{{short description|Scottish publishing firm}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Multiple issues| {{original research|date=May 2018}} {{more citations needed|date=May 2018}} }} {{Infobox publisher | name = Thomas Nelson | image = Thomas Nelson (publisher) logo 2024.png | parent = HarperCollins | status = | founded = 1798<br />1854 (US) | founder = Thomas Nelson | successor = | country = Scotland | headquarters = Nashville, Tennessee | distribution = | keypeople = {{ubl|Mark Schoenwald (president & CEO)|Doug Lockhart (senior vice president – Sales & Marketing)}} | publications = Bibles, books, curriculum, digital content | topics = | genre = | owner = HarperCollins (News Corp) | imprints = | numemployees = Approximately 450 | revenue = {{profit}}$237.8 million (2005) | nasdaq = | url = {{URL|http://www.thomasnelson.com}} }}
'''Thomas Nelson''' is a publishing firm that began in West Bow, Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1798, as the namesake of its founder. It is a subsidiary of HarperCollins, the publishing unit of News Corp. It describes itself as a "world leading publisher and provider of Christian content".<ref>{{cite web|title=Company Profile|url=https://www.thomasnelson.com/about-us/company-profile/|access-date=2020-08-07|website=Thomas Nelson|language=en-US}}</ref>
Its most successful title to date is ''Heaven Is for Real''.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/heaven-is-for-real-best-seller-reaches-one-million-ebooks-sold-145825675.html |title='Heaven Is for Real' Best Seller Reaches One Million eBooks Sold |work=prnewswire.com |publisher=Thomas Nelson, Inc. |date=2 April 2012 |access-date=11 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404182515/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/heaven-is-for-real-best-seller-reaches-one-million-ebooks-sold-145825675.html |archive-date=4 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> In Canada, the Nelson imprint is used for educational publishing. In the United Kingdom, it was an independent publisher until 1962, and later became part of the educational imprint Nelson Thornes.
==British history== [[File:Memorial to Thomas Nelson at St Bernard's Well, Edinburgh by John Rhind.JPG|thumb|280px|Memorial to Thomas Nelson at St Bernard's Well, Edinburgh by John Rhind]] thumb|280px|Grave of Thomas Nelson, Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh
Thomas Nelson Sr. founded the shop that bore his name in Edinburgh in 1798, originally as a second-hand bookshop at 2 West Bow, just off the city's Lawnmarket,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digital.nls.uk/83401299|title=Edinburgh Post Office annual directory, 1832-1833|website=National Library of Scotland|page=142|access-date=2018-02-18}}</ref> recognizing a ready market for inexpensive, standard editions of non-copyright works, which he attempted to satisfy by publishing reprints of classics. By 1822, the shop had moved to 9 West Bow, and a second shop had opened at 230 High Street.<ref>Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1822</ref>
In 1835, the shop became a company, first as '''Thomas Nelson & Son''' when William joined, and in 1839 became '''Thomas Nelson & Sons''' when Thomas Jr. entered the business. Thomas Sr. died in 1861 and is buried in the extreme north-west corner of Grange Cemetery in Edinburgh.<ref>{{cite web |title=Grange Cemetery |url=http://gaedin.co.uk/wp/cemetery |publisher=Grange Association Edinburgh |access-date=27 July 2020}}</ref> William concentrated his talents on the marketing side, and Thomas Jr. devoted his to editing and production. In the mid-19th century, Walter Scott Dalgleish was an editor with the company.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Who's Who, 1897 |publisher=A. & C. Black |year=1897 |pages=208}}</ref>
The firm became a publisher of new books and, as the 19th century progressed, it produced an increasingly wide range of non-religious materials; by 1881, religion accounted for less than 6 per cent of the firm's output. Its Hope Park Works, located just east of the Meadows in Edinburgh, burned down in 1878, and the city council allowed temporary accommodation on the Meadows. In appreciation, the company funded the stone pillars at the east end of Melville Drive, close to Hope Park.
