Simon & Schuster facts for kids

Simon & Schuster LLC

Headquarters at 1230 Avenue of the Americas, Rockefeller Center, New York City
Type	Private
Founded	January 2, 1924; 101 years ago (January 2, 1924)
Founders	Richard Simon Max Schuster
Headquarters	Simon & Schuster Building, Manhattan, New York City, New York , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Jonathan Karp (CEO) Dennis Eulau (CFO, EVP of operations) Ian Chapman (chief executive, UK) Kevin Hanson (president, Canada)
Products	Books
Services	See § Imprints
Revenue	US$1.1 billion (2022)
Owner	Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Number of employees	c. 1,600 (2023)

Simon & Schuster LLC is a well-known American company that publishes books. It is currently owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. The company started in New York City on January 2, 1924. It was founded by two friends, Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster.

Simon & Schuster is one of the "Big Five" English language book publishers. The other big publishers are Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, and Macmillan Publishers. As of 2017, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publisher in the United States. They publish about 2,000 new books every year. These books are released under 35 different publishing names, called imprints.

The History of Simon & Schuster

How the Company Began

In 1924, Richard Simon's aunt loved crossword puzzles. She asked if there was a book of New York World crossword puzzles. These puzzles were very popular at the time. Richard found out that no such book existed. So, he and Max Schuster decided to start a company. Their goal was to publish crossword puzzle books.

At that time, Richard sold pianos. Max was an editor for a magazine about cars. They put together $8,000 to start their new company. The first books they published were crossword puzzles.

The new company focused on publishing books about popular trends. Simon called this "planned publishing." Instead of waiting for authors to submit books, they came up with ideas themselves. Then, they hired writers to create the books. In the 1930s, the company moved to a famous area in Manhattan, New York, known as "Publisher's Row."

Growing Bigger

In 1939, Simon & Schuster helped Robert Fair de Graff start Pocket Books. This was America's first company to publish paperback books. In 1942, Simon & Schuster worked with Western Publishing. Together, they launched the Little Golden Books series. These were popular children's books.

In 1944, Marshall Field III bought Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books. He owned the Chicago Sun newspaper. After he died in 1957, the company was sold back to Simon and Schuster for $1 million.

In the 1950s and 1960s, many publishers started focusing on educational books. This was because of the baby boom, when many children were born. Pocket Books began publishing paperbacks for schools. They started the Washington Square Press imprint in 1959. By 1964, this imprint had published over 200 titles. These included classic books like Lorna Doone and Tom Sawyer. In 1967, Simon & Schuster bought Monarch Press Publishing. This company published study guides for college and high school.

Richard Simon passed away in 1960. Six years later, Max Schuster retired. He sold his share of Simon & Schuster to Leon Shimkin. Shimkin then combined Simon & Schuster with Pocket Books. The new combined company kept the name Simon & Schuster. In 1968, a key editor, Robert Gottlieb, left the company. He had edited many bestsellers, including Catch-22. He moved to a competing publisher, Knopf. Other important employees also left with him.

Gulf+Western bought Simon & Schuster in 1975. In 1979, Richard Snyder became the CEO of the company. He helped the company grow a lot in the following years.

The 1980s: A Time of Change

After the head of Gulf+Western died in 1983, the company decided to expand. They wanted to publish more than just regular books. They saw a need for textbooks, maps, and educational materials. These areas were more stable and profitable.

In 1984, Simon & Schuster bought Esquire Corporation. This company owned educational publishers like Allyn & Bacon. In 1985, they bought Prentice Hall for over $700 million. This was a big step for the company. They also bought Silver Burdett in 1986 and mapmaker Gousha in 1987. Between 1983 and 1991, Simon & Schuster spent over $1 billion buying other companies.

In the 1980s, Snyder also tried to get into video publishing. This led to their success in audiobooks. Snyder realized Simon & Schuster did not own the video rights to a popular workout book. The video company was making more money from the video. This made Snyder want to get video rights for every new book. Simon & Schuster started its audiobook division in 1985. By the 1990s, audiobooks were a major part of their business.

In 1989, Gulf and Western Inc. changed its name to Paramount Communications Inc.

The 1990s: New Owners and Sales

In 1990, The New York Times said Simon & Schuster was the largest book publisher in the United States. Their sales were $1.3 billion the year before. That same year, they bought the children's publisher Green Tiger Press.

