbad, California 1984 establishments in California Publishing Self-publishing