Orion Publishing Group

Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Nemir Kirdar, and Quentin Tarantino.[1]

Orion Publishing Group
Parent companyHachette Livre
Founded1991; 33 years ago (1991)
Founder
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Headquarters locationLondon
Publication typesBooks
ImprintsWeidenfeld & Nicolson, Gollancz, Phoenix, Cassell Military, Everyman's Library; Everyman's Library has been discontinued.
Official websitewww.orionbooks.co.uk

History

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Orion Books was launched in 1992, with Orion purchasing the assets of Chapman publishers the following year. In the same year (1993), Orion acquired a warehousing and distribution centre called Littlehampton Book Services (LBS), which was based in Sussex in the UK. A majority share capital of Orion was sold to Hachette Livre in 1998, before Hachette Livre became the sole owner of the Orion Publishing Group in 2003. In December 1998, Orion acquired publishing house Cassell, whose imprints included Victor Gollancz Ltd. This imprint became a part of the Orion group and Orion also took ownership of the Cassell Military list. After acquiring Hodder Headline, Hachette UK was formed, with Orion as its largest single component.[2][3]

Awards

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Hachette's Orion division won the 2021 British Book Awards "Publisher of The Year" title for outstanding success during the 2020 calendar year. Each of its lists recorded a sharp increase in sales, with eight books topping £1,000,000 in sales. There were bestsellers from Ian Rankin and Michael Connelly in fiction, along with strong sales from Noel Fitzpatrick and Arsène Wenger on the non-fiction side. This financial success, along with "virtual events and effective digital marketing" (Adam Kay's Dear NHS anthology raised nearly £400,000) saw the Orion Group win the publishers' prize in 2021.

Imprints

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The group's imprints include:[4]

Orion Children's Books is an imprint of Hachette Children's Group.[5]

The group also distributes books for the independent Halban Publishers.

Distribution

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Books distributed through Littlehampton Book Services.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Orion Publishing Group Ltd/The – Company Profile and News". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  2. ^ Richardson, Jean (3 August 1998). "PW: Hachette Buys Majority Stake in U.K.'s Orion Group". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Orion restructures sales after Cassell purchase | Media & Telecommunications > Publishing from AllBusiness.com". Archived from the original on 30 September 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  4. ^ "Imprints". The Orion Publishing Group. 25 February 2019.
  5. ^ "HCG – About". 16 May 2019.
  6. ^ LBSLTD.co.uk
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