''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in
Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in
midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
. The magazine was founded in 1922 by
DeWitt Wallace
William Roy DeWitt Wallace ( ; November 12, 1889 – March 30, 1981), publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher.
Wallace co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with his wife Lila Bell Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922.
...
and his wife
Lila Bell Wallace. For many years, ''Reader's Digest'' was the
best-selling consumer magazine in the United States; it lost that distinction in 2009 to ''
Better Homes and Gardens''. According to Media Mark Research (2006), ''Reader's Digest'' reached more readers with household incomes of over $100,000 than ''
Fortune'', ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', ''
Business Week'', and ''
Inc.'' combined.
Global editions of ''Reader's Digest'' reach an additional 40 million people in more than 70 countries, via 49 editions in 21 languages. The periodical has a global circulation of 10.5 million, making it the largest paid-circulation magazine in the world.
It is also published in
Braille
Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...
, digital, and audio editions, and in a large-type edition called "Reader's Digest Large Print." The magazine is compact: its pages are roughly half the size of most American magazines. With this in mind, in summer 2005, the company adopted the slogan "America in your pocket” for the U.S. edition. In January 2008, however, it changed the slogan to "Life well shared."
History
Inception and growth
In 1920,
Dewitt Wallace
William Roy DeWitt Wallace ( ; November 12, 1889 – March 30, 1981), publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher.
Wallace co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with his wife Lila Bell Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922.
...
married
Lila Bell Wallace in
Pleasantville, New York. Shortly thereafter, the two would launch ''Reader's Digest'' in the basement below a
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
speakeasy. The idea for ''Reader's Digest'' was to gather a sampling of favorite articles on many subjects from various monthly magazines, sometimes condensing and rewriting them, and to combine them into one magazine.
Since its inception ''Reader's Digest'' has maintained a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
and
anti-Communist perspective on political and social issues. The Wallaces initially hoped the journal could provide $5,000 of net income. Wallace's assessment of what the potential mass-market audience wanted to read led to rapid growth. By 1929, the magazine had 290,000 subscribers and had a gross income of $900,000 a year. The first international edition was published in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in 1938. By the 40th anniversary of ''Reader's Digest'', it had 40 international editions, in 13 languages and Braille, and at one point, it was the largest-circulating journal in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
,
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, and other countries, with a total international circulation of 23 million.
The magazine's format for several decades consisted of 30 articles per issue (one per day), along with an "It Pays to Increase your Word Power" vocabulary quiz, a page of "Amusing Anecdotes" and "Personal Glimpses", two features of funny stories entitled "Humor in Uniform" and "Life in these United States", and a lengthier article at the end, usually
condensed from a published book. Other regular features were "My Most Unforgettable Character" (since discontinued), the "Drama in Real Life" survival stories, and more recently "That's Outrageous". These were all listed in the table of contents on the front cover. Each article was prefaced by a small, simple line drawing. In more recent times, the format evolved into flashy, colorful, eye-catching graphics throughout, and many short bits of data interspersed with full articles. The table of contents is now contained inside. From 2003 to 2007, the back cover featured "Our America", paintings of
Rockwell-style whimsical situations by artist
C. F. Payne. Another monthly consumer advice feature is "What
eople in various professionswon't tell you," with a different profession featured each time.
The first "Word Power" column of the magazine was published in the January 1945 edition, written by
Wilfred J. Funk. In December 1952, the magazine published "Cancer by the Carton", a series of articles that linked
smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...
with
lung cancer, and this topic was later repeated in other articles.
From 2002 to 2006, ''Reader's Digest'' conducted a vocabulary competition in schools throughout the US called
''Reader's Digest'' National Word Power Challenge. In 2007, the magazine said it would not have the competition for the 2007–08 school year: "...but rather to use the time to evaluate the program in every respect, including scope, mission, and model for implementation."
In 2006, the magazine published three more local-language editions in
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, and
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. In October 2007, the ''Digest'' expanded into
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
. The magazine's licensee in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
stopped publishing in December 2007. The magazine launched in
the People's Republic of China
''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...
in January 2008. It ceased publishing in China in 2012, due to a lack of sales caused by a relatively high price, a poorly defined audience and low-quality translated content.
