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91-499: The company popularized the comic book format that became known as Bonelliano . These comic books presented complete stories in 98 black-and-white pages in a pocket book format. The subject matter was always adventure, whether Western, horror, mystery, or science fiction. The bonelliani are to date the most popular form of comics in Italy. The company was founded as Casa Audace Editrice in 1940. In 1957, when Sergio took over as director,

182-455: A comics publishing company is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Paperback A paperback ( softcover , softback ) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples . In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, leather, paper, or plastic. Inexpensive books bound in paper have existed since at least

273-556: A dystopian future UK, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , and From Hell , speculating on the identity and motives of Jack the Ripper . Douglas Adams wrote the five-volume science fiction comedy trilogy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , and also wrote the humorous fantasy detective novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency . Clive Barker horror novels include The Hellbound Heart . The "Reading list", compiled by

364-468: A musical and other media. Baroness Orczy's character The Old Man in the Corner (1908) was among the earliest armchair detectives to be created. Her short stories about Lady Molly of Scotland Yard (1910) were an early example of a female detective as main character. John Buchan wrote the adventure novels on Prester John (1910) and four novels telling the adventures of Richard Hannay , of which

455-524: A Cold War thriller. War novels include Alistair MacLean thrillers The Guns of Navarone (1957), Where Eagles Dare (1968), and Jack Higgins ' The Eagle Has Landed (1975). Patrick O'Brian 's nautical historical novels feature the Aubrey–Maturin series set in the Royal Navy , the first being Master and Commander (1969). Ronald Welch 's Carnegie Medal winning novel Knight Crusader

546-410: A collection of reprinted material. Graphic novels may also be printed in trade paperback form. Publishers sometimes release popular collections first in a hardback form, followed by a trade paperback months later. Examples include Marvel Comics ' Secret War and DC Comics ' Watchmen . Japanese manga , when they are collected into volumes, are published in the tankōbon format, approximately

637-410: A few years of publishing undistinguished novels, focused on the romance genre and became one of the world's largest publishers. At first, paperbacks consisted entirely of reprints, but in 1950, Fawcett Publications ' Gold Medal Books began publishing original fiction in mass–market paperback. It was revolutionary. The term paperback original applies to paperback original publications of fiction. It

728-471: A lengthy history of being aimed (in format and distribution) at mass audiences. Pocket Books were not available in book stores because they did not carry magazines. Pocket Books established the format for all subsequent paperback publishers in the 1940s. The books measured 6.5" by 4.25" (16.5 cm by 10.8 cm), had full-color covers, and cost 25 cents. Eventually in the 1950s the height increased by 0.5" (1.4 cm) to 7" (18 cm). The width remained

819-618: A line of Fawcett paperbacks, and he felt original works would not be a violation of the contract. To challenge the contract, Fawcett published two anthologies— The Best of True Magazine and What Today's Woman Should Know About Marriage and Sex —reprinting material from Fawcett magazines not previously published in books. After these books were successfully published, Fawcett announced in December 1949 that in February 1950 it would publish "original fiction including westerns and mysteries at 25 cents in

910-408: A medium-sized paperback of 129 mm × 198 mm ( 5 + 1 ⁄ 8  in ×  7 + 3 ⁄ 4  in). This size has been used to distinguish literary novels from genre fiction . In the U.S., books of this size are thought of as smaller trade paperbacks (see below). A trade paperback (also called trade paper edition and trade ) is a higher-quality paperback book. If it

1001-448: A paperback copy of Four Tragedies of Shakespeare . "Sometimes one can find Shakespeare on these shelves among the many lurid novels of juvenile delinquents," he comments. In 1945, Bantam Books was formed by Walter B. Pitkin Jr. , Sidney B. Kramer, and husband and wife Ian and Betty Ballantine as a mass-market paperback publisher. The fifth major 1940s publisher of mass-market paperbacks

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1092-471: A pocket-sized format" in a series called Gold Medal Books. Publishers Weekly reported in May 1950 that Fawcett books were "similar in appearance and cover allure to many of the paperback reprints, but the story material [was] original and not reprinted from regular editions." It also said the authors would be paid a $ 2,000 advance with a guaranteed first printing of 200,000 copies. That same month Fawcett released