In 1993, Simon & Schuster bought Macmillan. They then changed their name to Paramount Publishing. Viacom bought Paramount in 1994. Viacom changed the name back to Simon & Schuster. Later that year, Richard Snyder was fired. Jonathan Newcomb, the company's president, took his place. Simon & Schuster then sold off some of its smaller businesses.

In 1994, Simon & Schuster also started a software publishing company. It was called Simon & Schuster Interactive. This studio published video games like Outlaw Golf and Deer Avenger. Simon & Schuster Interactive closed down in 2003.

In 1998, Viacom sold Simon & Schuster's educational businesses to Pearson plc. Pearson then combined these businesses with another company to form Pearson Education. Later, Pearson sold off many of these parts.

The 2000s: New Ventures

In 2002, Simon & Schuster bought Distican, its Canadian distributor. Simon & Schuster began publishing books directly in Canada in 2013.

At the end of 2005, Viacom split into two companies. CBS Corporation took over Simon & Schuster. Also in 2005, Simon & Schuster bought Strebor Books International. This company was founded by author Kristina Laferne Roberts. A year later, in 2006, Simon & Schuster launched Threshold Editions. This was a publishing name for conservative books.

In 2009, Simon & Schuster made a deal with Glenn Beck. This deal covered many types of books, including non-fiction, fiction, and children's books. As part of CBS, Simon & Schuster published many books related to CBS shows. They also published books for the Star Trek series under their Pocket Books imprint.

The 2010s: Digital and New Deals

In 2011, Simon & Schuster made more co-publishing deals. Glenn Beck signed a new deal for his own publishing name, Mercury Ink. Simon & Schuster also started a publishing project with Cash Money Records called Cash Money Content.

In 2012, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit. It named Apple, Simon & Schuster, and other publishers. The lawsuit claimed they worked together to set prices for e-books. They wanted to weaken Amazon.com's position in the market.

Simon & Schuster reorganized its publishing names into four main groups in 2012. These groups were Atria Publishing Group, Scribner Publishing Group, Simon & Schuster Publishing Group, and Gallery Publishing Group. This was done to help the different publishing names work better together. In 2012, Simon & Schuster also launched Archway Publishing. This was a way for authors to publish their own books.

In 2013, Simon & Schuster made a deal with former New York Yankees player, Derek Jeter. They launched Jeter Publishing together. In December 2013, a judge approved a settlement for the e-book lawsuit. Simon & Schuster and the other publishers paid money into a fund. This fund gave credits to customers who had paid too much for e-books.

In 2014, Simon & Schuster made a deal with Amazon about e-books. They also launched a new science fiction imprint called Simon451. This name was inspired by Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451.

Simon & Schuster started offering new services for authors in 2015. They created a new publishing unit called North Star Way. This group publishes non-fiction books. It also helps authors reach more people. They offer services like online courses, workshops, and podcasts.

In 2016, Simon & Schuster launched SimonSays.com. This website offers online video courses. They also launched Scout Press, a new literary fiction imprint. By 2016, Simon & Schuster had over 18,000 e-books for sale.

In 2019, CBS and Viacom joined together again to form ViacomCBS. Simon & Schuster became part of this new company. Since February 2022, ViacomCBS is known as Paramount Global.

The 2020s: Changes in Ownership

In March 2020, the CEO of ViacomCBS said the company planned to sell Simon & Schuster. He felt it was not closely connected to their other businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic caused delays in the sale.

In September 2020, a German company called Bertelsmann wanted to buy Simon & Schuster. Bertelsmann already owned Penguin Random House, the largest book publisher in the world. Other companies, like Vivendi and News Corp, were also interested.

On November 25, 2020, ViacomCBS announced they would sell Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House for $2.175 billion. However, a US federal judge blocked this deal in October 2022. The judge believed the sale would give one publisher too much power. Bertelsmann tried to appeal the decision but later canceled it.

In 2021, Simon & Schuster made book deals with former US government officials. This caused some protests among Simon & Schuster staff. In November 2021, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to stop the sale. They argued it would create a publisher with too much influence. A judge agreed, and Paramount ended the deal in November 2022.

In 2022, a Simon & Schuster employee was arrested for fraud allegations. The company stated they were "shocked and horrified" by the news.

