Private company

Crown Publishing Group

American publishing company

The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded into publishing original content in 1936 under the Crown name, and was acquired by Random House in 1988. Under Random House's ownership, the Crown Publishing Group was operated as an independent division until 2018, when it was merged with the rest of Random House's adult programs.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1933Founded1

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The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded into publishing original content in 1936 under the Crown name, and was acquired by Random House in 1988. Under Random House's ownership, the Crown Publishing Group was operated as an independent division until 2018, when it was merged with the rest of Random House's adult programs.2

Corporate structure

Crown Publishing Group is part of a group headed by Bertelsmann. 272 entities, 24 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Outlet Book Company

The company was founded in 1933 as the Outlet Book Company by Nat Wartels and Bob Simon. Outlet Book Company began by featuring overstock and remaindered books, but soon moved into reprints of backlist, out-of-print, largely non-fiction titles, then into reprints of bestselling fiction and non-fiction, and eventually into original titles. It was under the Crown name that they began to publish original content in 1936.

Crown acquired bankrupt publishers such as Covici-Friede, Henkle-Yewdale, and Robert M. McBride in the 1940s. Other publishers acquired by Crown include Arcadia House; Howell, Soskin; and Julian Press. Clarkson Potter became affiliated with Crown in 1963.

Under the direction of Wartels, Alan Mirken, Joseph Reiner and others, Crown Books became one of the Outlet Book Company's lead imprints for original publishing which included such landmark fiction and non-fiction as Judith Krantz's Princess Daisy, Jean M. Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear and Alex Comfort's The Joy of Sex in its early high-profile years.

Crown Publishing Group had its headquarters at 225 Park Avenue South in Midtown Manhattan, occupying 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2) of space. Random House received the space when it acquired the company. In 1990 Random House signaled intentions to sublease the space.

Random House

The Outlet Book Company's Crown Books remained an independent company until 1988 when it was purchased by Random House.

In 2008, the Doubleday Business/Currency, Doubleday Religion, and WaterBrook Multnomah divisions were moved from Doubleday to Crown when Doubleday was merged with Knopf. Doubleday Religion was replaced with the Catholic imprint Image in 2011.

In 2018, Crown was combined with the main Random House Publishing Group.

From Wikipedia’s article on Crown Publishing Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Subsidiaries

Former owners and parents

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. 2009Acquired Ten Speed Press1

Timeline

  1. Jul 1, 2013Acquired Acquired by Penguin Random House1
  2. 1988Acquired Acquired by Random House1
  3. 1933Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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