1183-466: A publisher decides to release a book in a low-cost format. Lower-quality paper, glued (rather than stapled or sewn) bindings, and the lack of a hard cover may contribute to the lower cost of paperbacks. In the early days of modern paperbacks, the 1930s and 1940s, they were sold as a cheaper, less permanent, and more convenient alternative to traditional hardcover books, as the name of the first American paperback publisher, Pocket Books, indicates. In addition,

1274-409: A reprint and one original, with two covers and two title pages. In 1952, husband and wife publishers Ian and Betty Ballantine left Bantam Books and founded their own publishing house, Ballantine Books , to publish paperbacks simultaneously with their publication in hardcover by traditional publishers. Their first book, Cameron Hawley 's Executive Suite , published January 1, 1952 at 35 cents in

1365-542: A significant impact on the genre), Murder on the Orient Express (1934), Death on the Nile (1937) and And Then There Were None (1939). Other female writers dubbed "Queens of crime" include Dorothy L. Sayers ( gentleman detective , Lord Peter Wimsey ), Margery Allingham ( Albert Campion , supposedly created as a parody of Sayers' Wimsey, ) and New Zealander Ngaio Marsh ( Roderick Alleyn ). Georgette Heyer recreated

1456-444: A wide readership of men and women serving in the military or employed as shift workers; paperbacks were cheap, readily available, and easily posted and carried. Furthermore, people found that restrictions on travel gave them time to read more paperbacks. Four-color printing (invented in 1906 ) and lamination (invented in 1936 ) developed for military maps made the paperback cover eye catching and kept ink from running as people handled

1547-465: Is Clarke's contemporary. Michael Moorcock (born 1939) is a writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels. He was involved with the 'New Wave' of science fiction writers "part of whose aim was to invest the genre with literary merit" Similarly J. G. Ballard (born 1930) "became known in the 1960s as the most prominent of the 'New Wave' science fiction writers". A later major figure in science fiction

1638-420: Is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and technology , space travel , time travel , faster than light travel , parallel universes and extraterrestrial life . Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations , and has been called a "literature of ideas". It usually eschews the supernatural , and unlike

1729-424: Is a prose-fiction form of romance , which Walter Scott defined as "a fictitious narrative in prose or verse; the interest of which turns upon marvellous and uncommon incidents". According to Romance Writers of America 's data, the most popular subgenres are romantic suspense , contemporary romance , historical romance , erotic romance , paranormal romance , and young adult romance . Science fiction

1820-503: Is a great deal of overlap among the three, all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction . Fantasy works frequently feature a medieval setting. The romance novel or "romantic novel" primarily focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." There are many subgenres of the romance novel including fantasy , historical , science fiction , same sex romantic fiction, and paranormal fiction . There

1911-402: Is a softcover edition of a previous hardcover edition and is published by the same house as the hardcover, the text pages are normally identical with those of the hardcover edition, and the book is almost the same size as the hardcover edition. The pagination is the same, so that references to the text will be unchanged: this is particularly important for reviewers and scholars. The only difference

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2002-439: Is best known for his Discworld series of comic fantasy novels, that begins with The Colour of Magic (1983), and includes Mort (1987), Hogfather (1996), and Night Watch (2002). Pratchett's other most notable work is the 1990 novel Good Omens . Philip Pullman 's fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials comprises Northern Lights (1995), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). It follows

2093-434: Is not usually applied to original non–fiction publications, although paperback publishers also began issuing original non–fiction titles. Fawcett, an independent newsstand distributor, in 1945, negotiated a contract with New American Library to distribute its Mentor and Signet titles. That contract prohibited Fawcett from becoming a competitor by publishing its own paperback reprints. Roscoe Kent Fawcett wanted to establish

2184-606: Is often mixed with other genres. Horror novelist Stephen King was awarded the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2003, polarizing opinions and leading to debate on genre fiction's literary merit. Negative comments about genre fiction have sparked responses from Time , Salon , the Atlantic , and the Los Angeles Review of Books . Nobel laureate Doris Lessing described science fiction as "some of

