Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Online
Harlequin is both synonymous with romance and a major publishing entity. Under the Harlequin umbrella are many different types of romance ranging from inspirational to traditional to sexy. Each imprint has its own personality and devoted fanbase. Today, Harlequin is owned by Torstar, a Canadian news company.
Established in 1949, Harlequin reinforced its business model when it acquired Mills & Boon in 1968. The publisher made it a point to provide consumers with an identifiable, reliable product. By breaking out types of romances into "imprints", Harlequin could guarantee that its readers received a sweet or sexy read without any surprises. This branding extends to the size, shape, and even color of the books. Harlequin does not change the basic look of its product without careful consideration -- generally lines are updated when they begin to look old-fashioned.
Though there were many entries into the Series or Category market over the years, Harlequin was largely able to fend off competition. This ended in 1980 when business needs lead Harlequin to bring its distribution in-house. Simon & Schuster, who had handled that aspect of the business, responded by creating a division known as Silhouette. Silhouette was subsquently purchased by Harlequin, effectively ending all competition in the market.
In 1986, Harlequin created the Worldwide Library imprint in an attempt to capitalize on the growing Single Title market. Though Harlequin's authors appreciated the opportunity to write longer, more complex books, the imprint did not thrive, ceasing publication in 1988. In part, Worldwide did not last because Harlequin could not determine what the imprint should be. Harlequin launched the MIRA imprint in 1993 with more success.
Though Harlequin does not necessarily support breakout authors -- indeed their standard distribution methods do not encourage [[Bestseller|]]bestsellers, authors are compensated and promoted based on a tiered schedule. New authors receive lower advances and have no negotiating power when it comes to royaties. Mid-list authors often receive additional promotional support and may benefit from higher advances. Bestsellers, a group that includes superstars such as Nora Roberts have the most leverage with the publisher.
Harlequin's success comes on several fronts, including its ability to make its product available in non-traditional settings, such as grocery stores (though other publishers now take advantage of this approach). Harlequin's "Reader Service", a book club that delivers all titles in a specific line to a reader each month, creates a steady revenue stream while satisfying the appetites of voracious readers. Unlike many publishers, Harlequin takes a front-list approach, focusing only on the sales generated by the initial release of a book. Most publishers rely upon front-list for initial numbers, but count on back-list sales for a long-tail revenue stream. The rise of retailers such as Amazon.com have affected Harlequin's approach to back-list product, but not in a significant manner. Harlequin, of course, retains the rights to all titles it publishes for a length of time, and often re-issues popular authors such as Nora Roberts and Jennifer Crusie.
Today, Harlequin Enterprises encompasses more than women's fiction, including publishing titles under the Worldwide imprint again -- this time, as Worldwide Mystery.
For twenty years, Harlequin was lead by Brian Hickey. Hickey was replaced by Donna Hayes in 2001.
