Literary Guild of America
The Literary Guild of America is a mail order book club selling low-cost editions of selected current books to its members. Established in 1927 to compete with the Book of the Month Club, it is currently owned by Bookspan. It was a way to encourage reading among the American public through curated and affordable selections.
Also recorded as Literary Guild
Literary Guild of America
- Founded
- 1927
- Headquarters
- United States
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Documentary summary
The Literary Guild of America is a mail order book club selling low-cost editions of selected current books to its members. Established in 1927 to compete with the Book of the Month Club, it is currently owned by Bookspan. It was a way to encourage reading among the American public through curated and affordable selections.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
gnd · 1600005-5 · wikidata · Q6647599 · wikipedia · Literary Guild
In this article
History
History
The Literary Guild was established in 1927 by Samuel W. Craig and Harold K. Guinzberg as a competitor to the Book of the Month Club, which had started in the previous year. Craig asserted that he first incorporated the company in 1922 and reincorporated it in 1926 after hearing of the success of similar book clubs in Germany. In 1929 the founders created a subsidiary operation, the Junior Library Guild, which also continues to this day.
Institutional history
Dated record
Institutional history
The full dated record · 2 entries
1927
Literary Guild of America established.
1927
Literary Guild of America is recorded from 1927.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- United States
Method of operation
Books are selected by an editorial board. The chairman was Carl Van Doren. The chosen books are printed in special editions identified by the Literary Guild imprint on the title page. They are published on the same date as the trade editions. Charter subscribers were to receive twelve books a year at half the price of the trade editions for an annual fee of eighteen dollars.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Literary Guild”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1600005-5, Literary Guild of America.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6647599: Literary Guild of America
General reference · Wikidata
References and sources
References and sources
• References • Sources * *
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1600005-5, Literary Guild of America.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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