2275-451: Is particularly true of first novels by new authors. The mass-market paperbacks sold in airport newsstands have given rise to the vaguely defined literary genre of the " airport novel ", bought by travelers to read while they sit and wait. Mass-market paperbacks also have offered collections of comic strips and magazine cartoon series, such as Ernie Bushmiller 's Nancy and Chon Day 's Brother Sebastian . The term B-format indicates

2366-827: Is set in the 12th century and gives a depiction of the Third Crusade , featuring the Christian leader and King of England Richard the Lionheart . In crime fiction, the murder mysteries of Ruth Rendell and P. D. James are popular. Nigel Tranter wrote historical novels of celebrated Scottish warriors: Robert the Bruce in The Bruce Trilogy , and William Wallace in The Wallace (1975). John Wyndham wrote post-apocalyptic science fiction, his most notable works being The Day of

2457-543: Is sometimes thought to be in between genre and non-genre fiction. In the publishing industry the term "category fiction" is often used as a synonym for genre fiction, with the categories serving as the familiar shelf headings within the fiction section of a bookstore, such as Western or mystery. Some authors classified instead as literary fiction have written genre novels under pseudonyms, while others are argued to have employed genre elements in literary fiction. Romance fiction had an estimated $ 1.375 billion share in

2548-482: Is the literary genre that fictionalises crimes , their detection, criminals, and their motives . It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as historical fiction or science fiction , but the boundaries are indistinct. Crime fiction has multiple subgenres , including detective fiction (such as the whodunit ), courtroom drama , hard-boiled fiction, mystery fiction , and legal thrillers . Suspense and mystery are key elements to

2639-472: Is the soft binding; the paper is usually of higher quality than that of a mass-market paperback, often being acid-free paper . In the United States, the term trade paperback also encompasses the medium-sized paperbacks described as B-format, above. British trade paperbacks are 135 mm × 216 mm ( 5 + 3 ⁄ 8  in ×  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in). Trade paperbacks did not enter

2730-406: Is widely considered to be the first true example of a supervillain , while Sherlock Holmes has become a by-word for a detective. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories featuring Holmes, from 1880 up to 1907, with a final case in 1914. All but four Conan Doyle stories are narrated by Holmes' friend, assistant, and biographer, Dr John H. Watson . Erskine Childers ' The Riddle of

2821-618: The Mutiny on the Bounty immortalised the Royal Navy ship HMS  Bounty and her people. The legend of Dick Turpin was popularised when the 18th-century English highwayman 's exploits appeared in the novel Rookwood in 1834. Although pre-dated by John Ruskin 's The King of the Golden River in 1841, the history of the modern fantasy genre is generally said to begin with George MacDonald ,

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2912-408: The coming-of-age of two children as they wander through a series of parallel universes against a backdrop of epic events. Neil Gaiman is a writer of science fiction, fantasy short stories and novels, whose notable works include Stardust (1998), Coraline (2002), The Graveyard Book (2009), and The Sandman series. Alan Moore 's works include Watchmen , V for Vendetta set in

3003-552: The epic in poetry and tragedy and comedy for plays. In later periods other genres such as the chivalric romance , opera , and prose fiction developed. Though the novel is often seen as a modern genre – Ian Watt , in The Rise of the Novel (1957) suggests that the novel first came into being in the early 18th century – it has also been described as possessing "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", from

3094-499: The historical romance genre since 1921, and also wrote detective fiction (1932–1953). A major work of science fiction, from the early 20th century, is A Voyage to Arcturus by Scottish writer David Lindsay , first published in 1920. It combines fantasy , philosophy, and science fiction in an exploration of the nature of good and evil and their relationship with existence. It has been described by critic and philosopher Colin Wilson as

3185-481: The historical romances of Scott, Emily Brontë 's Wuthering Heights and Herman Melville 's Moby-Dick , are also frequently called novels, and Scott describes romance as a "kindred term". Romance, as defined here, should not be confused with the genre fiction love romance or romance novel . Other European languages do not distinguish between romance and novel: "a novel is le roman , der Roman , il romanzo ." Genre fiction developed from various subgenres of

