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| Parent company | Penguin Group (Penguin Random House) |
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| Founded | 1955; 70 years ago (1955) |
| Founder | Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Imprints | Ace,Jove,New American Library |
| Official website | berkleyjoveauthors berkleysignetmysteries |
Berkley Books is an Americanimprint founded in 1955 by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein owned by thePenguin Group unit ofPenguin Random House.
Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked forAvon; they quickly renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. The new name was a coinage, combining elements of their surnames, unrelated to either the philosopherGeorge Berkeley orBerkeley, California. Under their editor-in-chief Thomas Dardis, over the next few years Berkley developed a diverse line of popular fiction and non-fiction, both reprints and mass-market paperback originals, with a particularly strong history inscience fiction (books ofRobert A. Heinlein andFrank Herbert’sDune novels, for example). The company was bought in 1965 byG. P. Putnam's Sons[1] and in years to follow undertook a hardcover line under the Berkley imprint, chiefly but not only for science fiction. For example,Merle Miller’sPlain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman (1973), andThe Search for J.F.K. by Joan andClay Blair Jr. (1976) were substantial nonfiction books under that imprint. When Putnam bought Grosset & Dunlap and Playboy Press, the Jove,Ace andPlayboy Press paperback lists were added to that of Berkley; the Playboy list was eventually absorbed into Berkley, while the Jove and Ace lists have continued as distinct imprints.
Following its publication (1985) of the paperback reprint edition ofTom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, Berkley Books became increasingly interested in publishing military combat fiction andtechnothrillers; its publicity campaigns at military bases contributed to the success of its reprint edition ofDale Brown's Flight of the Old Dog.[2] The Penguin Group purchased Putnam in 1996. When Penguin merged with Random House in 2013 to form Penguin Random House, Berkley was integrated with the larger paperback lineNew American Library; the Berkley name was retained for that whole program, which is part of PRH's Penguin Adult group, and publishes in mass-market paperback, trade paperback, and hardcover formats.[2]
In December 2008, Berkley cancelled the publication of theHerman RosenblatHolocaust memoir titledAngel at the Fence when it was discovered that the book's central events were untrue.[3][4] In 2011, Berkley Books launched its ebook imprint InterMix.[5] In September 2012, Berkley Books announced that a trilogy of erotic romance novels byMaya Banks had been acquired for publishing. Her trilogy was described as similar to theFifty Shades trilogy, featuring three billionaires.[6][7]
In 2015, the sister paperback groupNew American Library was merged into Berkley.[8][9] In April 2015, Berkley Books signed the self-published authorJasinda Wilder.[10][11] In January 2016, Berkley was merged into Penguin's Putnam/Dutton. Ivan Held replaced Leslie Gelbman as president of Berkley Books.[12] In 2020, Berkley Books announced two new horror books byGrady Hendrix.[13]
Its major authors have included:[14]
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