The "Big 5" Publishers

The “Big 5” is the nickname for the top five largest trade publishers that own practically every publishing imprint in the United States. These publishers dominate the book publishing industry, accounting for the majority of the hardcover and paperback books available in bookstores, estimated to be about 90% of the market. They are responsible for celebrity authors becoming household names.

However, it’s worth noting that the landscape of the publishing industry is rapidly changing. For example, Simon & Schuster was to be sold to Penguin Random House in late 2020, which led to discussions about whether the “Big 5” may now be the "Big 4." However, this proposed merger was blocked by a federal judge on November 1, 2022, due to concerns that it could “lessen competition” for "top-selling” books.

The Big 5 publishers include:

• Penguin Random House

• Hachette Livre

• HarperCollins

• Macmillan Publishers

• Simon & Schuster

The “Big 5” are U.S. divisions of publishers based in foreign countries. They all have a main office in the hub of book publishing in New York City. The following descriptions are taken from each publisher’s website about section.

Hachette Book Group

Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a division of the third-largest trade and educational book publisher in the world, Hachette Livre. Hachette Livre is based in France and is a subsidiary of the French media company, Lagardère.

Hachette’s American roots began in 1837 when one of its publishers, Little, Brown, and Company, was founded. Time Warner acquired Little, Brown in 1968 and HBG was created when Hachette Livre acquired Time Warner Book Group in 2006.

In one year, HBG publishes approximately 1,400+ adult books (including 50-100 digital-only titles), 300 books for young readers, and 450 audiobook titles (including both physical and downloadable-only titles). In 2017, the company had 167 books on the New York Times bestseller list, 34 of which reached #1.

In addition to selling and distributing its own imprints, HBG provides a wide range of custom services to third-party publishers, such as distribution, fulfillment, digital and sales services. Some of HBG’s clients include: Harry N. Abrams, Chronicle Books, Disney Book Group, Hachette UK, Kids Can Press, Marvel, Moleskine, Nicholas Brealey, Octopus Books, Phaidon Press, Phoenix International Publications (pikids), Quarto Publishing Group, Quercus, and Yen Press^.

Hachette’s eight publishing divisions include Grand Central Publishing; Little, Brown and Company; Perseus Books, Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers; Hachette Nashville; Orbit; Workman Publishing; and Hachette Audio.

1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104
(212) 364-1200
Hachettebookgroup.com

HarperCollins

HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a subsidiary of News Corp, the global media company led by Rupert Murdoch.

The “Harper” half of HarperCollins began in New York City in 1817 as J. and J. Harper, named after its founders, brothers James and John Harper. The company became Harper & Brothers and, eventually, Harper & Row, which NewsCorp acquired in 1987. In 1990, NewsCorp acquired the British publisher William Collins & Sons and formed the worldwide book group.

HarperCollins has several publishing divisions, including: The Harper Group, The HarperOne Group, The Morrow Group, HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, and HarperCollins Focus. In addition, there are more than 120 branded imprints throughout the world, plus the Harper Perennial paperback division.

195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
(212) 207-7000
Harpercollins.com

Macmillan Publishers

Macmillan Publishers, often known as Macmillan Group, is a global trade publishing company, which is a division of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a large family-owned media company headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. The company was founded in 1843 as a bookstore by Daniel Macmillan.

Macmillan operates across eight U.S. divisions: Celadon Books; Farrar, Straus, and Giroux; Flatiron Books; Henry Holt and Company; Macmillan Audio; Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group; The St. Martin’s Publishing Group; and Tor Publishing Group.

175 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10010
646-307-5151
us.macmillan.com

Penguin Random House

Originally international publishing giants in their own rights, on July 1, 2013, Penguin, a Pearson company, and Random House, owned by the German company Bertelsmann, combined their adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction print and digital trade book publishing divisions forming an American multinational conglomerate company.

Penguin publishes a wide range of adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction print and digital trade books.

As a result, Penguin Random House has more than 300 imprints. The nine Penguin Random House publishing groups are: Cornerstone Publishing, Vintage Publishing, Ebury Publishing, Transworld Publishers, Penguin Random House Children’s, Penguin Random House UK Audio, Penguin Michael Joseph, Penguin Press, and Penguin General.

Random House Offices
1745 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
(212) 782-9000
penguinrandomhouse.com

Simon and Schuster

Simon & Schuster was founded in 1924 by Richard L. (Dick) Simon and M. Lincoln (Max) Schuster with a bestselling crossword puzzle book. At various times in its history, it has been owned by Marshall Field, Gulf + Western, and Viacom. Simon and Schuster is currently the publishing arm of the media company CBS Corporation, where its diverse offerings include books in adult publishing, children’s publishing, audiobooks, and digital book arenas. One of their innovations was Pocket Books, the first American paperback line, launched in 1939.

Simon and Schuster have many publishing divisions across adult, children’s, audio, and international publishing. Each division has its own publisher, editorial group, and publicity department.

1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
(212) 698-7000
Simonandschuster.com

Pros & Cons

The pros of being published by one of the “Big 5” over small press or self-publishing:

• Advances to authors providing financial support while you write

• An editor is assigned to your book, providing multiple rounds and different types of editing

• Expert packaging and production by a team of professionals

• Marketing and publicity included and supported by a team that can significantly boost the visibility of your book

• Access to many sales channels through a vast network of reach and distribution

• A complete book “package” that includes professional editing and design

The cons of soliciting and being published by one of the “Big 5”:

• They do not accept unsolicited submissions

• They will not respond in the event of rejection

• You are tied to a contract with a lot of fine lines

• Royalties are not in the favor of the author

• Lack of creative control including content, cover design, and pricing

• They often treat an author poorly and lack the personal attention of smaller presses

• They continue to follow a very long and outdated process that can take years to publish a book

Conclusion

It is the career goal of many authors to be published by a major publishing house. However, the “Big 5” publishers are very hard to break into. They all require an author to work with a literary agent and to follow their very specific submission guidelines. The majority of manuscripts are rejected, often without response. The process can take years from the initial query letter to a published book. Over the last decade, the trend has turned, with authors opting for more immediate self-publishing and hybrid-publishing options to maintain control over their books and earning potential.

Tips

• An author who chooses the traditional publishing route can locate a literary agent by searching either The Literary MarketPlace or Writer’s Market, both guides which can be purchased or subscribed to.

• This interactive chart details the “Big 5” publishers and their imprints, by writer and data scientist, Ali Almossawi –
  http://almossawi.com/big-five-publishers/