3276-545: The "greatest novel of the twentieth century", and was a central influence on C. S. Lewis 's Space Trilogy . Also J. R. R. Tolkien said he read the book "with avidity", and praised it as a work of philosophy, religion, and morality. It was made widely available in paperback form when published as one of the precursor volumes to the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in 1968. From the early 1930s to late 1940s, an informal literary discussion group associated with

3367-456: The 19th century in such forms as pamphlets , yellowbacks , dime novels , and airport novels . Modern paperbacks can be differentiated from one another by size. In the United States, there are "mass-market paperbacks" and larger, more durable "trade paperbacks". In the United Kingdom, there are A-format, B-format, and the largest C-format sizes. Paperback editions of books are issued when

3458-740: The 7" height simultaneously with Houghton Mifflin 's $ 3.00 hardcover edition, was a success for both publishers. Of their next nine novels, two were published simultaneously by Houghton Mifflin and one by Farrar, Straus & Young and six were stand-alone originals. In 1953, Dell announced its line of originals, Dell First Editions, and published its first novels by Walt Grove, Frederic Brown , and Charles Einstein . Genre categories began to emerge, and mass-market book covers reflected those categories. Mass-market paperbacks influenced slick and pulp magazines . The market for cheap magazines diminished when buyers began to buy cheap books instead. Authors also found themselves abandoning magazines and writing for

3549-465: The American market until around 1960. Unlike mass-market paperbacks they are distributed by their original hard-cover publishers directly to book stores, not through magazine distributors to other retailers. Trade paperbacks are often used to reprint several issues of a comic series in one volume, usually an important storyline or the entire series, and the name trade paperback has become synonymous with

3640-580: The Canadian mass-market book trade in the early 1960s, with its "Canadian best seller library" series, at a time when Canadian literary culture was beginning to be popularized, and a call for a Canadian author identity was discussed by the Canadian people. The mass-market paperback is a small, usually non-illustrated, inexpensive bookbinding format. This includes the A-format books of 110 mm × 178 mm ( 4 + 3 ⁄ 8  in × 7 in), in

3731-636: The English faculty at the University of Oxford, were the " Inklings ". Its leading members were the major fantasy novelists; C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien . Lewis is known for The Screwtape Letters (1942), The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956) and The Space Trilogy (1938–1945), while Tolkien is best known as the author of The Hobbit (1937), The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), and The Silmarillion (1977). In thriller writing, Ian Fleming created

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3822-546: The Needle (1978), followed by The Key to Rebecca (1980), as well as historical novels, notably The Pillars of the Earth (1989), and its sequel World Without End (2007). Elleston Trevor is remembered for his 1964 adventure story The Flight of the Phoenix , while the thriller novelist Philip Nicholson is best known for Man on Fire . Peter George 's Red Alert (1958), is

3913-493: The Pocket Books edition of Wuthering Heights , one of the first ten books it published in 1939, emphasized the impermanence of paperbacks by telling readers if you "enjoyed it so much you may wish to own it in a more permanent edition", they could return the 25 cent book to Pocket Books with an additional 70 cents and it would send them a copy of the 95 cent Modern Library edition "substantially bound in durable cloth." Since

4004-570: The Sands (1903) defined the spy novel and Follett has also called it "the first modern thriller ". Emma Orczy 's The Scarlet Pimpernel (1903) was originally a highly successful play, when staged in London in 1905. The novel The Scarlet Pimpernel was published soon after the play opened and was an immediate success. Orczy gained a following of readers in Britain and throughout the world. The popularity of

4095-462: The Triffids (1951), and The Midwich Cuckoos (1957). George Langelaan 's The Fly (1957), is a science fiction short story. Science fiction novelist Arthur C. Clarke 's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is based on his various short stories, particularly The Sentinel (1951). His other major novels include Rendezvous with Rama (1972), and The Fountains of Paradise (1979). Brian Aldiss

4186-618: The U.S. was an edition of Pearl Buck 's The Good Earth , produced by Pocket Books as a proof-of-concept in late 1938, and sold in New York City. The first ten Pocket Book titles published in May 1939 with a print run of about 10,000 copies each were: This list includes seven novels, the most recent being six year old ( Lost Horizons , 1933), two classics (Shakespeare and Wuthering Heights , both out of copyright), one mystery novel, one book of poetry ( Enough Rope ), and one self-help book. The success of Pocket Books led to others entering

