Macmillan Publishers (United States)
Encyclopedia
Macmillan Publishers USA, also known as Macmillan Publishing, is a privately held American
publishing company owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group
. It has offices in 41 countries
worldwide and operates in more than 30 others.
Macmillan Publishers, or Macmillan Publishing, is also the former name of a now mostly defunct American
publishing company. Once the American division of the British
Macmillan Publishers
, remnants of the original American Macmillan are present in McGraw-Hill
's Macmillan/McGraw-Hill textbooks and Gale
's Macmillan Reference USA division. The German publisher Holtzbrinck
bought Macmillan UK in 1999, purchased most US rights to the name in 2001 and rebranded its American division with it in 2007.
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. Even with the split of the American company from its parent company in Britain, George Brett Jr. and Harold MacMillan remained close personal friends.
George P. Brett Jr. made the following comments in a letter dated 23 January 1947 to Daniel Macmillan about his family's devotion to the American publishing industry:
Under the leadership of the Brett family, MacMillan served as the publisher of American authors, Winston Churchill
, Margaret Mitchell
, who wrote "Gone with the Wind
", and Jack London
, author of "White Fang
" and "Call of the Wild
".
The Bretts remained in control of the American offices of Macmillan from its creation in 1869 to the early 1960s, "a span matched by few other families in the history of United States business."
in 1984), the U.S. publisher became a media giant in its own right, as Macmillan, Inc. It was acquired by the controversial British tycoon Robert Maxwell
in 1989 and eventually sold to Simon & Schuster
in 1994 (at the time, Viacom had just purchased S&S, it is now owned by CBS Corporation
) in the wake of Maxwell's death (1991) and the subsequent bankruptcy proceedings. Macmillan Publishing USA became the name of Simon & Schuster's reference division. Pearson
acquired the Macmillan name in America since 1998, following its purchase of the Simon & Schuster educational and professional group (which included various Macmillan properties).. Pearson sold the Macmillan Reference USA division (which included Scribner
Reference) to Thomson Gale
in 1999.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publishing company owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group
Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group
Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck is a Stuttgart-based publishing holding company which owns publishing companies worldwide. Holtzbrinck has published everything from Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses to classics by Agatha Christie, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway and John Updike...
. It has offices in 41 countries
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
worldwide and operates in more than 30 others.
Macmillan Publishers, or Macmillan Publishing, is also the former name of a now mostly defunct American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publishing company. Once the American division of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
, remnants of the original American Macmillan are present in McGraw-Hill
McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
's Macmillan/McGraw-Hill textbooks and Gale
Gale (publisher)
Gale is an educational publishing company based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, the United States, in the western suburbs of Detroit. It was part of the Thomson Learning division of the Thomson Corporation, a Canadian company, but became part of Cengage Learning in 2007.The company, formerly known...
's Macmillan Reference USA division. The German publisher Holtzbrinck
Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group
Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck is a Stuttgart-based publishing holding company which owns publishing companies worldwide. Holtzbrinck has published everything from Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses to classics by Agatha Christie, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway and John Updike...
bought Macmillan UK in 1999, purchased most US rights to the name in 2001 and rebranded its American division with it in 2007.
Brett family
George Edward BrettGeorge Edward Brett
George Edward Brett opened the first American office of Macmillan Publishing called Macmillan & Co. of New York.-Career:Brett was assigned by Alexander Macmillan to create the New York Office in August 1869. Brett was aided in the creation of the New York office, by American firm Messrs Pott &...
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.
George Platt Brett, Sr.
George Platt Brett, Sr. was a British-born chairman and publisher of the American division of Macmillan Publishing. He was best known for serving as publisher, friend, and mentor of American author Jack London. Under Brett's leadership, Macmillan became one of the largest publishers in America. ...
and George Platt Brett
George Platt Brett
George Platt Brett, Jr. served at Chairman of the American division of Macmillan Publishing and secured publishing rights to Gone With the Wind.-Career:...
Jr. in 1896, resulting in the creation of an American company, Macmillan Publishing. Even with the split of the American company from its parent company in Britain, George Brett Jr. and Harold MacMillan remained close personal friends.
George P. Brett Jr. made the following comments in a letter dated 23 January 1947 to Daniel Macmillan about his family's devotion to the American publishing industry:
For the record my grandfather was employed by Macmillan's of England as a salesman. He came to the United States with his family in the service of Macmillan's of England and built up a business of approximately $50,000 before he died. He was succeeded . . . by my father, who eventually incorporated The Macmillan Company of New York and built up business of about $9,000,000. I succeeded my father, and we currently doing a business of approximately $12,000,000. So then, the name of Brett and the name of Macmillan have been and are synonymous in the United States.
Under the leadership of the Brett family, MacMillan served as the publisher of American authors, Winston Churchill
, Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
, who wrote "Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
", and Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
, author of "White Fang
White Fang
White Fang is a novel by American author Jack London. First serialized in Outing magazine, it was published in 1906. The story takes place in Yukon Territory, Canada, during the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th-century, and details a wild wolfdog's journey to domestication...
" and "Call of the Wild
Call Of The Wild
-Track listing:All songs written by Ted Nugent, except where indicated:#"Call of the Wild" – 4:51#"Sweet Revenge" – 4:06#"Pony Express" – 5:21#"Ain't It the Truth" – 4:57#"Renegade" – 3:33...
".
The Bretts remained in control of the American offices of Macmillan from its creation in 1869 to the early 1960s, "a span matched by few other families in the history of United States business."
Mergers and end
Through its merger with Crowell Collier in 1961 and other acquisitions (notably The Scribner Book CompaniesCharles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
in 1984), the U.S. publisher became a media giant in its own right, as Macmillan, Inc. It was acquired by the controversial British tycoon Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
in 1989 and eventually sold to Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
in 1994 (at the time, Viacom had just purchased S&S, it is now owned by CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
) in the wake of Maxwell's death (1991) and the subsequent bankruptcy proceedings. Macmillan Publishing USA became the name of Simon & Schuster's reference division. Pearson
Pearson PLC
Pearson plc is a global media and education company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is both the largest education company and the largest book publisher in the world, with consumer imprints including Penguin, Dorling Kindersley and Ladybird...
acquired the Macmillan name in America since 1998, following its purchase of the Simon & Schuster educational and professional group (which included various Macmillan properties).. Pearson sold the Macmillan Reference USA division (which included Scribner
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
Reference) to Thomson Gale
Gale (publisher)
Gale is an educational publishing company based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, the United States, in the western suburbs of Detroit. It was part of the Thomson Learning division of the Thomson Corporation, a Canadian company, but became part of Cengage Learning in 2007.The company, formerly known...
in 1999.
Holtzbrinck
Holtzbrinck purchased most of the rights to the Macmillan name from Pearson in 2001, but not any of the businesses then associated with it. Holtzbrinck rebranded its US division with the name in 2007. However, McGraw-Hill continues to market its pre-kindergarten through elementary school titles under its Macmillan/McGraw-Hill brand.Further reading
- James, Elizabeth (2002) Macmillan: a Publishing Tradition. Basingstoke: Palgrave ISBN 0-333-73517-X