Peter Owen Publishers

General information

We are an independent publisher and a family-run business. We have always had to punch above our weight to make an impact, so if we say that in the process we have published countless great works, including those of seven Nobel Prize winners, you will understand why we’re proud of our record . . .

Peter Owen started his company, aged twenty-four, six years after the Second World War. He ran the business from home, with a typewriter as his only equipment. Soon, however, the company started to flourish, enabling him to employ some staff. His first editor was Muriel Spark, and he was able to bring some of the very best international literature to what was a very insular British market.

In the sixty years since then, although the industry has changed beyond recognition, Peter Owen Publishers continues the tradition of producing new and interesting writing. As well as the seven Nobel Prize winners, the company boasts a backlist that includes some of the most talented and important writers from all over the world.