4277-451: The US book market in 2007. Religion/inspirational literature followed with $ 819 million, science fiction/fantasy with $ 700 million, mystery with $ 650 million and classic literary fiction with $ 466 million. Genre began as a classification system for ancient Greek literature . Poetry , prose , and drama had specific calculated styles that related to the theme of the story. Among the genres were

4368-605: The United Kingdom, and the "pocketbook" format books of a similar size, in the United States. Mass-market paperbacks usually are printed on cheap paper. They are commonly released after the hardback edition and often sold not only at bookstores, but also where books are not the main business, such as at airports , drugstores , and supermarkets. In 1982, romance novels accounted for at least 25% of all paperback sales. In 2013, 51% of paperback sales were romance. Many titles, especially in genre fiction, have their first editions in paperback and are never published in hardcover; this

4459-454: The United States, in every local grocery store, drug store, dime store , and bus and train station, displaying everything from best sellers and mysteries and westerns to classics and Shakespeare. In 1955, in William Inge 's Broadway play Bus Stop , it did not seem unbelievable that a long-distance bus traveller stranded by a snowstorm in an out-of-the-way cafe walks to a shelf and picks up

4550-623: The best social fiction of our time", and called Greg Bear , author of Blood Music , "a great writer". In the 2000s, the BBC defended itself against charges that it discussed genre fiction with a "sneering derogatory tone". The Man Booker Prize and British Book Awards have been criticized for ignoring genre fiction in their selection process. Some critics have claimed that reading romance and suspense thrillers makes readers more sensitive, because these novels focus on interpersonal relationships. Sir John Barrow 's descriptive 1831 account of

4641-399: The book. A revolving metal rack (invented in 1906), designed to display a wide variety of paperbacks in a small space, found its way into drugstores , dimestores , and markets. During World War II, the U.S. military distributed some 122 million " Armed Services Editions " paperback novels to the troops. After the war, the former servicemembers' familiarity with paperbacks helped popularize

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4732-469: The character James Bond 007 in January 1952, while on holiday at his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye. Fleming chronicled Bond's adventures in twelve novels, including Casino Royale (1953), Live and Let Die (1954), Dr. No (1958), Goldfinger (1959), Thunderball (1961), The Spy Who Loved Me (1962), and nine short story works. In contrast to the larger-than-life spy capers of Bond, John le Carré

4823-539: The covers by genre. In 1935, British publisher Allen Lane , investing his own capital, initiated the paperback revolution in the English-language book market by releasing ten reprint titles to launch the Penguin Books imprint. They adopted many of Albatross's innovations, including a conspicuous logo, using only type on the cover, and color-coded covers for different genres. The first book on Penguin's 1935 list

4914-573: The finest sensation novels . H. G. Wells 's (1866–1946) writing career began in the 1890s with science fiction novels like The Time Machine (1895), and The War of the Worlds (1898) which describes an invasion of late Victorian England by Martians , and Wells is seen, along with Frenchman Jules Verne (1828–1905), as a major figure in the development of the science fiction genre. Penny dreadful publications were an alternative to mainstream works, and were aimed at working class adolescents, introducing

5005-506: The first four Gold Medal books, original novels by W. R. Burnett , Sax Rohmer , Richard Himmel, and John Flagg - one western and three mysteries/adventure novels. Fawcett's action led to immediate controversy, with an executive Vice president of Pocket Books attacking the whole idea, a literary agent reporting that one hardcover publisher threatened to boycott his agency if he dealt with mass market publishers, and Doubleday 's LeBaron R. Barker claiming that paperback originals could "undermine

5096-450: The first, The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) is the best known. Novels featuring a gentleman adventurer were popular in the interwar period , exemplified by the series of H. C. McNeile with Bulldog Drummond (1920) and Leslie Charteris , whose many books chronicled the adventures of Simon Templar , alias The Saint . The medievalist scholar M. R. James wrote highly regarded ghost stories (1904–1928) in contemporary settings. This

