Macmillan Publishers

File:Lewis Carroll - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland-10.jpg, published in London on 26 November 1865]]

Macmillan was founded in London in 1843 by Daniel and Alexander MacMillan, two brothers from the Isle of Arran, Scotland. Daniel was the business brain, while Alexander laid the literary foundations, publishing such notable authors as Charles Kingsley (1855), Thomas Hughes (1859), Francis Turner Palgrave (1861), Christina Rossetti (1862), Matthew Arnold (1865) and Lewis Carroll (1865), with the latter first meeting Alexander in London on 19 October 1863.{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Morton N. |author-link=Morton N. Cohen |url= https://archive.org/details/lewiscarroll00mort |url-access=registration |title=Lewis Carroll: A Biography |date=1996 |publisher=Vintage Books |page=126 |isbn=9780679745624}} Alfred, Lord Tennyson joined the list in 1884, Thomas Hardy in 1886 and Rudyard Kipling in 1890.{{cite web |url= https://www.panmacmillan.com/about |title=About Pan Macmillan |publisher=Pan Macmillan |access-date=30 September 2016 |archive-date=16 October 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161016082319/https://www.panmacmillan.com/about |url-status=dead}}

Other major writers published by Macmillan included W. B. Yeats, Rabindranath Tagore, Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Seán O'Casey, John Maynard Keynes, Charles Morgan, Hugh Walpole, Margaret Mitchell, C. P. Snow, Rumer Godden and Ram Sharan Sharma.

Beyond literature, the company created such enduring titles as Nature (1869), the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1877) and Sir Robert Harry Inglis Palgrave's Dictionary of Political Economy (1894–99).

File:MacMillan and Co logo 1880.jpg biography of Alexander Pope, published by Macmillan & Co in London in 1880.]]

George Edward Brett opened the first Macmillan office in the United States in 1869 and Macmillan sold its U.S. operations to the Brett family, George Platt Brett Sr. and George Platt Brett Jr., in 1896, resulting in the creation of an American company, Macmillan Publishing, also called The Macmillan Company (later known as Macmillan Inc. or Macmillan US). Even with the split of the American company from its parent company in England, George Brett Jr. and Harold Macmillan remained close personal friends. Macmillan Publishers held stake in the American company before divesting it in 1951, and later re-entered the American market in 1952 under the name St. Martin's Press.{{Cite book |url= https://static.macmillan.com/static/macmillan/the-macmillan-story/9781250223296_The_Macmillan_Story.pdf |title=The Macmillan Story |date=2017 |page=65}}

Macmillan of Canada was founded in 1905; Maclean-Hunter acquired the company in 1973. Following numerous mergers, Macmillan Canada dissolved in 2002 after John Wiley & Co. acquired it.{{cite news |last=Oberman |first=Mira |date=12 June 2002 |title=CDG sells off book list |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |url= https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/cdg-sells-off-book-list/article22619293/ |access-date=1 June 2024}}

Harold Macmillan, grandson of company co-founder Daniel, became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (10 January 1957 – 18 October 1963). Earlier, he had been with the family firm as a junior partner from 1920 to 1940 (when he became a junior minister, as Under-secretary of State for the Colonies), and working with Macmillan Publishers again from 1945 to 1951 while he was also in the opposition in Parliament. After retiring from politics in 1964, he became chairman of the company until 1974, when he handed on the chairmanship to his son Maurice Macmillan.'Who's Who' 1981 edition page 1678 The latter, having been Paymaster General in the defeated government of Edward Heath, also left the government, but within the company took on the more honorary position of president'Who's Who' 1985 edition page 1848 until his death in December 1986.{{cite web |work=BBC |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/macmillan_harold.shtml |title=Harold Macmillan (1894–1986)}}

The German Holtzbrinck Publishing Group purchased the company in 1999.{{cite news |last1=Milliot |first1=Jim |title=Holtzbrinck's U.S. Arm Now Macmillan |url= https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/612-holtzbrinck-s-u-s-arm-now-macmillan.html |access-date=17 October 2018 |work=Publishers Weekly |date=9 October 2007}}

