TarcherPerigee

TarcherPerigee is an American nonfiction publishing imprint whose roots reach back to a Los Angeles company founded in 1973 by Jeremy P. Tarcher. The imprint became associated particularly with books about the human potential movement, psychology, health, spirituality, philosophy, creativity, self-improvement, and alternative or esoteric ideas. Its list later broadened beyond those core subjects to encompass a wide range of commercial nonfiction. Jeremy P. Tarcher entered publishing in the early 1960s, initially assembling packaged book projects connected with celebrities including Phyllis Diller, Johnny Carson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Buddy Hackett, and Joan Rivers. His professional direction changed after he attended a retreat at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, a major center of the human-potential movement. Tarcher saw an underserved audience for books dealing with consciousness, personal development, health, and spirituality. When established New York publishers showed little interest in many of these subjects, he created his own publishing venture in Los Angeles. The company developed a reputation for taking on authors and themes that were not yet central to mainstream publishing. Its list included works in psychology, wellness, philosophy, alternative medicine, New Age spirituality, creativity, and success literature. Several books associated with the imprint became influential or commercially successful, including W. Brugh Joy's Joy's Way, Betty Edwards's Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Marilyn Ferguson's The Aquarian Conspiracy, and Bikram Choudhury's Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class. The company also published the English-language edition of Heinrich Harrer's Seven Years in Tibet. Relationships connected to Esalen, including Tarcher's association with Michael Murphy, helped the publisher identify authors and ideas emerging from the human-potential and consciousness communities. Putnam acquired the company in 1991, after which its offices moved from Los Angeles to New York. Tarcher continued to lead the business until early 1996, when Joel Fotinos became publisher. The imprint subsequently operated within the expanding Penguin publishing structure. In 2015, Tarcher merged with the sister imprint Perigee, creating the combined TarcherPerigee name. The resulting imprint has maintained a broad nonfiction identity. Its subjects include wellness, self-help, spirituality, occultism and esoterica, creativity, social consciousness, prosperity, health, fitness, and personal achievement. Its author roster has included figures associated with success literature, such as Napoleon Hill, Wallace D. Wattles, Dale Carnegie, and James Allen, as well as writers and specialists including Robin Norwood, Stephen Mansfield, Betty Edwards, Heinrich Harrer, Marilyn Ferguson, Bikram Choudhury, Michael Muhammad Knight, and Jim Knipfel. The imprint is best understood as a specialized nonfiction brand within a large trade-publishing group rather than as an independent publisher. Public reference material identifies Penguin Group as its historical corporate home; its current corporate ownership is associated with Penguin Random House.

TarcherPerigee originated with Jeremy P. Tarcher's Los Angeles publishing company, established in 1973. Tarcher had begun his career in publishing in the early 1960s, working on packaged books associated with entertainment personalities. After attending a retreat at the Esalen Institute, he became interested in publishing material related to human potential, consciousness, health, psychology, and spirituality. Conventional New York publishers were reportedly reluctant to take on many books in these areas, so Tarcher created an independent venture to serve the emerging market. The company built its identity by publishing authors and subjects that sat outside traditional mainstream nonfiction. Its early and notable list included books on psychology, philosophy, wellness, creativity, yoga, alternative health, New Age spirituality, and personal transformation. Works associated with the company included Joy's Way by W. Brugh Joy, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards, The Aquarian Conspiracy by Marilyn Ferguson, and Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class by Bikram Choudhury. Tarcher also issued the English translation of Heinrich Harrer's Seven Years in Tibet. The company's links with Esalen were significant, particularly through Tarcher's relationship with Michael Murphy, an Esalen co-founder and an author connected with the Tarcher list. The business was acquired by Putnam in 1991, and its offices moved from Los Angeles to New York. Jeremy Tarcher remained in charge until early 1996. Joel Fotinos was then appointed publisher. During the following years, the imprint became part of the larger Penguin publishing organization while continuing to develop a list centered on mind, body, spirituality, self-improvement, creativity, and related nonfiction. Its scope also expanded to include broader commercial nonfiction and books concerning social consciousness, prosperity, fitness, and popular culture. In 2015, Tarcher was merged with the sister imprint Perigee, producing the TarcherPerigee identity. The combined imprint retained the Tarcher and Perigee associations with practical and inspirational nonfiction. Its authors and titles have included writers in success literature, spirituality, psychology, wellness, and personal achievement, among them Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, Wallace D. Wattles, James Allen, Robin Norwood, Stephen Mansfield, Betty Edwards, Marilyn Ferguson, Bikram Choudhury, Michael Muhammad Knight, and Jim Knipfel. Jeremy P. Tarcher died in Los Angeles in 2015 from complications related to Parkinson's disease. TarcherPerigee is now presented as an imprint within Penguin Random House, although historical descriptions often identify Penguin Group as the parent organization. It functions as a curated publishing label rather than a separately listed public company, with its commercial identity based on subject expertise and recognizable nonfiction categories rather than a single product format.

