Michael Joseph (26 September 1897 – 15 March 1958) was a bestselling British author before he turned publisher.

After a period as a literary agent for Curtis Brown, Joseph founded his own publishing imprint as a subsidiary of Victor Gollancz Ltd, Michael Joseph Ltd, established 5 September 1935.

He loved guiding them towards commercial success, bringing their brilliant stories to the wider world. In 1985, Michael Joseph became the commercial imprint of Penguin Books.

Our founder’s legacy – the nurturing of writers and making of bestsellers – remains proudly in our blood to this day.

Penguin Michael Joseph publishes some of the world’s most popular authors.

We specialise in women’s fiction, crime, thriller, cookery, memoir and lifestyle books.

Many of our authors are now, or soon will be, household names, here in the UK and around the world.

We seek out the very best authors in their field and bring their books to the widest possible audience. We take an author’s vision and turn it into a beautiful book people can’t help but talk about.