Arbor House
Encyclopedia
Arbor House was an independent publishing house founded by Donald Fine in 1969. Specialising in hard cover publications, Arbor House published works by Hortense Calisher
, Ken Follett
, Cynthia Freeman
, Elmore Leonard
and Irwin Shaw
before being acquired by the Hearst Corporation
in 1979 to move into paperback publishing. Arbor House became an imprint
of William Morrow & Company in 1988.
in 1969, using a $5,000 loan. Fine was vice president of Dell Publishing
and a co-founder of Delacorte Press, before starting his own business. Arbor House was acquired by the Hearst Corporation
in 1978 for $1.5 million. Industry officials had previously speculated that Arbor House would merge with William Morrow & Company, another company in the Hearst Corporation, unless it published a number of best selling books.
In June 1987, it was announced that Arbor House would become an imprint of William Morrow & Company from January 1988. Arbor House's employees transferred to William Morrow & Company.
Hortense Calisher
Hortense Calisher was an American writer of fiction.-Personal life:Born in New York City, New York, and a graduate of Hunter College High School and Barnard College , Calisher was the daughter of a young German Jewish immigrant mother and a somewhat older Jewish father from Virginia whose family...
, Ken Follett
Ken Follett
Ken Follett is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels. He has sold more than 100 million copies of his works. Four of his books have reached the number 1 ranking on the New York Times best-seller list: The Key to Rebecca, Lie Down with Lions, Triple, and World Without End.-Early...
, Cynthia Freeman
Cynthia Freeman
Beatrice Cynthia Freeman , pseudonym of Bea Feinberg, was an American novelist. She was born in New York City, where, as a young girl, she began writing books but abandoned writing to pursue a career running an interior decoration business...
, Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
and Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw was a prolific American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best-known for his novel, The Young Lions about the fate of three soldiers during World War II that was made into a film starring Marlon...
before being acquired by the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
in 1979 to move into paperback publishing. Arbor House became an imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
of William Morrow & Company in 1988.
History
Publisher Donald Fine founded Arbor House in Westminster, MarylandWestminster, Maryland
Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV...
in 1969, using a $5,000 loan. Fine was vice president of Dell Publishing
Dell Publishing
Dell Publishing, an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte, Jr.During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Dell was one of the largest publishers of magazines, including pulp magazines. Their line of humor magazines included 1000 Jokes, launched in...
and a co-founder of Delacorte Press, before starting his own business. Arbor House was acquired by the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
in 1978 for $1.5 million. Industry officials had previously speculated that Arbor House would merge with William Morrow & Company, another company in the Hearst Corporation, unless it published a number of best selling books.
In June 1987, it was announced that Arbor House would become an imprint of William Morrow & Company from January 1988. Arbor House's employees transferred to William Morrow & Company.
Works published
Notable works and authors published by Arbor House include:- ReplayReplay (novel)Replay is a novel by Ken Grimwood first published by Arbor House in 1987. It won the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.The novel tells of a 43-year-old man who dies and awakens back in 1963 in his 18-year-old body. He then begins to relive his life with intact memories of the previous 25...
, Ken GrimwoodKen GrimwoodKenneth Milton Grimwood was an American author who was born in Dothan, Alabama. In his fantasy fiction Grimwood combined themes of life-affirmation and hope with metaphysical concepts, themes found in his best-known novel, the highly popular Replay...
(1987) - Bandits, Elmore LeonardElmore LeonardElmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
(1987) - Sign of ChaosSign of ChaosSign of Chaos is the Locus Award nominated third novel in the second Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny, and the eighth book overall...
, Roger ZelaznyRoger ZelaznyRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
(1987) - The PianoplayersThe PianoplayersThe Pianoplayers is a 1986 novel by Anthony Burgess, drawing heavily on his memories of his father, a pub piano-player. The narrator, Ellen Henshaw, is a prostitute who later becomes a madam. Her father, Billy, plays the piano in the cinema, accompanying silent movies....