• 2015

  Tarcher and Perigee merge

  [1]TarcherPerigeeen.wikipedia.org

  The Tarcher and Perigee sister imprints were combined under the TarcherPerigee name.

• 1996

  Joel Fotinos becomes publisher

  [1]TarcherPerigeeen.wikipedia.org

  After Jeremy Tarcher's period leading the company, Joel Fotinos was named publisher in early 1996.

• 1991

  Putnam acquires the company

  [1]TarcherPerigeeen.wikipedia.org

  Putnam purchased Tarcher, and the company's offices were moved from Los Angeles to New York.

• 1973

  Jeremy P. Tarcher establishes the publishing company

  [1]TarcherPerigeeen.wikipedia.org

  Jeremy P. Tarcher founded the Los Angeles publishing venture that became the basis of the Tarcher imprint, initially concentrating on human potential, psychology, health, philosophy, and spirituality.

A specialist nonfiction imprint focused on mind, body, spirituality, wellness, self-development, creativity, and adjacent cultural or esoteric subjects.

• Wellness and spirituality · 1973

  Mind, body, and spirituality nonfiction

  This is the imprint's defining category, covering books on spirituality, consciousness, meditation, personal transformation, health, psychology, and related approaches to well-being. The list grew from the human-potential and New Age publishing communities and has included both practical guides and broader cultural or philosophical works.

• Personal development

  Self-improvement and success literature

  TarcherPerigee publishes books concerned with achievement, prosperity, motivation, habits, confidence, and personal effectiveness. The imprint's associated authors include classic success-literature figures such as Napoleon Hill, Wallace D. Wattles, Dale Carnegie, and James Allen, alongside more contemporary writers.

• Psychology and creativity

  Creativity and psychology books

  Books in this area address cognition, artistic practice, learning, emotional life, and the development of individual capabilities. Betty Edwards's Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is an especially notable example of the imprint's interest in accessible psychology and creativity instruction.

• Health and fitness

  Yoga, fitness, and alternative-health titles

  The imprint has published practical titles dealing with yoga, physical conditioning, wellness, and alternative approaches to health. Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class is among the works specifically associated with this part of the list.

• Translated nonfiction

  English-language translated nonfiction

  Tarcher has also issued English-language editions of nonfiction originating in other languages. Heinrich Harrer's Seven Years in Tibet is identified as one such publication associated with the imprint.

• 2015

  Combination with PerigeeStrategy

  Background

  Tarcher and Perigee operated as sister imprints with overlapping interests in practical and inspirational nonfiction.

  Action taken

  The two imprints were merged under the TarcherPerigee name.

  Aftermath

  The combined imprint continued publishing across wellness, self-help, spirituality, creativity, prosperity, and related nonfiction categories.

  Source

• 1991

  Putnam acquisitionM&A

  Background

  The independent Tarcher business had developed a specialized nonfiction list but was entering a larger corporate publishing structure.

  Action taken

  Putnam acquired the company and relocated its offices from Los Angeles to New York.

  Aftermath

  Tarcher continued as a branded publishing operation within the broader Penguin-related organization.

  Source

1. 1TarcherPerigeeen.wikipedia.org