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Farrar, Straus and Giroux facts for kids

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Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux 75th anniversary logo.svg
Parent company Macmillan Publishers
Founded 1946; 79 years ago (1946)
Founder
Country of origin United States
Headquarters location Equitable Building
New York City, New York
Distribution
  • Macmillan (US)
  • Melia Publishing Services (UK)
Key people
  • Mitzi Angel (President)
  • Jonathan Galassi (Chairman and Executive Editor)
Imprints MCD, FSG Originals

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, often called FSG, is an American company that publishes books. It was started in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is famous for publishing important literary books. Many of their authors have won big awards like the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and Nobel Prize. Since 2016, FSG has been part of Macmillan Publishers, which is owned by a German company called Holtzbrinck Publishing Group.

How FSG Started

The company, first called Farrar, Straus, and Company, began in 1945. It was founded by Roger W. Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. Their first book was Yank: The G.I. Story of the War. This book was a collection of articles from Yank, the Army Weekly. After that, they published There Were Two Pirates, a novel by James Branch Cabell.

The first few years were tough for the company. But things changed in 1950 when they published a diet book called Look Younger, Live Longer by Gayelord Hauser. This book sold 500,000 copies! Straus said this book helped the company survive for a while.

In the early days, Straus and his wife Dorothea traveled to Italy to find new books. There, they discovered the memoir Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi. They also found other rising Italian authors like Alberto Moravia and Cesare Pavese. Farrar, Straus also convinced authors from other publishers to join them. One famous author was Edmund Wilson, who stayed with Farrar, Straus for the rest of his career.

In 1950, the company's name changed to Farrar, Straus & Young. This was to include Stanley Young, who was a playwright, author, and an early investor in the company.

Company Mergers and Changes

In 1953, another publishing company called Pellegrini & Cudahy joined with Farrar, Straus & Young.

Robert Giroux joined the company in 1955. He later became a partner, and the company's name changed to Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Giroux had worked for another publisher, Harcourt. He was upset when Harcourt would not let him publish Salinger's famous book Catcher in the Rye.

Giroux brought many well-known authors with him to FSG. These included Thomas Merton, John Berryman, Robert Lowell, Flannery O'Connor, Jack Kerouac, and T.S. Eliot. One person described this as "almost certainly the greatest number of authors to follow... a single editor from house to house." In 1964, Straus made Giroux the chairman of the board and officially added his name to the company.

Selling the Company

Roger Straus continued to lead the company for twenty years after his partner Farrar passed away. In 1993, he sold most of the company to a German publishing group called Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. Straus chose Holtzbrinck because they were known for publishing serious and important literature.

FSG in the 21st Century

Jonathan Galassi was both the president and publisher of FSG until 2018. Andrew Mandel joined in 2004 as deputy publisher. Eric Chinski is the editor-in-chief. In 2008, Mitzi Angel came from a UK publisher to lead the Faber and Faber Inc. imprint. In 2018, Angel took over from Galassi as publisher, and in 2021, she became president.

In February 2015, FSG and Faber and Faber ended their partnership. All books that were planned or already released under the Faber and Faber imprint moved to FSG by August 2016.

How the Company Name Changed

The company has had a few different names over the years:

  • Farrar, Straus, and Company (1945–1951)
  • Farrar, Straus and Young (1950–1956)
  • Farrar, Straus and Cudahy (1953–1963) – This name was used after they acquired L.C. Page & Co. in 1957.
  • Farrar, Straus, and Company (1963–1964) – This was after Cudahy left the firm.
  • Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1964–present)

Current Book Series (Imprints)

FSG has several special series, or "imprints," for different types of books:

  • MCD/FSG: This imprint is like a lab for trying out new styles and types of books. It is led by Sean McDonald and Daphne Durham.
  • FSG Originals: This imprint publishes original works.
  • Hill and Wang: This imprint publishes academic books, especially history. Some of its authors include Roland Barthes and Elie Wiesel.
  • North Point Press: This imprint publishes non-fiction books about nature, travel, food, and culture. Authors include Peter Matthiessen and Wendell Berry.

Past Book Series (Imprints)

FSG also had other imprints in the past:

  • Sarah Crichton Books: This imprint published books that were a bit more commercial. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah was a bestseller from this imprint in 2007.
  • Faber and Faber Inc.: This imprint published plays and books about arts, entertainment, music, and pop culture. Authors included David Auburn and Tom Stoppard.
  • Scientific American / FSG: This imprint published popular science books for general readers.
  • Noonday Press
  • Melanie Kroupa Books: This was an imprint for children's books from 2000 to 2008.
  • FSG Originals x Logic: A short-lived imprint for technology books, which published Blockchain Chicken Farm.

Books for Young Readers

FSG also publishes books for young readers. Many of these books have won the National Book Award. Some of the famous authors published by FSG Books for Young Readers include:

Other popular authors include Roald Dahl, Jack Gantos, and Peter Sis.

Awards Won by FSG Authors

FSG authors have won many of the world's most important awards for literature and peace.

Nobel Prize in Literature Winners

Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Pulitzer Prize Winners

National Book Award Winners

Famous Authors Published by FSG

Many well-known authors have had their books published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Here are some of them:

Notable Staff Members

In 1957, Jack Kerouac's girlfriend at the time, Joyce Johnson, started working at the company.

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