Simon & Schuster
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| Parent company | CBS Corporation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1924 |
| Founder |
Richard L. Simon M. Lincoln Schuster |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | 1230 Avenue of the Americas Rockefeller Center, New York City, New York |
| Key people |
Carolyn K. Reidy (President and Chief Executive Officer, Simon & Schuster, Inc.) Christopher Lynch (President and Publisher, Simon & Schuster Audio) Ian Chapman (Chief Executive and Publisher, Simon & Schuster UK and International) Jon Anderson (President and Publisher, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division) Jon Karp (President and Publisher, Simon & Schuster Publishing Group) Judith Curr (President and Publisher, Atria Publishing Group) Kevin Hanson (President, Simon & Schuster Canada) Lou Johnson (Managing Director, Simon & Schuster Australia) Louise Burke (President and Publisher, Gallery Publishing Group) Rahul Srivastava (Managing Director, Simon & Schuster India) Susan Moldow (President and Publisher, Scribner Publishing Group) |
| Publication types | Books |
| Imprints | Many (see below) |
| Official website | www.simonandschuster.com |
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln ("Max") Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster publishes 2,000 titles annually under 35 different imprints.
Crossword puzzles first appeared in the New York World in 1913, and became a popular feature in newspapers. In 1924, Simon's aunt, a crossword puzzle devotee, asked Simon whether there was a book of these puzzles that she could give to a friend. Simon discovered that none had been published, and, with Schuster, launched a company to exploit the opportunity. At the time, Simon was a piano salesman and Schuster was editor of an automotive trade magazine and together they pooled $8,000 to start the company.
The ad proved prophetic, and crossword puzzles were indeed the craze of 1924. Simon & Schuster continues to be the preeminent U.S. publisher of crossword puzzle books. To attract attention, the book came with a pencil attached.
This "fad" publishing would turn into a philosophy for the new publishing house. Simon & Schuster set out to exploit current fads and trends that published books with commercial appeal. Simon called this, "planned publishing." Instead of signing authors with a planned manuscript, they came up with their own ideas, and then hired writers to carry them out.
In the 1930, the publisher moved to what was known as Publisher's Row at 386 Fourth Avenue.
In 1939, with Robert Fair de Graff, Simon & Schuster founded Pocket Books, America's first paperback publisher.
In 1942, Simon & Schuster, or "Essandess" as it is called in the initial announcement, launched the Little Golden Books series in cooperation with the Artists and Writers Guild. Simon & Schuster's partner in the venture was the Western Printing and Lithographing Company, which handled the actual printing. Western Printing bought out Simon & Schuster's interest in 1958.
In 1944, Marshall Field III, owner of the Chicago Sun newspaper, purchased Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books. Following Field's death, in 1957 his heirs sold the company back to Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster, while Leon Shimkin and James M. Jacobson acquired Pocket Books.
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Wikipedia