File:ASA conference 2008 - 14.JPG

Pearson acquired the Macmillan name in America in 1998, following its purchase of the Simon & Schuster educational and professional group (which included various Macmillan Inc. properties and trademarks). Holtzbrinck purchased it from them in 2001.Bookseller, [http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-miscellaneous/4655423-1.html Allbusiness.com] McGraw-Hill continues to market its pre-kindergarten through elementary school titles under its Macmillan/McGraw-Hill brand. The US operations of Holtzbrinck Publishing changed its name to Macmillan in October 2007.{{cite news |title=News Briefs: Macmillan Rebrands Higher Education Division |url= https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/50021-news-briefs.html |access-date=17 October 2018 |work=Publishers Weekly |date=30 December 2011}} Its audio publishing imprint changed its name from Audio Renaissance to Macmillan Audio, while its distribution arm was renamed from Von Holtzbrinck Publishers Services to Macmillan Publishers Services. Pan Macmillan purchased Kingfisher, a British children's publisher, from Houghton Mifflin in October 2007. Roaring Brook Press publisher Simon Boughton would oversee Kingfisher's US business.{{cite news |title=News Briefs: Macmillan Buys Kingfisher |url= https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20071008/9999-news-briefs.html |access-date=17 October 2018 |work=PublishersWeekly.com |date=5 October 2007}}

By some estimates, as of 2009, e-books account for three to five per cent of total book sales, and are the fastest growing segment of the market.{{cite news |title=Macmillan Lowers E-Book Payments for Authors |url= http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/macmillan-lowers-e-book-payments-for-authors/ |first=Motoko |last=Rich |work=The New York Times |access-date=11 February 2010 |date=28 October 2009}} According to The New York Times, Macmillan and other major publishers "fear that massive discounting [of e-books] by retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Sony could ultimately devalue what consumers are willing to pay for books." In response, the publisher introduced a new boilerplate contract for its authors that established a royalty of 20 per cent of net proceeds on e-book sales, a rate five per cent lower than most other major publishers. Following the announcement of the Apple iPad on 27 January 2010—a product that comes with access to the iBookstore—Macmillan gave Amazon.com two options: continue to sell e-books based on a price of the retailer's choice (the "wholesale model"), with the e-book edition released several months after the hardcover edition is released, or switch to the agency model introduced to the industry by Apple, in which both are released simultaneously and the price is set by the publisher. In the latter case, Amazon.com would receive a 30 per cent commission.{{cite news |title=Publisher Wins Fight With Amazon Over E-Books |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/technology/companies/01amazonweb.html |first1=Motoko |last1=Rich |first2=Brad |last2=Stone |work=The New York Times |access-date=11 February 2010 |date=31 January 2010}} Amazon responded by pulling all Macmillan books, both electronic and physical, from their website (although affiliates selling the books were still listed). On 31 January 2010, Amazon chose the agency model preferred by Macmillan.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} In April 2012, the United States Department of Justice filed United States v. Apple Inc., naming Apple, Macmillan, and four other major publishers as defendants. The suit alleged that they conspired to fix prices for e-books, and weaken Amazon.com's position in the market, in violation of antitrust law.{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/justice-department-files-suit-against-apple-publishers-report-says/2012/04/11/gIQAzyXSAT_story.html |title=Justice Department sues Apple, publishers over e-book prices |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=11 April 2012 |access-date=1 June 2014 |last1=Mui |first1=Ylan Q. |last2=Tsukayama |first2=Hayley}} In December 2013, a federal judge approved a settlement of the antitrust claims, in which Macmillan and the other publishers paid into a fund that provided credits to customers who had overpaid for books due to the price-fixing.{{cite news |url= https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/03/25/amazon-settlements-ebooks/6869033/ |title=E-book price fixing settlements rolling out |work=USA Today |date=25 March 2014 |access-date=1 June 2014 |last=Molina |first=Brett}}

In 2010, Macmillan Education submitted to an investigation on grounds of fraudulent practices.{{Cite web |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/7683139/Macmillan-admits-to-bribery-over-World-Bank-Sudan-aid-deal.html |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/7683139/Macmillan-admits-to-bribery-over-World-Bank-Sudan-aid-deal.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Macmillan admits to bribery over World Bank Sudan aid deal |website=Telegraph.co.uk |date=5 May 2010 |access-date=17 March 2016}}{{cbignore}} The Macmillan division admitted to bribery in an attempt to secure a contract for an education project in southern Sudan. As a direct result of the investigation, sanctions were applied by the World Bank Group, namely a six-year debarment (reduced from eight years due to an early acknowledgment of misconduct by the company) declaring the company ineligible to be awarded WBG-financed contracts.{{Cite web |url= http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2010/04/30/the-world-bank-group-debars-macmillan-limited-for-corruption-in-world-bank-supported-education-project-in-southern-sudan |title=The World Bank Group Debars Macmillan Limited for Corruption in World Bank-supported Education Project in Southern Sudan |website=World Bank |access-date=17 March 2016}}

