Harper's Magazine Press

Harper's Magazine Press

Company type	Imprint
Industry	Publishing
Founded	1969 in New York City, United States
Founder	Collaboration between Harper's Magazine and Harper & Row
Defunct	1976
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Products	Hardcover books (literary and commercial fiction and nonfiction, cultural critique, poetry)

Harper's Magazine Press operated as a hardcover publisher targeting the trade book market, established through a collaboration between Harper's Magazine and Harper & Row. Founded in New York City in 1969, the press issued its final publications in 1976. Its catalog primarily encompassed literary and commercial fiction and nonfiction, cultural critique, poetry, and titles appealing to a broad audience.

History

The inception of the press dates back to 1969 when Harper's Magazine editor-in-chief Willie Morris convinced John Cowles Jr., whose family controlled both the magazine and Harper & Row, to launch a new imprint that would serve the interests of both organizations. Herman C. Gollob was appointed as editor-in-chief. Gollob remarked on the significant editorial autonomy he enjoyed and cited Little, Brown’s motto “Fewer and better books” as an inspirational framework for his work.

In June 1969, the press revealed an ambitious project: an authoritative volume on Orson Welles’s cinematic career, co-authored by Welles himself alongside Peter Bogdanovich. This planned publication intended to include memos, correspondence, analyses of film scores, and transcripts derived from extensive interviews. Although originally slated for release in the summer of 1971, the book remained unfinished when the press discontinued operations; it was ultimately published in 1992 by Harper Collins.

After Morris was compelled to resign from his editorial position at the magazine in 1971, Gollob departed to join Atheneum, reflecting that “the party—and a hell of a party it had been—was over.” Lawrence Freundlich then assumed the role of editor-in-chief.

Debuts

The imprint gained recognition for introducing numerous authors with their first published works. In the year Gollob left, it issued the inaugural book by Bill Moyers, who was at that time beginning his career with PBS. Under Freundlich’s leadership, debut publications included those by Fred Feldkamp, Phyllis Feldkamp, Philip J. Hilts, Mark Lipman, Lev Navrozov, Richard Selzer, Nancy Hunter Steiner, Richard Shulman, Ferris Urbanowski, and Min S. Yee.

In 1973, the press released Marcella Hazan’s first book, The Classic Italian Cookbook. Although endorsed by Julia Child as "my mentor in all things Italian," sales were disappointing, prompting Hazan to move to another publisher. She went on to publish seven additional titles that profoundly shaped American perceptions of Italian cooking and earned her lifetime achievement honors from both the James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

The most significant critical and commercial triumph for the press arrived in 1974 with Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. The work achieved remarkable sales success, was selected as a main feature by the Book of the Month Club, and triggered an unprecedented bidding war for paperback rights—a rare accomplishment for a debut from a small publishing house. The book received a Pulitzer Prize and was acclaimed as "an important new book by an important young writer." Frequently described as "the Walden of our era," it is widely regarded as a contemporary classic by notable figures such as New Yorker editor David Remnick.

1970

• John W. Aldridge - In the Country of the Young (ISBN 0061202002)

1971

• Ralph W. Conant - The Prospects For Revolution: An Analysis of Riots, Civil Disobedience, and Insurrection in Modern America (LCCN 70-96016)
• Willie Morris - Yazoo: Integration in a Deep-Southern Town (ISBN 0061263907)
• Bill Moyers - Listening to America: A Traveler Rediscovers His Country (ISBN 0061264008)

1972

• John W. Aldridge - The Devil In the Fire: Retrospective Essays on American Literature and Culture, 1951-1971 (ISBN 0061202010)
• Phyllis Feldkamp and Fred Feldkamp - The Good Life ... or What's Left of It: Sensory Pleasures Enhancing Life's Enjoyment in France (ISBN 0061224804)

1973

• Pierre Androuet (translated by John Githens) - The Complete Encyclopedia of French Cheese (and Many Other Continental Varieties) (ISBN 0061202304)
• Marcella Hazan - The Classic Italian Cookbook (ISBN 9780061226489)
• Arthur Simon and Paul Simon - The Politics of World Hunger: Grassroots Movements and Global Poverty (ISBN 0061277762)
• Nancy Hunter Steiner - A Closer Look at Ariel: A Memory of Sylvia Plath (ISBN 0061278157)
• Min S. Yee - The Melancholy History of Soledad Prison: A Utopian Plan Turns to Chaos (ISBN 006129800X)

1974

• Rupert Bruce-Mitford - Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Archaeology: Sutton Hoo and Other Discoveries (ISBN 0061204803)
• Ovid Demaris - Dirty Business: The Corporate-Political Money-Power Game (ISBN 0061219509)
• Annie Dillard - Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (ISBN 0061219800)
• Philip J. Hilts - Behavior Mod (ISBN 0061227005)
• Richard Selzer - Rituals of Surgery (ISBN 0061277606)
• Rexford Tugwell - The Emerging Constitution (ISBN 0061282251)

1975

• Ovid Demaris - The Director: An Oral Biography of J. Edgar Hoover (ISBN 0061219517)
• H. Bruce Franklin - Back Where You Came From: A Life in the Death of the Empire (ISBN 0061225258)
• Lev Navrozov - The Education of Lev Navrozov: A Life in the Closed World Once Called Russia (ISBN 0061264156)
• Mary Richie - Loving Upward: A Novel (ISBN 0061275085)
• Ferris Urbanowski with Balaram; Charles W. Haney, photography - Yoga for New Parents: The Experience and the Practice (ISBN 0061283002)

1976

• Stoyan Christowe - The Eagle and the Stork (ISBN 0061215457)
• Erik J. Friis (editor) - The Scandinavian Presence in North America (ISBN 0061225150)
• Richard Shulman - The Billion Dollar Bookies (ISBN 0061277754)