Kensington Books

Established in 1974, Kensington, America's independent publisher, located in New York City, is the foremost independent publishing house in the United States publishing in hardcover, trade paperback, and mass market. We publish over 500 books annually in both fiction and non-fiction. Kensington has sweeping and diverse imprints, including Kensington, Citadel Press, Dafina Books, Zebra Books, Pinnacle Books, Brava, Aphrodisia, K-Teen and our digital imprints eKensington and the newly acquired Lyrical Press. These imprints are well-known for popular women's fiction, African-American titles, multicultural young adult fiction, nonfiction, as well as true crime, Western, and mystery titles. Kensington continues to be the foremost American publisher of romance novels. Our History Kensington Publishing Corp. is the last remaining independent U.S. publisher of hardcover, trade and mass market paperback books. This year marks our 40th year in business. From the time our very first book (Appointment in Dallas by Hugh McDonald), became a bestseller, Kensington has been known as an astute and determined David-vs.-Goliath publisher of titles in the full spectrum of categories, from fiction and romance to health and nonfiction. Through the Kensington, Zebra, Pinnacle and Citadel press imprints, the company releases close to 500 new books per year and has a backlist of more than 3,000 titles. We are considered a leader and innovator in such areas of publishing as African-American (Dafina), Gay and Lesbian, and of course romance. The Kensington staff now totals close to 90 employees who take their inspiration from from its late founder Walter Zacharius. During his distinguished 50 year publishing career he introduced dozens of bestselling writers, and developed countless marketing innovations. Steven Zacharius, became President and Chief Executive Officer of Kensington in 2005. Kensington boasts a dedicated sales force—men and women both in the home office in New York and in the field around the country, with their fingers on the pulse of the market. The company is able to respond quickly to trends, to put books into the hands of readers faster than larger publishers can, and to support them with targeted promotional and marketing programs to generate reader excitement. Kensington continues to be a full-range publisher large enough to command respect in the market, yet small enough to maintain author, reader and retailer loyalty.