Arbor House was an independent

publishing house Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

founded by Donald Fine in 1969. Specializing in hardcover publications, Arbor House published works by Hortense Calisher, Ken Follett, Cynthia Freeman,

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land". His earliest no ...

and Irwin Shaw before being acquired by the

Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...

in 1979 to move into paperback publishing. Arbor House became an imprint of

William Morrow & Company William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation (now News Corp) in 1999. The c ...

in 1988.

History

Publisher Donald Fine founded Arbor House in

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The city's population was 19,960 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Westminster is an outlying community in the Baltimore metropolitan area, whic ...

in 1969, using a $5,000 loan. Fine was vice president of Dell Publishing and a co-founder of

Delacorte Press Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

, before starting his own business. Arbor House was acquired by the

in 1978 for $1.5 million. Industry officials had previously speculated that Arbor House would merge with William Morrow & Company, another company subsequently acquired by the Hearst Corporation, unless it published a number of best-selling books. Arbor House published Elmore Leonard's ''Bandits'' and Sydney Biddle Barrows' ''The Mayflower Madam'', which were bestsellers, but in January 1987, Arbor House reduced its publishing list from 70 books per annum to approximately 40 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: *''The Mayflower Madam'', Sydney Biddle Barrows (1984) *'' Blood Music'',

Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American science fiction writer. His work covered themes of Interstellar_war, galactic conflict (''The Forge of God, Forge of God'' books), parallel universes (''The Way (Greg Bear ...

(1985) *'' The Pianoplayers'',

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993) who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his Utopian and dystopian fiction, dy ...

(1986) *''The Bridge of Lost Desire'' (alternate title of '' Return to Nevèrÿon''),

Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ; born April 1, 1942) is an American writer and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays on science fiction, literature, sexual orientation, sexuality, and ...

(1987) *'' Replay'', Ken Grimwood (1987) *''Bandits'', Elmore Leonard (1987) *''No More Vietnams'',

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

(1985) *'' Kiteworld'', Keith Roberts (1986) *'' A Door into Ocean'', Joan Slonczewski (1986) *''The Frozen Lady'', Susan Arnout Smith (1982) *''A Father's Word'', Richard G. Stern (1986) *''Power on Earth: Michele Sindona's Explosive Story'',

Nick Tosches Nicholas P. Tosches (; October 23, 1949 – October 20, 2019) was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, ''Hellfire (Nick Tosches book), Hellfire'', was praised by ''Rolling Stone'' magazi ...

(1986) *'' Trumps of Doom'', Roger Zelazny (1985) *'' Blood of Amber'', Roger Zelazny (1986) *'' Sign of Chaos'', Roger Zelazny (1987)

Anthologies published

Notable anthologies and editors published by Arbor House include: *''The Arbor House Celebrity Book of Horror Stories'', editors Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh (1982) *''The Arbor House

Necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

- Voodoo! Mummy! Ghoul!'', editor Bill Pronzini (1981) *''The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural'', editors Martin H. Greenberg, Barry N. Malzberg, and Bill Pronzini (1982) *''Specter! A

Chrestomathy A chrestomathy ( ; from the Ancient Greek 'desire of learning', from 'useful' + 'learn') is a collection of selected literary passages (usually from a single author); a selection of literary passages from a foreign language assembled for stu ...

of Spookery'', editor Bill Pronzini (1982) *''The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction'', editors Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1980) *''The Arbor House Treasury of Great Science Fiction Short Novels, editors Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1980) *''The Arbor House Treasury of Science Fiction Masterpieces'', editors Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1983)

References

{{Authority control Defunct book publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies established in 1969 Book publishing company imprints