William Nelson died in 1887, and Thomas Jr. died in 1892. They were succeeded by George Brown, Thomas's nephew, who directed the company until Thomas III and Ian, Thomas Jr.'s sons, joined him and John Buchan as partners. Buchan, employed by the firm until 1929, dedicated his novel ''The Thirty-Nine Steps'' to Thomas III (Thomas Arthur Nelson) in 1914.<ref name=jbahw2>{{cite book|title=John Buchan and His World|pages=51–52}}</ref>
In 1915, Thomas Nelson took over the art publishing house ''T.C. & E.C. Jack'', based in Edinburgh and London. ''T.C. & E.C. Jack'' was founded in 1859 by Thomas Cheskolm Jack (1831–1886). After his death in 1886, his sons Thomas Chater Jack (1863–1939) and Edwin Chisholm Jack (1865–1939) took over the publishing house. ''T.C. & E.C. Jack'' was continued as an imprint by Thomas Nelson.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1914 Who's Who in Business: Company J - Graces Guide |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1914_Who%27s_Who_in_Business:_Company_J |archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate=2025-09-07 |work=gracesguide.co.uk}}</ref>
Ian Nelson took over as head of the family firm after Thomas Nelson III's death in action in 1917, during World War I.{{fact|date=May 2025}}
By the early 20th century, Thomas Nelson had become a secular concern in the United Kingdom. The First World War led to the temporary rundown of Nelson through the denial of foreign markets, the loss of manpower (including the death of Thomas III), and the general exigencies of wartime, and initiated its long-term decline. Much of the effort expended during the inter-war period represented merely an attempt to reverse that decline, particularly in expanding the education list and reducing the dependence on reprints.{{fact|date=May 2025}}
Ian Nelson remained head of the firm until his death in 1958. Ian Nelson's successor, his son Ronnie Nelson, seemed less interested in the successful management of the family firm than previous generations. In 1962, Thomas Nelson and Sons was absorbed into the Thomson Organisation in an effort to sustain its academic and educational publishing interests on a global scale. The presidency of the company then passed to Hubert Peter Morrison FRSE (who had been chairman since 1958).<ref>{{cite book|title=Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002|date=July 2006|publisher=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|isbn=0-902-198-84-X|url=https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf|access-date=2017-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074135/https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> The printing division of Nelsons was sold to the Edinburgh company Morrison and Gibb in 1968.
Until 1968, according to the curators of a Senate House Library exhibition, the company "specialised in producing popular literature, children's books, bibles, religious works and educational texts."<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.ull.ac.uk/exhibitions/nelson.shtml|title=Exhibitions, Thomas Nelson and Sons, Spreading the Word, 10 July – 6 September 2002|publisher=Senate House Library, University of London|access-date=9 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723174613/http://www.ull.ac.uk/exhibitions/nelson.shtml|archive-date=23 July 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the first publisher for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Thomson owned the company from 1960 until 2000. That year, it was acquired by Wolters Kluwer, who merged Nelson with its existing publishing arm, Stanley Thornes, to form Nelson Thornes.
==Original American history==
The American branch of Thomas Nelson was established in 1854 in New York.{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} In a December 1873 article on "Holiday Gifts" the ''New-York Tribune'' wrote:
{{bq|Thomas Nelson & Sons, No. 42 Bleecker-st., devote themselves specially to the publications of the Oxford University Press, from which issues a superb variety of Bibles, Prayer-books, and Hymnals. They are printed in every imaginary style, and bound in plain cloth, in calf, in Morocco, in Russia, in velvet, and in ivory. Besides these books, Messrs. Nelson have an attractive miscellaneous stock, in which a great many children's books appear, and some fine illustrated volumes."<ref>"Holiday Gifts". ''New-York Tribune''. 19 December 1873, p. 3. The entire "Nelson" entry is quoted here. It presents Nelson as a New-York company, not clearly as a publisher. Compare Macmillan: "The New-York agency of the London house of Macmillan & Co. is at 38 Bleecker-st. ..."</ref>}}
Nelson held the copyright for the American Standard Version of the Bible from 1901 until 1928 when it transferred the copyright to the International Council of Religious Education. In the 1930s, the company made a deal with this council (which later became part of the National Council of Churches) to publish the Revised Standard Version. The firm was sold to The Thomson Organization in 1960, and in 1962, the company failed to meet demand for this Bible translation. This, in turn, led the National Council of Churches to grant other publishers licenses for the work, leading to a dramatic fall in revenue for Nelson.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}
