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	Commercial fiction, literary fiction, and serious nonfiction books

Doubleday is an American company that publishes books. It started in 1897 as the Doubleday & McClure Company. By 1947, it became the biggest book publisher in the United States. They published books by many American authors. They also sold books through their own stores. In 2009, Doubleday joined with the Knopf Publishing Group. They formed the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. This group is now part of Penguin Random House.

The Story of Doubleday

How it Started: The 1800s

The company began in 1897. It was founded by Frank Nelson Doubleday. He partnered with Samuel Sidney McClure. McClure had already started the first U.S. newspaper group in 1884. He also created McClure's Magazine in 1893.

One of their first very popular books was The Day's Work. This was a collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. Other early authors included W. Somerset Maugham and Joseph Conrad. Later, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. worked as a vice-president for the company.

Growing Bigger: The 1900s

The partnership ended in 1900. McClure started a new company. Doubleday then teamed up with Walter Hines Page. They formed Doubleday, Page & Company.

The company published many popular novels. These books helped Doubleday grow into a large publishing business. Doubleday also helped these authors start their writing careers.

In 1910, Doubleday, Page & Co. moved its main offices. They went to Garden City, New York, on Long Island. The company bought a lot of land there. Many of its leaders built homes nearby. Walter Hines Page, a co-founder, became the Ambassador to Great Britain in 1916.

In 1922, the company started its children's book department. This was only the second one in the country. May Massee was in charge of it. The founder's son, Nelson Doubleday, also joined the company that year.

In 1927, Doubleday, Page joined with the George H. Doran Company. They created Doubleday, Doran. This became the largest publishing business in the English-speaking world. Doubleday Canada Limited started in the 1930s. In 1944, Doubleday, Doran bought Blakiston, a medical publisher.

In 1946, the company changed its name to Doubleday and Company. Nelson Doubleday stepped down as president. But he stayed as chairman until he passed away in 1949. Douglas Black became president from 1946 to 1963. He brought many famous people to the company. These included Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman.

Black believed in publishing many different kinds of books. He was against censorship. He felt it was his job to publish important and sometimes challenging books. He also made Doubleday bigger. He opened new printing plants. He started a new line of affordable paperbacks called Anchor Books. He also created book clubs where people could subscribe to get books by mail. Doubleday opened 30 new stores in 25 cities. They also opened new offices in San Francisco, London, and Paris.

By 1947, Doubleday was the biggest publisher in the United States. They sold over 30 million books each year. In 1954, Doubleday sold Blakiston to McGraw-Hill.

John Turner Sargent Sr., Doubleday's son-in-law, was president from 1963 to 1978. In 1964, Doubleday bought Laidlaw, a company that published educational books.

In 1967, the company bought radio and TV stations. They created Doubleday Broadcasting. After growing in the 1970s and 1980s, Doubleday sold this part of the business in 1986.

Nelson Doubleday Jr. took over as president from 1978 to 1985.

In 1976, Doubleday bought the paperback publisher Dell Publishing. In 1980, the company bought the New York Mets baseball team. The Mets won the World Series in 1986.

Sales slowed down in the early 1980s. Earnings also dropped. Nelson Doubleday Jr. brought in James McLaughlin to help make the company more efficient. McLaughlin later became president and CEO.

By 1986, Doubleday was a large international company. They published many types of books. They also had book clubs and made books. They had offices in London and Paris. They also had companies in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Nelson Doubleday Jr. sold the publishing company to Bertelsmann in 1986. The sale did not include the Mets baseball team.

In 1988, parts of Doubleday became part of the Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. This group later became a part of Random House in 1998. Doubleday was then grouped with Broadway Books. Anchor Books joined with Vintage Books.

In 1996, Doubleday started a Christian publisher called WaterBrook Press.

Doubleday in the 2000s

WaterBrook bought Harold Shaw Publishers in 2000. They also bought Multnomah Publishers in 2006.

In late 2008 and early 2009, Doubleday joined with the Knopf Publishing Group. They formed the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. In October 2008, Doubleday reduced its staff. In December, some of its divisions moved to the Crown Publishing Group. This group is a part of Random House in Manhattan.

Leaders of Doubleday

• 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

Important Editors

• May Massee, led children's publishing from 1922 to 1932
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, associate editor from 1978 to 1982 and senior editor from 1982 to 1994
• T. O'Conor Sloane III, senior editor from 1960 to 1977

Famous Authors Published by Doubleday

Notable Employees

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

Doubleday's Imprints (Publishing Labels)

An imprint is like a brand name under a larger publishing company. Here are some imprints that were part of Doubleday:

• Anchor Books: These were quality paperback books. They are now part of the Knopf Publishing Group.
• Best in Children's Books: This was a mail-order collection of children's story books.
• Blakiston Co.: Published medical and scientific books. It was sold in 1947.
• Blue Ribbon Books: Purchased in 1939.
• Book League of America: Published modern and classic literature. Purchased in 1936.
• The Crime Club: Published mystery and detective novels for many years.
• Garden City Publishing Co.: This company reprinted books that Doubleday first published. It was named after the town where Doubleday was based for a long time.
• Image Books: Published Catholic books. It moved to the Crown Publishing Group.
• Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: A literary imprint started in 1990.
• Permabooks: A paperback division started in 1948.
• Triangle Books: Purchased in 1939. It sold inexpensive books in chain stores.
• Zenith Books: Aimed at African-American young people.

Doubleday Bookstores

Doubleday Bookstores were bought by Barnes & Noble in 1990. They were then run by B. Dalton.