In June 2023, reports said that HarperCollins and an investment company, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), were interested in buying Simon & Schuster. On August 3, 2023, it was reported that KKR was close to a deal. On August 7, 2023, Paramount Global announced they would sell Simon & Schuster to KKR for $1.62 billion. The sale was completed on October 30, 2023.

People at Simon & Schuster

Editors and Publishers

Authors Published by Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster has published books by thousands of authors. Here are some of the most famous or successful ones:

Notable Books Published

• A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
• The Independence of Miss Mary Barnett by Colleen McCullough
• Butts: A Backstory by Heather Radke (under the Avid Reader imprint)
• The Year of Lear by James Shapiro
• Contagious by Jonah Berger
• Rickover by Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen

The Simon & Schuster Logo

The logo for Simon & Schuster is called "The Sower." It is believed to be inspired by a painting from 1850 with the same name. Another source says it is a small copy of The Sower by Sir John Everett Millais.

Imprints: Different Publishing Names

Simon & Schuster publishes books under many different names, called imprints. These imprints often focus on specific types of books or readers.

Books for Adults

• Adams Media (located in Avon, Massachusetts)
• Atria Publishing Group
  • 37 INK: Publishes books by African-American and other diverse authors.
  • Atria Books: A general publisher.
  • Atria Español: Publishes Spanish language books, especially for Spanish speakers in the United States.
  • Atria Unbound: Publishes e-book versions of Atria books.
  • Beyond Words Publishing: Works with Atria on books about mind, body, and spirit.
  • Cash Money Content: A joint project with Cash Money Records.
  • Emily Bestler Books: Publishes both fiction and non-fiction.
  • Enliven Books: Publishes spiritual and wellness books.
  • Howard Books: Publishes Christian books.
  • Keywords Press: Publishes books by Internet personalities.
  • Marble Arch Press: A co-publishing agreement with a UK publisher.
  • One Signal Publishers: Publishes non-fiction books.
  • Simon Element: Publishes non-fiction books on basic topics.
  • Strebor Books International: Publishes books by African-American authors.
  • Washington Square Press: Publishes paperback versions of classic and new fiction.
• Avid Reader Press
• Gallery Books Group
  • Gallery Books: A general interest publisher.
  • Karen Hunter Publishing: A general interest imprint started by journalist Karen Hunter.
  • Mercury Ink: A co-publishing deal with Glenn Beck.
  • MTV Entertainment Books: Publishes young adult and pop-culture books.
  • North Star Way Books: Publishes inspirational non-fiction and offers extra services for authors.
  • Pocket Books: Publishes mass market paperbacks.
  • Pocket Star: Publishes e-books only.
  • Scout Press: Publishes literary fiction.
  • Threshold Editions: Publishes conservative books.
  • Twelve: Publishes books with a special month-long launch.
  • Gallery 13: Publishes graphic novels.
• Scribner
  • Scribner: Publishes fiction and non-fiction books.
• Simon & Schuster (the main publishing name)
  • Folger Shakespeare Library: Publishes print and e-books of Shakespeare's works.
  • Simon451: Publishes science fiction and fantasy books.
  • Saga Press: Specializes in science fiction and fantasy.

Books for Children

• Aladdin: Publishes picture books and chapter books for middle-grade readers.
• Atheneum: Publishes literary books for middle-grade, teen, and picture books.
• Beach Lane Books: Publishes picture books, started in 2008.
• Little Simon: Publishes books for young children.
• Margaret K. McElderry Books: Publishes literary fiction and non-fiction for children and teens.
• MTV Books: A pop culture imprint that relaunched in 2021.
• Paula Wiseman Books: Publishes picture books, novelty books, and novels for children.
• Salaam Reads: Publishes Muslim children's literature.
• Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers: The main imprint for children's books.
• Simon Pulse: Publishes books for teens, launched in 1999.
• Simon Spotlight: Focuses on licensed properties for children.

Audio Books

• Pimsleur Language Programs: Offers language courses.
• Simon & Schuster Audio: The audio division of Simon & Schuster.

Images for kids

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  The Sower, Simon & Schuster logo, circa 1961

See Also

In Spanish: Simon & Schuster para niños

• Other "Big Five" English language book publishers: Hachette, Holtzbrinck/Macmillan, HarperCollins and Penguin Random House
• Books in the United States
• List of largest book publishers of the United Kingdom
• Media of New York City