For 2010, the US edition of the magazine reduced its publishing schedule to 10 times a year rather than 12, and to increase digital offerings. It also cut its circulation guarantee for advertisers to 5.5 million copies from 8 million. In announcing that decision, in June 2009, the company said that it planned to reduce its number of celebrity profiles and how-to features, and increase the number of inspiring spiritual stories and stories about the military.
Beginning in January 2013, the US edition was increased to 12 times a year.
Its current frequency of publication is 6 times a year.
Business organization and ownership
In 1990, the magazine's parent company,
The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (RDA), became a publicly traded corporation. From 2005 through 2010, RDA reported a net loss each year.
In March 2007,
Ripplewood Holdings LLC led a consortium of
private-equity investors who bought the company through a leveraged buyout for US$2.8 billion, financed primarily by the issuance of US$2.2 billion of debt.
Ripplewood invested $275 million of its own money, and had partners including Rothschild Bank of Zürich and GoldenTree Asset Management of New York. The private-equity deal tripled the association's interest payments, to $148 million a year.
On August 24, 2009, RDA announced it had filed with the US Bankruptcy court an arranged
Chapter 11 bankruptcy to continue operations, and to restructure the US$2.2 billion debt undertaken by the leveraged buyout transaction.
The company emerged from bankruptcy with the lenders exchanging debt for equity, and Ripplewood's entire equity investment was extinguished.
In April 2010, the UK arm was
sold to its management. It has a licensing deal with the US company to continue publishing the UK edition. The closure of the UK edition was announced in April 2024.
On February 17, 2013, RDA Holding filed for bankruptcy a second time. The company was purchased for £1 by Mike Luckwell, a venture capitalist and once the biggest shareholder in
WPP plc.
Direct marketing
RDA offers many mail-order products included with "
sweepstakes" or contests. US ''Reader's Digest'' and the company's other US magazines do not use sweepstakes in their direct-mail promotions. A notable shift to electronic direct marketing has been undertaken by the company to adapt to shifting media landscape. In the mid-20th century, phonograph
record albums of popular
classical and
easy-listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit ...
music, bearing the magazine's name, were sold by mail. ''Reader's Digest'' also partnered with
RCA to offer a mail-order music club which offered discount pricing on vinyl records.
Sweepstakes agreement
In 2001, 32 states' attorneys general reached agreements with the company and other sweepstakes operators to settle allegations that they tricked the elderly into buying products because they were a "guaranteed winner" of a lottery. The settlement required the companies to expand the type size of notices in the packaging that no purchase is necessary to play the sweepstakes, and to:
# Establish a "Do Not Contact List" and refrain from soliciting any future "high-activity" customers unless and until ''Reader's Digest'' actually makes contact with that customer and determines that the customer is not buying because they believe that the purchase will improve their chances of winning.
# Send letters to individuals who spend more than $1,000 in a six-month period telling them that they are not required to make purchases to win the sweepstakes, that making a purchase will not improve their chances of winning, and that all entries have the same chance to win whether or not the entry is accompanied by a purchase.
The UK edition of ''Reader's Digest'' has also been criticized by the
Trading Standards Institute for preying on the elderly and vulnerable with misleading bulk mailings that claim the recipient is guaranteed a large cash prize and advising them not to discuss this with anyone else. Following their complaint, the
Advertising Standards Authority said they would be launching an investigation.
The ASA investigation upheld the complaint in 2008, ruling that the ''Reader's Digest'' mailing was irresponsible and misleading (particularly for the elderly) and had breached three clauses of the
Committee of Advertising Practice code.
''Reader's Digest'' was told not to use this mailing again.
International editions
International editions have made ''Reader's Digest'' the best-selling monthly journal in the world. Its worldwide circulation including all editions has reached 17 million copies and 70 million readers. ''Reader's Digest'' is currently published in 49 editions and 21 languages and is available in over 70 countries, including Slovenia, Croatia, and Romania in 2008.
Its international editions account for about 50% of the magazine's trade volume. In each market, local editors commission or purchase articles for their own markets and share content with U.S. and other editions. The selected articles are then translated by local translators and the translations edited by the local editors to make them match the "well-educated informal" style of the American edition.
