Since its founding in 1846, Scribner has been a leading home of timeless fiction and nonfiction. From modern classics to bestselling book club fiction, from poetry to heart-pounding thrillers, once-in-a-generation memoir to Pulitzer Prize-winning reportage, Scribner represents excellence across categories, with an emphasis on fostering the talents of exceptional writers throughout their long careers. Today, Scribner’s distinguished list of writers includes Stephen King, Jesmyn Ward, Annie Proulx, Don DeLillo, Anthony Doerr, Alice Hoffman, Laura Dave, Jeannette Walls, Rachel Kushner, Andrew Solomon, Ada Ferrer, Kiese Laymon, Agustina Bazterrica, Angela Duckworth, Rebecca Traister, Lisa See, S. C. Gwynne, Steven Pinker, Tom Perrotta, Jennifer Egan, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Colm Tóibín, Jen Beagin, Kevin Fedarko, Mona Awad, and Siddhartha Mukherjee.
Founded by Charles Scribner, Scribner was originally a publisher of religious books. By 1870, the company had turned to literature and began publishing, in addition to books, Scribner’s Monthly, “an illustrated magazine for the people.” The magazine and its successor, Scribner’s Magazine, attracted fresh young writers, many of whom became Scribner authors.
Charles Scribner II took over in 1879 after the deaths of his father and older brother, and under his guidance the company became identified with giants of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American literature, such as Henry James and Edith Wharton. Later, under editors Maxwell Perkins and John Hall Wheelock, Charles Scribner’s Sons published major literary luminaries, including Ring Lardner, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
In 1978, Scribner acquired Atheneum, and in 1984 it merged with Macmillan. Simon & Schuster bought Macmillan in 1994 and formed the Scribner imprint, with Susan Moldow as Publisher then President, and Nan Graham as Editor-in-Chief then Publisher. Susan Moldow retired in 2018, and Nan Graham became Publisher-at-Large, Editor in early 2025. Marysue Rucci joined Scribner as Publisher in 2025.
