Doubleday (publisher) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Doubleday

Parent company	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (Penguin Random House)
Status	Imprint
Founded	1897; 128 years ago (1897)
Founders	Frank Nelson Doubleday S. S. McClure
Country of origin	United States
Headquarters location	1745 Broadway, New York City, U.S.
Publication types	Books

Doubleday is a famous American company that publishes books. It started in 1897 as the Doubleday & McClure Company. By 1947, it had become the biggest book publisher in the United States! They published books by many American writers and even sold them in their own stores.

In 2009, Doubleday joined with another publishing group called Knopf Publishing Group. Together, they formed the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. This group is now part of Penguin Random House, one of the largest book publishers in the world.

The Story of Doubleday

How It All Began

The company was started in 1897 by Frank Nelson Doubleday and Samuel Sidney McClure. McClure had already created a newspaper group in 1884 and a popular magazine called McClure's Magazine in 1893.

One of their first very popular books was The Day's Work by Rudyard Kipling. This was a collection of short stories. Doubleday also published early works by famous authors like W. Somerset Maugham and Joseph Conrad. Later, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who was the son of a U.S. President, even worked as a vice-president for the company!

Growing Bigger in the 1900s

In 1900, the original partnership changed. Frank Doubleday teamed up with Walter Hines Page to form Doubleday, Page & Company.

They published many popular books, which helped the company grow a lot.

In 1910, Doubleday, Page & Co. moved its main offices to Garden City, New York, on Long Island. They even had their own train station there! Many company leaders built their homes nearby. Walter Hines Page, one of the founders, became the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain in 1916.

In 1922, the company started a special department just for children's books. This was only the second one like it in the whole country! May Massee was in charge of this new department. Frank Doubleday's son, Nelson Doubleday, also joined the company that year.

In 1927, Doubleday, Page joined with another company called the George H. Doran Company. This created Doubleday, Doran, which became the largest publishing business in the English-speaking world at that time. Later, in the 1930s, Doubleday Canada Limited started up.

In 1946, the company changed its name again to Doubleday and Company. Nelson Doubleday stepped down as president but remained chairman until he passed away in 1949. Douglas Black became the new president. During his time, many important public figures, like former U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman, worked with the company.

Douglas Black believed strongly in publishing all kinds of books, even if they were a bit controversial. He also helped Doubleday grow a lot. He opened new printing factories, started a new line of affordable paperback books called Anchor Books, and created book clubs where people could get books delivered to their homes. He also opened many new bookstores and editorial offices around the world.

By 1947, Doubleday was the biggest publisher in the United States. They sold more than 30 million books each year!

John Turner Sargent Sr., Nelson Doubleday's son-in-law, became president and CEO from 1963 to 1978. In 1967, the company even bought some radio and TV stations, creating Doubleday Broadcasting. They sold this part of the business in 1986.

Nelson Doubleday Jr. took over as president and CEO from 1978 to 1985. In 1976, Doubleday bought another paperback publisher called Dell Publishing.

Doubleday and Baseball!

In 1980, Doubleday bought the New York Mets baseball team! The Mets went on to win the World Series in 1986, beating the Boston Red Sox in an exciting seven-game series.

Sales slowed down in the early 1980s. Nelson Doubleday Jr. brought in James McLaughlin to help make the company more efficient. McLaughlin later became president and CEO, with Doubleday Jr. becoming chairman.

By 1986, Doubleday was a huge international company. They published all kinds of books, ran book clubs, and even made their own books. They had offices in London and Paris, and companies in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

In 1986, Nelson Doubleday Jr. sold the publishing company to a German company called Bertelsmann. However, the sale did not include the Mets baseball team. Nelson Doubleday and his partner, Fred Wilpon, bought the team from Doubleday & Company. Later, in 2002, Doubleday sold his share of the Mets to Wilpon.

In 1988, parts of Doubleday became part of the Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. This group then became a part of Random House in 1998.

In 1996, Doubleday started a Christian publishing company called WaterBrook Press.

The 2000s and Beyond

In 2008 and 2009, the Doubleday company joined with the Knopf Publishing Group to form the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Some parts of Doubleday, like Broadway, Doubleday Business, Doubleday Religion, and WaterBrook Multnomah, moved to the Crown Publishing Group, which is also part of Random House.

Leaders of Doubleday

Here are some of the people who led Doubleday as president:

• Frank Doubleday, founder, 1897–1922
• Nelson Doubleday, 1922–1946
• Douglas Black, 1946–1963
• John Turner Sargent Sr., 1963–1978
• Nelson Doubleday Jr., 1978–1983
• James R. McLaughlin, 1983–1986

Famous Editors

• May Massee, who led the children's publishing department from 1922 to 1932.
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who was an associate editor from 1978 to 1982 and a senior editor from 1982 to 1994. She was the wife of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
• T. O'Conor Sloane III, a senior editor from 1960 to 1977.

Amazing Authors Published by Doubleday

Doubleday has published books by many famous writers. Here are just a few:

Notable Employees

• The famous writer William Faulkner worked part-time at the Doubleday Bookstore in New York City in 1921.

Doubleday's Imprints

An "imprint" is like a brand name that a publishing company uses for certain types of books. Here are some imprints that have been part of Doubleday:

• Anchor Books: These books were quality paperbacks for bookstores. They are now part of the Knopf Publishing Group.
• Best in Children's Books: This was a collection of children's short stories you could order by mail.
• The Crime Club: This imprint published mystery and detective novels for many years.
• Garden City Publishing Co.: This company reprinted books that Doubleday had already published, often using less expensive paper. It was named after the town where Doubleday was based for a long time.
• Image Books: This imprint focused on Catholic books.
• Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: This imprint, started in 1990, publishes literary books.
• Permabooks: This was a paperback division started in 1948.
• Zenith Books: These books were made for African-American young people.

Doubleday Bookstores

Doubleday used to have its own bookstores. In 1990, these stores were bought by Barnes & Noble and operated by B. Dalton.