Over the 90 years, the company has published editions in various languages in different countries, or for different regions. Often, these editions started out as translations of the U.S. version of the magazine, but over time they became unique editions, providing material more germane to local readers. Local editions that still publish the bulk of the American ''Reader's Digest'' are usually titled with a qualifier, such as the Portuguese edition, (''Selections from Reader's Digest''), or the Swedish edition, (''The Best of Reader's Digest'').
The list is sorted by year of first publication.
Some countries had editions but no longer do; for example, the Danish version of ''Reader's Digest'' () ceased publication in 2005 and was replaced by the Swedish version (''
Det Bästa''); as a result, the Swedish edition covers stories about both countries (but written solely in Swedish).
* 1938 –
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
(sold in 2010, operated under license), closed April 2024
* 1940 –
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
(in
Spanish) (as )
* 1942 –
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
* 1943 –
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
(in
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
) ()
* 1945 –
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
* 1946 –
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
(operations discontinued in 1985)
* 1947 –
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
(in
French),
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
,
Canadian French
Canadian French (, ) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Canadian French'' referred solely to Quebec French and the closely re ...
* 1948 –
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
(English),
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
(in French and
German),
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
(operations discontinued in 2007)
* 1950 –
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
* 1952 –
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
(as in Spain)
* 1954 –
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
(in English)
* 1957 –
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
* 1959 –
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
and
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
* 1965 –
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
(in
traditional Chinese
A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...
)
* 1968 –
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
(Dutch)
* 1971 –
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
and
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
(in Spanish),
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
* 1978 –
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
(operations discontinued in 2009)
* 1982 –
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
(discontinued, probably in 1986)
* 1991 –
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
* 1993 –
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
(operations discontinued in 2017)
* 1995 –
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
* 1996 –
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
(operations discontinued in 2014)
* 1997 –
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
* 2004 –
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
(operations discontinued in October 2015)
* 2005 –
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
* 2007 –
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
,
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
* 2008 –
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(operations discontinued in 2012)
United Kingdom edition
The
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
edition first published in 1938. Decades later Reader's Digest UK went into
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.
** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...
in 2010 due a £125 million pension fund deficit. Private equity fund Better Capital paid around £14 million for the brand and invested a further £9 million into the business. Better Capital sold Reader's Digest UK in 2013 for a
nominal fee to venture capitalist Mike Luckwell. The brand was sold again in 2018 to its former chief executive Gary Hopkins. The magazine ceased publication after 86 years in April 2024.
Arabic editions
The first ''Reader's Digest'' publication in the
Arab World
The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
was printed in Egypt in September 1943. The license was eventually withdrawn.
The second effort and the first ''Reader's Digest'' franchise agreement was negotiated through the efforts of Frederick Pittera, in 1976, an American entrepreneur, who sold the idea to
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
's former foreign minister,
Lucien Dahdah, then son-in-law of
Suleiman Frangieh,
President of Lebanon. Dahdah partnered with
Ghassan Tueni (former Lebanon
ambassador to the United Nations, and publisher of newspaper,
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
) in publishing ''Reader's Digest'' in the Arabic language. It was printed in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
for distribution throughout the Arab world under title . In format, was the same as the U.S. edition with 75% of the editorial content.
Philip Hitti, Chairman of Princeton University's Department of Oriental Languages and a team of Arabic advisers counseled on what would be of interest to Arabic readers. The publication of ceased in April 1993.
Canadian edition
The Canada, Canadian edition first appeared in July 1947 in French and in February 1948 in English; today, the vast majority of its content is Canadian. Nearly all major and minor articles are locally produced or selected from Canadian publications that match the ''Digest'' style. Usually, there is one American article in each issue.
"Life's Like That" is the Canadian name of "Life in These United States". Most of the other rubrics are taken from the American publication.
On December 6, 2023, it was announced that Reader's Digest Canada would cease publication in the spring of 2024.
Indian edition
The
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n edition was first published in 1954. Its circulation then was 40,000 copies. It was published for many years by the Tata Group of companies. Today, the magazine is published in India by Living Media India Ltd,
and sold over 600,000. It prints Indian and international articles.
[Indian version](_blank)
of ''Reader's Digest''. According to the Indian Readership Survey Round II of 2009, the readership for ''Reader's Digest'' was 3.94 million, second only to ''India Today'' at 5.62 million.
