Virgin Books

{{Short description|British book publisher}} {{Use British English|date=February 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{More citations needed|date=June 2009}}

{{Infobox publisher | image = [[Image:Virgin Books.png]] | owner = [[Random House]] (90%) <br /> [[Virgin Group]] (10%) | status = Active | founded = {{Start date|1979}}<ref name="penguinbooks">{{cite web|title=Virgin Books – More about Virgin Books|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.uk/publishers/ebury/virgin-books/|access-date=31 March 2016|archive-date=2 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902135548/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.uk/publishers/ebury/virgin-books/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | founder = [[Richard Branson]] | successor = | country = United Kingdom | headquarters = London | distribution = [[The Book Service]] | keypeople = | publications = Books | topics = | genre = | imprints = | revenue = | numemployees = | url = {{URL|penguin.co.uk/company/publishers/ebury/virgin-books.html}} }}

'''Virgin Books''' is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group [[Random House]], and 10% owned by [[Virgin Group]], the company originally set up by [[Richard Branson]] as a [[record label|record company]].

==History== Virgin established its book publishing arm in the late 1970s; in the latter part of the 1980s Virgin purchased several existing companies, including [[W. H. Allen & Co.|WH Allen]], well known among ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fans for their [[Target Books]] imprint; Virgin Books was incorporated into WH Allen in 1989, but in 1991 WH Allen was renamed Virgin Publishing Ltd.

Virgin Publishing's early success came with the ''Doctor Who'' [[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]] novels, officially licensed full-length novels carrying on the story of the popular science-fiction television series following its cancellation in 1989. Virgin published this series from 1991 to 1997, as well as a range of ''Doctor Who'' reference books from 1992 to 1998 under the '''Doctor Who Books''' imprint.

In recent times the company is best known for its commercial non-fiction list, which includes business, health and lifestyle, music, film, and celebrity biographies. [[Richard Branson]]'s autobiography ''[[Losing My Virginity]]'', released in 1998, was an international best-seller at the time, and continues to sell well. His follow-up title ''Business Stripped Bare'' was published in September 2008. Virgin Business Guides included titles by [[Robert Craven]], Paul Barrow and Rachelle Thackray. More recently the company has enjoyed success with [[Robert H Frank]]'s ''The Economic Naturalist'', where the author had his economics students pose interesting questions from everyday life and explain them through economics.

[[Random House]], through its United Kingdom division, acquired a 90% stake in the company in March 2007.<ref name="sale">Joel Rickett, [http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/publisher/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003553676 Random House UK buys Virgin Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926225412/http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/publisher/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003553676 |date=26 September 2007 }}, ''[[The Bookseller]]'', 5 March 2007 (via Internet Archive)</ref> In November 2009, Virgin became an independent imprint within [[Ebury Publishing]], a division of the Random House Group.<ref>Benedicte Page, [http://www.thebookseller.com/news/101574-virgin-joins-ebury-stable-sadler-leaving.html "Virgin joins Ebury stable, Sadler leaving"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091207031816/http://www.thebookseller.com/news/101574-virgin-joins-ebury-stable-sadler-leaving.html |date=7 December 2009 }}, ''[[The Bookseller]]'', 2 November 2009</ref>

==Imprints== Other popular ranges have included various [[erotic fiction]] lines: * '''Black Lace''' specializes in [[erotica]] and [[erotic romance]] written by female authors specifically for heterosexual female readers. The imprint does not publish novels written by men partly as a marketing scheme, partly to better appeal to their target demographic. The books explore women's sexuality as well as such themes as [[BDSM]], [[group sex]] and [[bisexuality]]. The imprint began publishing in 1993, has published over 250 titles and sold over three million books. In 2006, Black Lace developed three specific lines within the imprint: contemporary, historical and paranormal. Black Lace also publishes short story anthologies, novella collections and in 2007 launched its first trilogy, a series of werewolf erotica by [[Mathilde Madden]]. The imprint marked its fifteen-year anniversary in 2008 with re-issues of several of its original novels. In 2009, Virgin announced that Black Lace would add no new titles in 2010.<ref name=bookseller2>Benedicte Page, [http://www.thebookseller.com/books/book-news/90338-erotica-on-hold-for-black-lace-and-nexus-at-virgin.html Erotica on hold for Black Lace and Nexus at Virgin]{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[The Bookseller]]'', 6 July 2009</ref> The line was relaunched in 2012.<ref>Benedicte Page, [http://www.thebookseller.com/news/ebury-revive-black-lace.html Ebury to revive Black Lace], ''[[The Bookseller]]'', 26 April 2012. {{Archive url|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429043657/http://www.thebookseller.com/news/ebury-revive-black-lace.html|date=2012-04-29}}</ref> * '''Nexus Books''', [[sadomasochism|sado-masochistic]] pornography written mostly for men who have sex with women, and women who have sex with men or women. In 2009, Virgin announced that Nexus would add no new titles in 2010.<ref name=bookseller2/> * '''Idol''' for gay men (defunct). * '''Sapphire''' for lesbians (defunct).

==References==

==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.virginbooks.com/}}

[[Category:Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Virgin Group|Books]] [[Category:BDSM publishers]] [[Category:British companies established in 1979]] [[Category:1979 establishments in England]] [[Category:Publishing companies established in 1979]]