Alfred A. Knopf facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Alfred A. Knopf

Parent company	Penguin Random House
Founded	1915; 110 years ago (1915)
Founder	Blanche Wolf Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr.
Country of origin	United States
Headquarters location	New York City, U.S.

Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a famous American company that publishes books. It was started by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. They were known for publishing books by writers from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. They also published many popular American authors.

In 1960, another company called Random House bought Knopf. Today, it's part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. This group is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by a large German company called Bertelsmann.

Knopf is known for its special logo, which is a borzoi dog. A borzoi is a type of Russian wolfhound. Co-founder Blanche Knopf designed this logo in 1925. You can often see it on the first page of their books.

History of Knopf Publishing

How Knopf Started

Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1932

Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. began in 1915. Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf started it together. Their first office was in the Candler Building in New York City. By 1918, the company was officially set up. Alfred was the president, and Blanche was the vice president.

From the very beginning, Knopf wanted to publish important books. They focused on translating books from Europe. Some of their first books were by French, Ukrainian, and Polish writers. During World War I, these books were inexpensive to get. This helped Knopf become known for publishing European works in America.

Their first big success was a new edition of Green Mansions. This novel by W. H. Hudson sold over 20,000 copies by 1919. Their first original American novel was The Three Black Pennys by Joseph Hergesheimer. It came out in 1917.

The 1920s: New Ideas

An advertisement by Knopf

In the 1920s, Knopf started using new ways to advertise their books. In 1920, they made small booklets called The Borzoi. These booklets helped promote new books and authors.

For a novel called Moon-Calf, they even hired people to walk around New York City. These people wore costumes and carried signs with the book on them. This helped get people's attention and sent them to local bookstores.

The unique look of Knopf's books and their clever advertising attracted famous authors. Willa Cather, a well-known writer, joined Knopf. She published many books with them. Her novel One of Ours was Knopf's first book to win a Pulitzer Prize.

In 1923, Knopf also started publishing magazines. One of these was The American Mercury.

Also in 1923, Knopf published The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. At first, it didn't sell many copies. But over time, it became one of their most successful books. It has been translated into over 100 languages. It has never stopped being printed by Knopf.

The 1930s and 1940s

Blanche Knopf became president of the company in 1957. Alfred Knopf became chairman. Blanche worked for the company until she passed away in 1966. Alfred Knopf retired in 1972.

After World War II, Blanche Knopf traveled to Europe and South America. She was one of the first publishers to visit Europe after the war. Her trips helped bring many new writers from around the world to Knopf.

The 1950s: New Talent

In 1957, an important editor named Judith Jones joined Knopf. She had discovered Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl at her previous job. At Knopf, she found and published Julia Child's famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Judith Jones worked with many other great writers like John Updike and Anne Tyler. She retired in 2011.

Alfred and Blanche's son, Alfred "Pat" Jr., left the company in 1959. He started his own publishing company called Atheneum Books.

In 1957, Alfred A. Knopf shared his beliefs about publishing. He said he would "never publish an unworthy book." He also believed that "magazines, movies, television, and radio will never replace good books."

Knopf Joins Random House

In 1960, Random House bought Alfred A. Knopf. This happened after Alfred A. Knopf Jr. left to start his own company.

Knopf has always cared a lot about how their books look. They have worked with many famous designers. At the end of many Knopf books, there's a special page. It's called "A Note on the Type." This page explains the history of the font used in the book.

In 1991, Knopf brought back the "Everyman's Library" series. These are classic books from around the world. They are published in nice hardcover editions that people can afford. The series now includes Children's Classics and Pocket Poets.

In 1998, Bertelsmann AG bought Random House. Later, in 2008 and 2009, the Knopf Publishing Group joined with Doubleday. They formed the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

In 2013, Random House joined with Penguin Group. This created a new company called Penguin Random House. This big merger helped them compete better in the book world. Many of Knopf's hardcover books are later published as Vintage paperbacks. Vintage Books is also part of Random House.

In 2015, Knopf celebrated its 100th birthday! They published a special book to mark the occasion.

Notable People at Knopf

Important Editors

Knopf has had many important editors. The main editors-in-chief have been Alfred A. Knopf, Sr., Robert Gottlieb, Sonny Mehta, and Jordan Pavlin. Other influential editors include Judith Jones (who worked on cookbooks) and Peter Mendelsund (who designed book covers).

Famous Authors

Alfred A. Knopf has published books by many famous authors. Here are just a few:

• Albert Camus
• Willa Cather
• Julia Child
• Michael Crichton
• Joan Didion
• Kahlil Gibran
• Kazuo Ishiguro
• John le Carré
• Gabriel García Márquez
• Cormac McCarthy
• Toni Morrison
• Alice Munro
• Haruki Murakami
• Christopher Paolini
• Anne Rice
• Donna Tartt
• Anne Tyler
• John Updike

Awards Won by Knopf Books

Logo

The logo for Knopf is a Russian wolfhound, also known as a Borzoi. Blanche Knopf thought the Borzoi would be a good logo because it looked like it was moving. This logo was used on the spine and the title page of their books.

See also

In Spanish: Alfred A. Knopf para niños