In December 2011, Bedford, Freeman, and Worth Publishing Group, Macmillan's higher education group, changed its name to Macmillan Higher Education while retaining the Bedford, Freeman, and Worth name for its k–12 educational unit. Also, that month, Brian Napack resigned as Macmillan president while staying on for transitional purposes.{{cite news |title=News Briefs: Napack Resigns As Macmillan President |url= https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/50021-news-briefs.html |access-date=17 October 2018 |work=Publishers Weekly |date=30 December 2011}}

In 2012, parent company Holtzbrinck reorganized; Macmillan's consumer publishing operations were now led by John Turner Sargent from New York City.{{Cite web |last=Tor.com |title=Reorganization at Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck |work=Tor.com |access-date=21 July 2019 |date=18 June 2012 |url= https://www.tor.com/2012/06/17/reorganization-at-verlagsgruppe-georg-von-holtzbrinck/}}

In May 2015, London-based Macmillan Science and Education merged with Berlin-based Springer Science+Business Media to form Springer Nature, jointly controlled by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group and BC Partners.{{cite web |url= https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nature-publisher-to-merge-with-springer/2017985.article |title=Nature publisher to merge with Springer |work=Times Higher Education |date=15 January 2015 |access-date=6 April 2018}}{{cite news |title=Completed merger forms 'Springer Nature' |url= http://www.thebookseller.com/news/completed-merger-forms-springer-nature |first=Caroline |last=Carpenter |work=The Bookseller |date=6 May 2015 |access-date=8 July 2015}} The following month, it dissolved its British-based imprint Boxtree Limited, which Macmillan had operated since 1986.{{cite web |title=Boxtree Limited {{!}} Company number 02011388 |work=Find-and-Apdate.Company-Information.Service.Gov.uk |publisher=Companies House, Government of the United Kingdom |url= https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02011388 |access-date=25 December 2023 |quote=Incorporated on 17 April 1986 {{!}} Dissolved on 23 June 2015}}

In January 2019, Toronto, Canada-based online writing community Wattpad announced an agreement with Macmillan [sic, Springer Nature America] for handling sales and distribution in the U.S. for its new publishing division Wattpad Books, alongside rival Penguin Random House that will handle the U.K. and India market, and Raincoast Books for the Canadian market.{{Cite web |url= https://company.wattpad.com/blog/2019/1/23/wattpad-launches-wattpad-books-a-new-publishing-division-to-bring-diverse-data-backed-stories-to-book-lovers-everywhere |title=Wattpad Launches Wattpad Books, a New Publishing Division to Bring Diverse, Data-Backed Stories to Book-Lovers Everywhere |website=Wattpad HQ |access-date=14 September 2019 |archive-date=7 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210107084420/https://company.wattpad.com/blog/2019/1/23/wattpad-launches-wattpad-books-a-new-publishing-division-to-bring-diverse-data-backed-stories-to-book-lovers-everywhere |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |url= https://company.wattpad.com/blog/2019/8/8/penguin-random-house-uk-collaborates-with-wattpad-books-to-bring-global-wattpad-hits-to-readers-in-the-uk |title=Penguin Random House UK collaborates with Wattpad Books to bring global Wattpad hits to readers in the UK |website=Wattpad HQ |access-date=14 September 2019 |archive-date=7 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210107084422/https://company.wattpad.com/blog/2019/8/8/penguin-random-house-uk-collaborates-with-wattpad-books-to-bring-global-wattpad-hits-to-readers-in-the-uk |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |url= https://company.wattpad.com/blog/2019/7/8/penguin-random-house-india-partners-with-wattpad-to-showcase-exclusive-content-and-innovative-promotions |title=Penguin Random House India Partners with Wattpad to Showcase Exclusive Content and Innovative Promotions |website=Wattpad HQ |access-date=14 September 2019 |archive-date=7 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210107084438/https://company.wattpad.com/blog/2019/7/8/penguin-random-house-india-partners-with-wattpad-to-showcase-exclusive-content-and-innovative-promotions |url-status=dead}}

In November 2019, Macmillan announced that libraries would be able to buy only one copy of e-books for the first eight weeks after publication, in an effort to boost sales by creating long waits for borrowers at large library systems. This prompted complaints and some libraries boycotted the company; the policy was reversed in March 2020.[https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/18/818004783/publisher-macmillan-backs-off-policy-restricting-e-book-sales-to-libraries Publisher Macmillan Backs Off Policy Restricting E-Book Sales To Libraries]