==Current United States company==
In 1969, Sam Moore's publishing company, Royal Publishers, purchased Nelson. Moore retained the company's name and logo. In the 1960s, Thomas Nelson moved its headquarters from New York to Camden, New Jersey. It moved again to Nashville, Tennessee, in the 1970s. From 1979 to 1982, Nelson developed the New King James Version of the Bible (also known as the Revised Authorized Version) and under Moore began diversifying the company with a gift division.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas Nelson Publishers |url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/thomas-nelson-publishers/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=Tennessee Encyclopedia}}</ref>
In 1992, Nelson purchased the Word music and books brand from Capital Cities/ABC. In 1997, the company split the two, spinning off the record label and printed music division, one of the largest church music companies, to Gaylord Entertainment. This led to a lawsuit by Gaylord in 2001 over the ''Word'' name, and it was settled when Nelson renamed its book division the W Publishing Group. That year also led to a corporate expansion by the purchase of the Cool Springs and Rutledge Hill Press labels.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas Nelson: The Beginning |url=https://200.hc.com/stories/thomas-nelson-the-beginning/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=HarperCollins Publishers}}</ref>
In 2003, World Bible Publishers was acquired by Nelson, and the fiction label WestBow Press made its debut (all books were later consolidated under the Nelson brand and WestBow Press was resurrected in 2009 to offer self-publishing services). Also, an imprint for Internet news source WorldNetDaily made its debut that year. The agreement dissolved, however, after 2004, and the former WND brand is now under the Nelson Current brand, including its authors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd (publisher) |url=https://archives.collections.ed.ac.uk/agents/corporate_entities/2313 |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=University of Edinburgh Archives}}</ref>
Thomas Nelson, now based in Nashville, publishes Christian authors, including Billy Graham, Max Lucado, John Eldredge, John Maxwell, Charles Stanley, Michael A. O'Donnell, Ted Dekker, John Townsend, and Dave Stone. Thomas Nelson Inc. in 2000 began marketing the Women of Faith conference, a concept devised by author Stephen Arterburn in 1995, after attending a church conference in Atlanta. As of 2013, the annual Women of Faith conference was attended by more than 400,000 women.{{cn|date=May 2025}} In 2005, Thomas Nelson launched the Revolve teen conferences, built on the Women of Faith model.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
Michael S. Hyatt, a 25-year veteran of the publishing industry, became president and CEO of the company on 18 August 2005, succeeding Sam Moore who served as the company's CEO for nearly 47 years.
In 2006, the private equity firm InterMedia Partners and other investors agreed to buy Thomas Nelson for $473 million. The transaction closed on 12 June 2006. The company operated as a private company. In the same year, Nelson acquired Integrity Publishers from Integrity Media.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas Nelson Acquires Integrity Book Publishing |url=https://authorlink.com/news/thomas-nelson-acquires-integrity-book-publishing-2/ |url-status=live |work=Authorlink |access-date=13 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013211829/https://authorlink.com/news/thomas-nelson-acquires-integrity-book-publishing-2/ |archive-date=13 October 2018}}</ref> In 2010, a group led by Kohlberg & Company bought a majority share of the company. In 2011, News Corporation<ref>Geert De Lombaerde, [http://nashvillepost.com/blogs/postbusiness/2011/11/7/thomas_nelsons_price_tag "Thomas Nelson's price tag"], on NashvillePost.com, 7 November 2011. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209043242/http://nashvillepost.com/blogs/postbusiness/2011/11/7/thomas_nelsons_price_tag |date=9 February 2012}}</ref> subsidiary HarperCollins<ref>{{cite magazine |date=31 October 2011 |title=HarperCollins to Acquire Thomas Nelson |magazine=Publishers Weekly |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/industry-deals/article/49334-harpercollins-to-acquire-thomas-nelson.html |access-date=11 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717234635/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/industry-deals/article/49334-harpercollins-to-acquire-thomas-nelson.html |archive-date=17 July 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> announced it had acquired Thomas Nelson. The acquisition closed in July 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=News Briefs: Week of July 16, 2012|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/53010-news-briefs-week-of-july-16-2012.html|work=publishersweekly.com|access-date=11 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323004306/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/53010-news-briefs-week-of-july-16-2012.html|archive-date=23 March 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Canadian history== When Thomson sold Thomas Nelson UK, it kept the Canadian operations of the publisher as part of the company's education division. Thomson acquired Irwin in 2002.