, Anthony BurgessAnthony BurgessJohn Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
(1986) - Kiteworld, Keith RobertsKeith RobertsKeith John Kingston Roberts , was an English science fiction author. He began publishing with two stories in the September 1964 issue of Science Fantasy magazine, "Anita" and "Escapism.Several of his early stories were written using the pseudonym...
(1986) - A Door into OceanA Door Into OceanA Door into Ocean is a 1986 feminist science fiction novel by Joan Slonczewski. The novel shows themes of ecofeminism and nonviolent revolution, combined with Slonczewski's own mastery of knowledge in the field of biology.-Plot summary:...
, Joan Slonczewski (1986) - A Father's Word, Richard G. SternRichard G. SternAmerican writer and educator, Richard G Stern was born in New York City on February 25, 1928. He attended the University of North Carolina from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude in 1947...
(1986) - Power on Earth: Michele SindonaMichele SindonaMichele Sindona was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a member of Propaganda Due , a secret lodge of Italian Freemasonry, and had clear connections to the Mafia...
's Explosive Story, Nick ToschesNick ToschesNick Tosches is an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet of Albanian and Italian descent.- Life :After different odd-jobs, Tosches started writing with poetry and rock-'n'-roll magazines, including Creem, Fusion, and Rolling Stone.Tosches' second book, a biography of Jerry Lee Lewis...
(1986) - Blood of AmberBlood of AmberBlood of Amber is the Locus Award nominated second book in the second Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny, and the seventh book overall.-Plot summary:...
, Roger ZelaznyRoger ZelaznyRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
(1986) - Blood Music, Greg BearGreg BearGregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution...
(1985) - No More Vietnams, Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
(1985) - Trumps of DoomTrumps of DoomTrumps of Doom is the first book in the second Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny; and the sixth book overall. Whereas the first series was narrated by Corwin, this series is narrated by his son, Merlin...
, Roger ZelaznyRoger ZelaznyRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
(1985) - The Mayflower Madam, Sydney Biddle BarrowsSydney Biddle BarrowsSydney Biddle Barrows is an American businesswoman who became known as an escort-service owner while using the stage name Sheila Devin and later became known as the "Mayflower Madam"...
(1984) - The Frozen Lady, Susan Arnout SmithSusan Arnout SmithSusan Arnout Smith , is a novelist, television scriptwriter, playwright, and essayist.- Writing career :...
(1982)
Anthologies published
Notable anthologies and editors published by Arbor House include:- The Arbor House Celebrity Book of Horror Stories, editors Martin H. GreenbergMartin H. GreenbergMartin Harry Greenberg was an American speculative fiction anthologist and writer.-Biography:Dr. Martin H. Greenberg was born March 1, 1941, to Max and Mae Greenberg in South Miami Beach, Florida...
and Charles G. Waugh (1982) - The Arbor House NecropolisNecropolisA necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
- Voodoo! Mummy! Ghoul!, editor Bill PronziniBill PronziniBill Pronzini is an American writer of detective fiction. He is also an active anthologist, having compiled more than 100 collections, most of which focus on mystery, western, and science fiction short stories....
(1981) - The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural, editors Martin H. Greenberg, Barry N. MalzbergBarry N. MalzbergBarry Nathaniel Malzberg is an American writer and editor, most often of science fiction and fantasy.-Overview:Initially in his post-graduate work Malzberg sought to establish himself as a playwright as well as a prose-fiction writer. His first two published novels were issed by Olympia Press...
, and Bill Pronzini (1982) - Specter! A ChrestomathyChrestomathyChrestomathy is a collection of choice literary passages, used especially as an aid in learning a foreign language.In philology or in the study of literature, it is a type of reader or anthology which presents a sequence of example texts, selected to demonstrate the development of language or...
of Spookery, editor Bill Pronzini (1982)