Hodder & Stoughton

What Hodder & Stoughton does

Hodder & Stoughton is a UK trade publishing company founded in 1868 and headquartered in London, operating as a core imprint within Hachette UK (a Lagardère-owned publishing group). The company publishes both fiction and non-fiction titles across two branded divisions: Hodder Fiction — covering thriller, crime, romance, horror, fantasy, adventure, and contemporary literary fiction with authors including Stephen King, John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, Peter Robinson, David Nicholls, and John Connolly — and Hodder Non-Fiction — covering memoir, history, biography, popular culture, and lifestyle with authors including Michael Caine, Ben Okri, Miranda Hart, Joe Lycett, Alex Ferguson, Michael Lewis, Lucy Worsley, and Ranulph Fiennes. Titles are released simultaneously across multiple formats (hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook), each with its own ISBN and price point, priced in GBP with paperbacks typically £10.99–£12.99, hardcovers £18.99–£25, and audiobooks £24.99–£31.99.

The business model is a one-time / perpetual-license sale of physical and digital books through a multichannel distribution stack: major online retailers (Amazon, Wordery), high street chains (Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwell's), online marketplaces (Bookshop.org, Hive), independent retailers, and the company's own direct-to-consumer website. Marketing runs through the official website, email newsletter, organic social (Facebook, Twitter/X), affiliate-linked retailer copy, and seasonal catalogues/events. The company earns revenue at the unit level with no subscription or recurring-license component, and performance is anchored on the back-catalogue renewal rate plus front-list hits — including 2025 bestseller placements such as 'Bat Eater' (Sunday Times #4), 'Party of Liars' (People Magazine, Goodreads, Apple, Amazon best-of-July selections), and 'Other Worlds Than These' by Stephen King.

Hodder & Stoughton has been publishing for over 150 years, giving it a deep backlist and established author relationships that constitute its primary durable competitive assets. Distribution, corporate services, and rights infrastructure are provided by parent group Hachette UK; the 2014 acquisition of Quercus Publishing evidences a recent inorganic growth vector within that structure. Geographic reach is anchored in the UK with global distribution through online retailers and audiobook/ebook platforms, and primary customers are general adult readers across fiction and non-fiction genres, plus genre-specific and author-loyal sub-segments.

Name

Hodder & Stoughton

Legal name

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Website

https://hodder.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1868

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Hodder & Stoughton is a 157-year-old UK trade publisher, operating as an imprint of Hachette UK. It publishes fiction and non-fiction across multiple genres in print, ebook, and audiobook formats, distributed through major retailers, high street bookshops, and audiobook platforms to general adult readers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB), Hardcover & Premium Editions Publishing (MPAJAAAE), E-book Subscription & Bundling Services (MPAJAMAB)

Keywords

• Trade book publishing
• Fiction and non-fiction
• Hardcover and paperback
• Ebook publishing
• Audiobook publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Hodder & Stoughton generates revenue through the sale of physical books (paperback and hardcover), ebooks, and audiobooks across multiple retail channels including major online retailers, high street bookshops, and their own website. The company publishes across multiple genres including fiction (thriller, romance, horror, literary fiction), non-fiction (memoir, history, popular culture), and genre fiction.
2. Multiformat Publishing: Books are published across multiple formats including paperback, hardcover, ebook, and audiobook editions, each with separate ISBNs and pricing, allowing multiple revenue streams from a single title.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hodder & Stoughton is a UK-based trade publisher founded in 1868 that publishes and sells fiction and non-fiction books in multiple formats including hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook. It operates as an imprint under Hachette UK, releasing titles across multiple genres for the general consumer market.

Product overview

Hodder & Stoughton is a book publishing company operating as an imprint of Hachette UK, with over 150 years of history. The company operates two core publishing divisions: Hodder Fiction (publishing household names like Stephen King, John Grisham, and Jodi Picoult across all fiction genres) and Hodder Non-Fiction (publishing global bestsellers and iconic brands including Michael Lewis, Lucy Worsley, and Alex Ferguson). The portfolio includes fiction titles across Adventure, Fantasy, Horror & Ghost Stories, Crime & Mystery, Romance, Suspense, and Modern & Contemporary Fiction genres, as well as non-fiction titles covering history, biography, memoir, and lifestyle subjects. Books are published in multiple formats including hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook. Key titles include Stephen King's 'Other Worlds Than These' (fantasy/horror, £25 hardcover), Kelsey Cox's 'Pretty Dead Things' (thriller, £22 hardcover), Rebecca Jenshak's 'Lucky Shot' (romance, £10.99 paperback), and Keith Brymer Jones's 'Firing Earth' (ceramics history, hardcover).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hodder Fiction: Publishes household names and undiscovered gems across all genres, including John Grisham, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, Peter Robinson, David Nicholls and John Connolly.
• Hodder Non-Fiction

Products and services

• Hodder Fiction
• Hodder Non-Fiction

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Hachette UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHodder & Stoughton operates as an imprint under Hachette UK, one of the UK's major publishing groups. The parent company provides distribution infrastructure, publishing support, and corporate services to Hodder & Stoughton.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bloomsbury Publishing: London-headquartered independent general trade publisher with comparable fiction and non-fiction lists; operates as a publicly listed peer, providing a useful margin and capital benchmark.
• Faber & Faber: Historic UK trade publisher with similar heritage positioning; overlaps in literary fiction, non-fiction, and author-driven brand publishing.
• Canongate Books: Edinburgh-based independent UK trade publisher with overlapping literary fiction and non-fiction lists; competes for similar genre readers and bestseller placement.
• Transworld Publishers: Sister Hachette UK imprint publishing bestselling fiction and non-fiction; directly comparable in author roster scale, format strategy, and distribution channels.
• HarperCollins UK: Major UK general trade publisher across fiction and non-fiction in print, ebook, and audiobook; competes for the same authors, retail shelf space, and bestseller lists.
• Simon & Schuster UK: UK division of a major US trade publisher; competes head-to-head on the same thriller, romance, and non-fiction lists in UK retail and digital channels.
• Pan Macmillan: UK trade publisher with overlapping fiction and non-fiction lists across multiple imprints; directly comparable in genre breadth, format strategy, and retail channel mix.
• John Murray Press: Sibling Hachette UK imprint publishing commercial fiction and non-fiction; directly comparable as a fellow Hachette imprint with shared infrastructure but distinct author lists.
• Penguin Random House UK: UK arm of the world's largest trade book publisher; directly comparable as a general trade fiction and non-fiction publisher serving the same UK retail and consumer channels.

Regional players

• Bonnier Books UK: UK arm of Scandinavian media group; comparable as a multi-imprint trade publisher with overlapping genre fiction and non-fiction lists serving UK readers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hodderbooks
• Facebookfacebook.com/hodderbooks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/63408

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hodder & Stoughton