<ref name=Donnelly>{{cite web |last=Donnelly |first=Judy |title=Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited |url=http://hpcanpub.mcmaster.ca/case-study/clarke-irwin-amp-company-limited |url-status=dead |work=Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing |publisher=McMaster University, Canadian Heritage |access-date=24 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802223022/http://hpcanpub.mcmaster.ca/case-study/clarke-irwin-amp-company-limited |archive-date=2 August 2013}}</ref>
Thomson Education was spun off as Cengage Learning in the United States and Canada in 2007. The Nelson name lives on through the Canadian company Nelson Education Ltd., an educational publisher. In 2015, Nelson Education was handed over to debtholders, which included Ares Management, Citigroup, Mudrick Capital Management and Sound Point Capital Management.<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada » Lenders to soon take control of PE-backed Nelson Education |url=https://www.pehub.com/canada/2015/06/04/lenders-to-soon-take-control-of-pe-backed-nelson-education/ |url-status=live |website=PE Hub|date=4 June 2015|access-date=25 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129085459/https://www.pehub.com/canada/2015/06/04/lenders-to-soon-take-control-of-pe-backed-nelson-education/ |archive-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> In 2017, McGraw-Hill Education sold its K-12 education holds of McGraw-Hill Ryerson (formerly Ryerson Press) to Nelson.<ref>{{cite web |title=NELSON Acquires McGraw-Hill Ryerson's K-12 Business Becoming the Largest Canadian-Operated Publisher |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nelson-acquires-mcgraw-hill-ryersons-k-12-business-becoming-the-largest-canadian-operated-publisher-622007003.html |website=PR Newswire|date=11 May 2017|access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523230635/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nelson-acquires-mcgraw-hill-ryersons-k-12-business-becoming-the-largest-canadian-operated-publisher-622007003.html |archive-date=23 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also== * Zondervan
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography== * [http://www.tennessean.com/business/archives/04/09/59922421.shtml?Element_ID=59922421 Cumberland snaps up conservative-leaning series from Nelson] in ''The Tennessean'', 2004-10-19 *[http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2006/02/20/daily7.html Private equity firm buying Thomas Nelson] in ''Nashville Business Journal'', 2006-02-21 * Dempster, John A. H., "Thomas Nelson and Sons in the Late Nineteenth Century: A Study in Motivation, Part One", in ''Publishing History'', 13, 1983, pp. 41–87; "Part Two" in ''Publishing History'', 14, 1983, pp. 5–63. * Moore, Sam, ''American By Choice: The Remarkable Fulfilment of an Immigrant's Dreams'', Nashville: Nelson, 1998. * Tebbel, John, ''A History of Book Publishing in the United States'', New York and London: Bowker, four volumes, 1972–1981.
==External links== * [http://www.thomasnelson.com/ www.thomasnelson.com] – Thomas Nelson (USA) * [http://www.westbowpress.com/ www.westbowpress.com] – WestBow Press (self-publishing services) * [http://www.nelson.com/ www.nelson.com] – Nelson Education (Canada) * [http://www.sapphire.ac.uk/thomas-nelson-and-sons Thomas Nelson and Sons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625110230/http://www.sapphire.ac.uk/thomas-nelson-and-sons |date=25 June 2017 }} – SAPPHIRE (The Scottish Archive of Print & Publishing History Records) * [http://www.collectionnelson.fr/ Nelson's Collections] – history of Nelson and its numerous book series * {{Open Library publisher|Thomas Nelson|Thomas Nelson and Sons}}
{{HarperCollins}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas Nelson (Publisher)}} Category:1798 establishments in Scotland Category:1854 establishments in New York (state) Category:Book publishing companies based in Tennessee Category:Book publishing companies of Scotland Category:Christian publishing companies Category:Companies based in Edinburgh Category:Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee Category:Evangelical Christian publishing companies Category:HarperCollins books Category:History of Edinburgh Category:Publishing companies established in 1798