5187-441: The format. Two new developments changed the nature of the mass-market paperback business. One was the decision by publishers to publish more recent best selling books than the older books originally published by Pocket Book. They sought reprint rights on new books and soon found themselves in competition for the biggest sellers, leading to bidding against each other for the rights and costing them more money. The second development

5278-443: The genre. Fantasy is a genre of fiction that uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme , or setting . Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common. Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes, respectively, though there

5369-479: The infamous Sweeney Todd . The premier ghost story writer of the 19th century was the Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu . His works include the macabre mystery novel Uncle Silas 1865, and his Gothic novella Carmilla 1872, which tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire. The vampire genre fiction began with John William Polidori 's " The Vampyre " (1819). This short story

5460-503: The influential author of The Princess and the Goblin and Phantastes (1858). William Morris was a popular English poet who also wrote several fantasy novels during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Wilkie Collins ' epistolary novel The Moonstone (1868) is generally considered the first detective novel in the English language, while The Woman in White is regarded as one of

5551-481: The introduction of steam-powered printing presses, pulp mills, automatic type setting, and a network of railways. These innovations enabled the likes of Simms and McIntyre of Belfast, Routledge & Sons (founded in 1836) and Ward & Lock (founded in 1854) to mass-produce cheap uniform yellowback or paperback editions of existing works, and distribute and sell them across the British Isles , principally via

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5642-666: The kind of boy-meets-girl story that can be illustrated by a ripe cheesecake jacket [cover]". The next year Dell Publishing , which was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. to publish pulp magazines , joined with Western Publishing to publish Dell Books . Like Avon, Dell followed the basic format established by Pocket Books. But within that format, "Dell achieved more variety than any of its early competitors [with its] . . . instantly identifiable format of vibrant airbrushed covers for its predominantly genre fiction", specialized logos and special features like maps and lists of characters. World War II brought both new technology and

5733-454: The market - Lion Books and Pyramid Books (both 1949), Fawcett Gold Medal Books (1950), Ace Books and Ballantine Books (both 1952), and Berkley Books (1955). U.S. paperbacks quickly entered the Canadian market. Canadian mass-market paperback initiatives in the 1940s included White Circle Books, a subsidiary of Collins (UK.); it was fairly successful but was soon outstripped by the success of Harlequin which began in 1949 and, after

5824-532: The market. In 1941, American News Company , a magazine distributor, bought a dime novel publisher partially owned by brother and sister Joseph Meyers and Edna Meyers Williams and hired them to organize a new company called "Avon Publications". Avon copied the basic format established by Pocket Books but differentiated itself by emphasizing, as a book on collecting paperbacks says, "popular appeal rather than loftier concepts of literary merit." In 1953, Time magazine summarized its books as "westerns, whodunits, and

5915-406: The mass market paperbound Universal-Bibliothek series from 10 November 1867. The German publisher Albatross Books revised the 20th-century mass-market paperback format in 1931, but the approach of World War II cut the experiment short. Albatross's innovations included a standardized size, use of new sans-serif fonts, use of logo and type on the cover without an illustration, and color-coding

6006-415: The mid-20th century, paperbacks can also be the preferred medium when a book is not expected to be a major seller and the publisher wishes to release the book without a large investment. Examples include many novels and newer editions or reprintings of older books. Because paperbacks tend to have smaller profit margins , many publishers try to balance the profit to be made by selling fewer hardcovers against

6097-601: The name "Penguin" became closely associated with the word "paperback" in Great Britain. In the United States, Robert de Graaf created the Pocket Books label in 1939, partnering with Simon & Schuster to issue a similar line of reprints. Because at first Pocket Books was the only publisher of paperbacks, the term "pocket book" became synonymous with paperback in English-speaking North America. (In France,

6188-498: The novel (and its "romance" version) during the nineteenth century, along with the growth of the mass-marketing of fiction in the twentieth century: this includes the gothic novel , fantasy , science fiction , adventure novel , historical romance , and the detective novel . Some scholars see precursors to the genre fiction romance novels in literary fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Samuel Richardson 's sentimental novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) and

6279-511: The novel, which recounted the adventures of a member of the English gentry in the French Revolutionary period, encouraged her to write a number of sequels for her "reckless daredevil" over the next 35 years. The play was performed to great acclaim in France, Italy, Germany and Spain, while the novel was translated into 16 languages. Subsequently, the story has been adapted for television, film,

