Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

. It was founded in 1991 and acquired

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld ...

the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of Detective fiction, detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and cr ...

Nemir Kirdar Nemir Amin Kirdar (28 October 1936 – 8 June 2020) was an Iraqi Iraqi Turkmen, Turkmen banker, billionaire, businessman, financier and author. As a founding father of private equity, and an economic and cultural bridge-builder, he was the found ...

, and

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

History

Orion Books was launched in 1992, with Orion purchasing the assets of Chapman Publishers the following year. In the same year (1993), Orion acquired a warehousing and distribution centre called Littlehampton Book Services (LBS), which was based in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

in the UK. A majority share capital of Orion was sold to

Hachette Livre Hachette Livre S.A. (; simply known as Hachette) is a French publishing, publishing group that was based in Paris. It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif which later became successively L. Hachette et Compagnie, Librairie Hachette, ...

in 1998, before Hachette Livre became the sole owner of the Orion Publishing Group in 2003. In December 1998, Orion acquired publishing house Cassell, whose imprints included

Victor Gollancz Ltd Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group. Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, an ...

. This imprint became a part of the Orion group and Orion also took ownership of the Cassell Military list. After acquiring

Hodder Headline Headline Publishing Group is a British publishing brand and former company. It was founded in 1986 by Tim Hely Hutchinson. In 1993, Headline bought Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hac ...

Hachette UK Hachette Livre S.A. (; simply known as Hachette) is a French publishing group that was based in Paris. It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif which later became successively L. Hachette et Compagnie, Librairie Hachette, Hachette ...

was formed, with Orion as its largest single component.

Awards

Hachette's Orion division won the 2021

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Na ...

"Publisher of The Year" title for outstanding success during the 2020 calendar year. Each of its lists recorded a sharp increase in sales, with eight books topping £1,000,000 in sales. There were bestsellers from

and

in fiction, along with strong sales from

Noel Fitzpatrick Noel Fitzpatrick is an Irish veterinary surgeon, based in Eashing, Surrey, who came to prominence through the television programme '' The Supervet''. Originally from Ballyfin, in County Laois, Ireland, he moved to Guildford, Surrey, in 1 ...

and

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

on the non-fiction side. This financial success, along with "virtual events and effective

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based Information technology, digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to promote products and service ...

" (Adam Kay's ''Dear NHS'' anthology raised nearly £400,000) saw the Orion Group win the publishers' prize in 2021.

Imprints

The group's

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 ...

s include: * Gollancz *

Laurence King Publishing Laurence King Publishing is an publishing house based in London, with offices in Europe and the USA. It was founded by Laurence King in 1991. Laurence King Publishing publish over 120 new titles every year for the mainstream adult, children's an ...

*Orion Business *Orion Fiction *Orion Spring * Phoenix Books * Seven Dials *Trapeze *

Orion Children's Books is an imprint of Hachette Children's Group. The group also distributes books for the independent

Halban Publishers Halban may refer to the following sites in the Middle East: * Halban, Hama, an archaeological site and village in central Syria * Halban, Idlib, a village in northwestern Syria *Halban, Oman Halban is a village in Nakhal, Al Batinah South Governo ...

Distribution

Books distributed through Littlehampton Book Services.LBSLTD.co.uk
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References

External links