In September 2020, Macmillan announced that CEO John Sargent will be leaving at the end of the year due to "a disagreement regarding the direction of Macmillan." According to Holtzbrinck spokesperson Erin Coffey, the decision was made by Stefan von Holtzbrinck, CEO of the Holtzbrinck group.{{Cite web |date=17 September 2020 |title=Macmillan CEO forced out over 'direction' of company |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/wires/us/macmillan-ceo-forced-out-over-direction-of-company-b472127.html |access-date=13 April 2021 |website=The Independent}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|

• Celadon Books
• Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• FSG Originals
• Hill & Wang
• MCD
• North Point Press
• Auwa Books
• Picador
• Flatiron Books
• Flatiron Books
• Flatiron Books: An Oprah Book
• Henry Holt and Company
• Andy Cohen Books{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/andy-cohen-launch-his-own-901112|title=Andy Cohen to Launch His Own Book Imprint|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=9 June 2016}}
• Henry Holt and Company
• Metropolitan Books
• Macmillan Audio – formerly Audio Renaissance
• Macmillan Children's Publishing Group
• Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for Young Readers
• Feiwel and Friends
• First Second Books – Graphic novels
• Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
• Imprint[https://us.macmillan.com/author/imprint Imprints' official page].
• Neon Squid Books{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/85968-macmillan-children-s-to-add-neon-squid-nonfiction-imprint.html|title=BookExpo 2018: Macmillan Kids' Imprint, Odd Dot, Makes Its Debut}}
• Odd Dot{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/76947-macmillan-kids-imprint-odd-dot-makes-its-debut.html|title=Macmillan Children's to Add Neon Squid Nonfiction Imprint}}
• Priddy Books
• Roaring Brook Press{{Cite web| title = Holtzbrinck to Buy Roaring Brook Press| work = PublishersWeekly.com| access-date = 2018-02-20| url = https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20040405/24005-holtzbrinck-to-buy-roaring-brook-press.html}}
• Square Fish
• Swoon Reads
• St. Martin's Publishing Group
• Castle Point Books
• Griffin
• Minotaur
• St. Martin's Essentials
• St. Martin's Press
• Wednesday Books{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/71734-smp-launching-crossover-imprint-wednesday-books.html|title=SMP Launching Crossover Imprint, Wednesday Books}}
• Saturday Books{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/95306-saturday-books-imprint-with-new-adult-focus-to-launch-next-fall-at-macmillan.html|title=Saturday Books, Imprint with New Adult Focus, to Launch Next Fall at Macmillan}}
• Tor Publishing Group
• Bramble
• Forge
• Nightfire
• Starscape
• Tor Books
• Tor Teen
• Reactor (magazine) (formerly Tor.com)

}}

• Macmillan Publishers Services, formerly Von Holtzbrinck Publishers Services, distribution unit for independent publishers:
• Bloomsbury USA
• The College Board
• Drawn & Quarterly
• Entangled Publishing
• Graywolf Press
• Guinness World Records
• Macmillan UK
• Page Street

{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|

• Bello
• Bluebird
• Campbell
• Kingfisher
• Macmillan's Children's Books
• Macmillan Collector's Library
• Mantle
• Pan Books
• Macmillan
• Picador
• Tor
• Two Hoots

}}

• List of largest book publishers of the United Kingdom

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Macmillan|volume=17|page=264}}
• {{Cite book |editor-last=James |editor-first=Elizabeth |title=Macmillan: A Publishing Tradition |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |date=2002 |isbn=0-333-73517-X}}
• {{Cite book |last=Morgan |first=Charles |title=The House of Macmillan (1843–1943) |publisher=Macmillan |date=1944 |isbn=9781199630568}}

• [http://searcharchives.bl.uk/IAMS_VU2:IAMS032-001960392 The Macmillan Archive] at the British Library

{{Commons category|Macmillan Publishers Ltd.}}

• {{Official website|http://us.macmillan.com/}}
• {{FadedPage|id=20131203|name=Macmillan Catalogue, January 1893}}
• [https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-macmillan-story/ The Macmillan Story: Bringing authors and readers together since 1843]
• {{Open Library publisher|Macmillan}}

{{Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group}}

{{Big6 publishers USA}}

{{Harold Macmillan}}

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Category:Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom

Category:Publishing companies based in London

Category:Holtzbrinck Publishing Group

Category:1843 establishments in England

Category:1843 establishments in Scotland

Category:Publishing companies established in 1843

Category:1999 mergers and acquisitions

Category:British companies established in 1843