6370-426: The novels of Jane Austen such as Pride and Prejudice (1813). Critics have often regarded genre fiction as having less artistic merit than literary fiction, but this assumption has been contested after the growth of fiction that blurs these boundaries and the serious study of genre fiction within universities. The following are some of the main genres as they are used in contemporary publishing: Crime fiction

6461-415: The paperback market. The leading paperback publishers often hired experienced pulp magazine cover artists, including Rudolph Belarski and Earle K. Bergey , who helped create the look and feel of paperbacks and set an appealing visual standard that continues to this day. Scores of well-known authors were published in paperback, including Arthur Miller and John Steinbeck . McClelland and Stewart entered

6552-449: The potential profit to be made by selling more paperbacks with a smaller profit per unit. First editions of many modern books, especially genre fiction , are issued in paperback. Best-selling books, on the other hand, may maintain sales in hardcover for an extended period to reap the greater profits that the hardcovers provide. The early 19th century saw numerous improvements in the printing, publishing and book-distribution processes, with

6643-469: The press was renamed to Edizioni Araldo . In subsequent years the name of the press was changed to CEPIM , Daim Press , and Altamira — sometimes being known by two names simultaneously. In c. 1990, it was renamed Sergio Bonelli Editore in honor of the younger Bonelli. The company has published Tex Willer , created by Gian Luigi Bonelli and Aurelio Galleppini , since 1948. Sergio Bonelli (pseudonym Guido Nolitta) and artist Gallieno Ferri 's Zagor

6734-606: The related genre of fantasy , historically science fiction stories were intended to have at least pretense of science-based fact or theory at the time the story was created, but this connection has become tenuous or non-existent in much of science fiction. Horror fiction aims to frighten or disgust its readers. Although many horror novels feature supernatural phenomena or monsters, it is not required. Early horror took much inspiration from Romanticism and Gothic fiction . Modern horror, such as cosmic horror and splatterpunk , tends to be less melodramatic and more explicit. Horror

6825-410: The same because wire display racks used in many locations could not hold wider books. With the larger size came a higher price, first 35 cents and then 50 cents. Because of its number-one position in what became a very long list of pocket editions, James Hilton 's Lost Horizon is often cited as the first American paperback book. However, the first mass-market, pocket-sized, paperback book printed in

6916-615: The size of a trade-sized book. The most common tankōbon sizes are Japanese B6 (128 × 182 mm) and ISO A5 (148 × 210 mm). Genre fiction Genre fiction , also known as formula fiction or popular fiction , is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. The main genres are crime , fantasy , romance , science fiction and horror —as well as perhaps Western , inspirational and historical fiction . Slipstream genre

7007-502: The term livre de poche , which translates as "pocket book", was used and is still in use today.) De Graaf, like Lane, negotiated paperback rights from other publishers, and produced many runs. His practices contrasted with those of Lane by his adoption of illustrated covers aimed at the North American market. To reach an even broader market than Lane, he used distributors of newspapers and magazines to distribute his books because they had

7098-405: The time of both Classical Greece and Rome . The "romance" is a closely related long prose narrative. Walter Scott defined it as "a fictitious narrative in prose or verse; the interest of which turns upon marvellous and uncommon incidents", whereas in the novel "the events are accommodated to the ordinary train of human events and the modern state of society". However, many romances, including

7189-471: The traveling public 1,277 unique titles. The Continental market also supported examples of cheap paper-bound books: Bernhard Tauchnitz started the Collection of British and American Authors in 1841. These inexpensive, paperbound editions, a direct precursor to mass-market paperbacks, eventually ran to over 5,000 volumes. Reclam published Shakespeare in this format from October 1857 and went on to pioneer

7280-430: The ubiquitous W. H. Smith & Sons newsagent found at most urban British railway stations. These paper bound volumes were offered for sale at a fraction of the historical cost of a book, and were of a smaller format, 110 mm × 178 mm ( 4 + 3 ⁄ 8  in × 7 in), aimed at the railway traveller. The Routledge's Railway Library series of paperbacks remained in print until 1898, and offered

