History
Formerly known as Warner Books, Hachette, which is the smallest of the “big six” publishers, got its current name when it was acquired by the European conglomerate Hachette Livre, which is a subsidiary of Lagardère. (When the company was Warner Books, it was under the Time Warner banner, and a sister company to media biggies like Time Inc. and Warner Brothers.) Now officially known as the Hachette Book Group USA (HBGUSA for short), it’s known for a few of its big marquee imprints. And, although the Hachette name is not that old, the company is steeped in history; it began back in 1837 when one of its flagship imprints, Little, Brown and Company, was established. Hachette also acts as a distributor -- i.e. handles the dissemination of books from publishers to booksellers -- for some smaller publishers like Weinstein Books, Phaidon Press and Chronicle.
Notable Imprints
Little, Brown & Company -- As mentioned above, Little, Brown is Hachette’s oldest imprint; it’s also one of the house’s most literary. Originally publishing people like Emily Dickinson and Louisa May Alcott Little, Brown today does a mix of literary and commercial fiction. It’s home today to authors like Stephenie Meyer, James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Alice Sebold, David Sedaris and David Foster Wallace. Little, Brown also houses the art book publisher Bullfinch Press and the paperback imprint, Back Bay Books.
Grand Central -- Hachette’s biggest imprint, Grand Central has, under its umbrella, seven imprints. Among its seven imprints are Twelve, which releases 12 titles annually in both fiction and non-fiction, and was founded in 2005 by wunderkind editor Jonathan Karp. Also under the Grand Central banner is 5 Spot, a trade paperback imprint dedicated to fiction and nonfiction targeted at women; Springboard Press, which does fiction and nonfiction aimed at Baby Boomers; and Forever, a romance imprint. Grand Central itself (which used to be Warner Books) does a mix of commercial and literary titles and publishes authors like David Baldacci and Douglas Preston.
Orbit -- the house’s science-fiction imprint
FaithWords -- the faith-based imprint at the house, launched in 2001