That has since declined. In the 2017 Survey, the India edition had fallen to ninth position with a readership of 1.354 million, and in the latest Survey (Quarter 1 of 2019), it is not in the Top 10 list of English-language magazines published in India.
Australian edition
According to readership estimates by Roy Morgan, ''Reader's Digest Australia'' had an average readership per issue of 362,000 as at September 2023.
Books
Nonfiction books with the ''Reader's Digest'' brand and yearly collections of the magazine's content are currently published by Trusted Media Brands, sold through their website and distributed to retailers by Simon & Schuster.
Since 1950, ''Reader's Digest'' has published a direct mail series of hardcover anthologies containing abridged novels and nonfiction. The series was originally called ''Reader's Digest Condensed Books'' and renamed in 1997 to ''Reader's Digest Select Editions''.
From the mid-1960s to early 1980s, full-length, original works of non-fiction were published under the imprint Reader's Digest Press and distributed by Thomas Y. Crowell Co. Beginning in 1982, a series of classic novels was published as ''World's Best Reading'' and made available by mail order to magazine subscribers.
In Germany, Reader's Digest runs its own book-publishing house called which not only publishes the German edition of the ''Reader's Digest'' magazine. Since 1955, it has published (a German edition of ''Reader's Digest Condensed Books''). Besides publishing the magazine, the publisher is especially well known in Germany for the science fiction anthology ("The Road to Tomorrow"), consisting of 50 hardcover volumes of classic science fiction novels (such as Robert A. Heinlein's ''Stranger in a Strange Land'', Arthur C. Clarke's ''2001: A Space Odyssey (novel), 2001'', or Ray Bradbury's ''Fahrenheit 451'', usually two novels per volume) published between 1986 and 1995.
''Unterwegs in die Welt von Morgen''
on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database More recent book series by the publisher include ("Reflections of the Times", a series of recent newspaper or magazine reports) and ("World Literature Classics").
Editors-in-chief
# Lila Bell Wallace and DeWitt Wallace
William Roy DeWitt Wallace ( ; November 12, 1889 – March 30, 1981), publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher.
Wallace co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with his wife Lila Bell Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922.
...
(1922–1964) (original founders)
# Hobart D. Lewis (1964–1976)
# Edward T. Thompson (1976–1984)
# Kenneth O. Gilmore (1984–1990)
# Kenneth Tomlinson (1990–1996)
# Christopher Willcox (1996–2000)
# Eric Schrier (2000–2001)
# Jacqueline Leo (2001–2007)
# Peggy Northrop (2007–2011)
# Liz Vaccariello (2011–2016)
# Bruce Kelley (2016–2021)
# Jason Buhrmester (2021–present)
See also
* World's Best Reading
* List of United States magazines
* John Patric, noted writer for ''Reader's Digest'' during the 1930s and 1940s
* "My Last Wonderful Days", a 1956 article about an Iowa woman dying from cancer
References
Bibliography
* John Bainbridge, ''Little Wonder. Or, the Reader's Digest and How It Grew,'' New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1945.
* John Heidenry, ''Theirs Was the Kingdom: Lila and DeWitt Wallace and the Story of the Reader's Digest'', New York/London: W.W. Norton, 1993
* Samuel A. Schreiner, ''The Condensed World of the Reader's Digest'', New York: Stein and Day, 1977.
* James Playsted Wood, ''Of Lasting Interest: The Story of the Reader's Digest'', Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1958.
* Clem Robyns
"The Internationalisation of Social and Cultural Values: On the Homogenization and Localization Strategies of the Reader's Digest"
''Folia Translatologica'' 3, 1994, 83–92
* Joanne P. Sharp, ''Condensing the Cold War: Reader's Digest and American Identity'', University of Minnesota Press, 2000.
* Joanne P. Sharp, ''Hegemony, popular culture and geopolitics: the Reader's Digest and the construction of danger'', Political Geography, Elsevier, 1996.
* Visnja Milidragovic,
From direct marketing tool to digital niche product: a Reader's Digest Sweepstakes case study
, SFU, 2012.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Reader's Digest,
Lifestyle magazines published in the United States
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Conservative magazines published in the United States
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English-language magazines
General interest digests
Magazines established in 1922
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