Before working in publishing I rarely paid attention to the publisher, and especially not the imprint. Sure, there were names I recognized (funny enough, both Penguin and Random House being two of them), but before book blogging, I couldn’t tell you much about what that meant or anything like that. I was a consumer who found books on the shelves of Barnes & Noble or Border’s or a small used book store. And once I found an author I liked, I would get their books.
But turns out, it’s super helpful to know a bit more about imprints (especially if you want to work with or in one!). An imprint is the name (or brand) that publishers release under. Take Penguin Random House. It’s the largest trade publisher in the world, but is made up of over 300 imprints globally, representing distinct identities, editorial goals, and target audience. Some imprints and lines have a long history (G.P. Putnam was founded in 1838, Dutton in 1864, and Doubleday in 1897) and some are much more recent (like Ink & Willow, which launched under WaterBrook in 2020).
Often, each imprint will have an editorial focus and specializes in specific kinds of genres or books. For example, Del Rey publishes sci-fi and fantasy, WaterBrook is one of the faith based imprints. One World focuses on diverse perspectives on a variety of topics, especially social issues. Ballantine Books, on the other hand, has a diverse and wide-ranging editorial focus in both fiction and non-fiction. Then there are imprints that focus on children’s books, cookbooks, and everything in between.
Each imprint works to understand the target audience (If you work in publishing or are working on a proposal, you’ll hear this at least once a day!) and the demographic that their books are for. Knowing this helps to sell the book to the right people. And as consumers get to know their favorite authors, they can connect with the imprint, knowing they’ll find similar books that they will probably enjoy.
As I’ve only ever worked for Penguin Random House, all these examples come from that, but there are tons of smaller houses that do have one focus, much like the imprints of PRH (and historically many were one their own and then came under the PRH umbrella).
There is so much variety in publishing, so if you’re hoping to work in publishing, know there’s a place for you and many areas you can get your foot in the door.
And if you are an author hoping to get traditionally published, make sure you do the research and know where you want to land!
Are you familiar with imprints?
© 2025 Jamie Lapeyrolerie