Penguin Books is a British publisher founded in 1935 by Allen Lane. Its most emblematic products are its paperbacks. The first Penguin paperbacks were published in 1935, but as an imprint of Bodley Head. It is now owned by Pearson PLC.
Imprints of Penguin Books include Puffin Books, for children's literature. They have also acquired Ladybird Books, Dorling Kindersley and the Rough Guides .
Former Penguin imprints include Roc, for science fiction and fantasy and Pelican Books, for non-fiction.
In the early days Penguin paperbacks had distinctive colour schemes: orange and white for general fiction, green and white for crime fiction, and dark blue for biographies. Some recent publications of literature from that time have duplicated the original look.
Controversial titles published by Penguin include Lady Chatterley's Lover, Spycatcher and The Satanic Verses.
Penguin Books is a division of the worldwide Penguin Group. Its counterpart in the United States is Penguin Group (USA). Penguin is the lead publisher for the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
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