7371-460: The whole structure of publishing." Sales soared, prompting Gold Medal editorial director Ralph Daigh to comment later, "In the past six months we have produced 9,020,645 books, and people seem to like them very well." In 1950 Gold Medal published 35 titles, in 1952, 66. Other paperback publishers saw Gold Medal's success and began to emulate it. Publishers Weekly reported in May 1952 that Avon had included three originals in its April releases and

7462-500: Was André Maurois ' Ariel . Lane intended to produce inexpensive books. He purchased paperback rights from publishers, ordered large print runs (such as 20,000 copies—large for the time) to keep unit prices low, and looked to non-traditional book-selling retail locations. Booksellers were initially reluctant to buy his books, but when Woolworths placed a large order, the books sold extremely well. After that initial success, booksellers showed more willingness to stock paperbacks, and

7553-562: Was Iain M. Banks who created a fictional anarchist, socialist, and utopian society named " The Culture ". The novels that feature in it include Excession (1996), and Inversions (1998). He also published mainstream novels, including the highly controversial The Wasp Factory in 1984. Nobel prize winner Doris Lessing also published a sequence of five science fiction novels the Canopus in Argos : Archives between 1979 and 1983. Terry Pratchett

7644-626: Was New American Library . Originally Penguin USA, it became a separate publisher in 1948 as the New American Library of World Literature when it separated from Penguin and Victor Weybright and Kurt Enoch took over. Its original focus was classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction. Eventually it shortened its name to New American Library and published books in the Mentor and Signet lines. New paperback publishers continued to enter

7735-564: Was an author of spy novels who depicted a shadowy world of espionage and counter-espionage, and his best known novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), is often regarded as one of the greatest in the genre. Frederick Forsyth writes thriller novels, including The Day of the Jackal (1971), The Odessa File (1972), The Dogs of War (1974) and The Fourth Protocol (1984). Ken Follett writes spy thrillers, his first success being Eye of

7826-597: Was called the Golden Age of Detective Fiction . Agatha Christie , a writer of crime novels, short stories and plays, is best remembered for her 80 detective novels and her successful West End theatre plays. Christie's works, particularly those featuring the detectives Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple , made her one of the most important and innovative writers in the development of the genre. Her most influential novels include The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926); one of her most controversial novels, its innovative twist ending had

7917-457: Was first published by the company in 1961. In the 1970s the company published Un uomo un'avventura ("A Man An Adventure"), a series of graphic novels by authors such as Bonvi , Guido Crepax , Hugo Pratt and Sergio Toppi . This Italian corporation or company article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Italian comics –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about

8008-505: Was inspired by the life of Lord Byron and his poem The Giaour . An important later work is Varney the Vampire (1845), where many standard vampire conventions originated: Varney has fangs, leaves two puncture wounds on the neck of his victims, and has hypnotic powers and superhuman strength. Varney was also the first example of the "sympathetic vampire", who loathes his condition but is a slave to it. Bram Stoker , yet another Irish writer,

8099-456: Was seeking more. It added that Dell was " 'thinking about' some systematic programs of original publishing," Lion Books had "a definite original publishing program in the works", and that Graphic had begun publishing originals about a year earlier. Bantam, Pocket Books, and New American Library said they were not going to publish originals. Also in 1952, Ace began publishing Ace Double Novel Books, two books printed in one volume for 35 cents, one

8190-475: Was the spinner rack , a metal pole with a four-sided wire frame designed to vertically hold rows of racks of paperback books. Retail store owners no longer had to devote feet of valuable counter space to low-profit paperbacks. Dozens of paperbacks could be displayed vertically in five or six square feet of floor space. (Similar racks were available for magazines and comic books.) By the late 1940s, paperback spinner racks were ubiquitous in large and small towns across

8281-619: Was the author of the seminal horror work Dracula and featured as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula , with the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing his arch-enemy. Dracula has been attributed to a number of literary genres including vampire literature , horror fiction , gothic novel and invasion literature . Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant London-based "consulting detective", famous for his intellectual prowess, skilful use of astute observation, deductive reasoning and forensic skills to solve difficult cases. Holmes' archenemy Professor Moriarty ,

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