A Publishing Legend
Quality and Independence since 1949

John Calder (pictured left outside the Calder Bookshop on The Cut) started his publishing house in 1949 when manuscripts were plentiful and many books that were in demand were out of print - the immediate post-war-years paper was scarce and severely rationed.

During the 1950s he built up a list of translated classics which included the works of Chekhov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Goethe and Zola among others. Calder then began to publish American titles. As a result of Senator Joe McCarthy's "witch-hunt" he was able to acquire significant American authors as well as books on issues of civil liberty which mainstream publishers in New York were afraid to keep on their lists. This led to the development of close ties with those smaller American firms who resisted the McCarthyite pressure.

By the late 1950s, Calder was publishing a group of new writers who would change the face of twentieth-century literature. One of these was Samuel Beckett; of whom Calder published all his novels, poetry, criticism, and some of his plays. Others became synonymous with the school of the "nouveau roman" or "new novel". These included Alain Robbe-Grillet, Marguerite Duras, Claude Simon, Nathalie Sarraute and Robert Pinget. Other European novelists, playwrights and poets included Heinrich Böll, Dino Buzzati, Eugène Ionesco, Fernando Arrabal, René de Obaldia, Peter Weiss and Ivo Andric. Calder was soon launching new experimental British writers such as Ann Quin, Alan Burns, Eva Tucker and R.C. Kennedy - who, influenced by their European counterparts, became part of the avant-garde of the early 1960s.

From his experience of authors' tours, John Calder saw that readers much enjoyed hearing authors air their ideas in public - often in heated debate. He persuaded the Edinburgh Festival to stage large literary conferences - the first of their kind - which in 1962 and 1963 were immensely successful. They attracted many of the world's leading writers as well as others whose names were not yet familiar to the public. Following their visit to Scotland, Calder began to publish the previously banned work of two such writers: Henry Miller and William Burroughs. Controversy also surrounded the publication of Alexander Trocchi's Cain's Book, which was a success in spite of a minor obscenity trial in Sheffield. Hubert Selby's "Last Exit to Brooklyn", although well reviewed, had a more serious case brought against it; first in a private prosecution by a Tory MP; then at the Old Bailey. John Mortimer led a successful appeal and the company was vindicated after losing in both lower courts.

In 1963 the company changed its name to Calder and Boyars to accommodate a new partner, but went back to its original name when the partnership was dissolved in 1975. Although as much as possible has been kept in print and several new authors have been published, the company has resisted the trend to mergers and take-overs that have characterized the last twenty years. Calder Publications has become smaller, but is still independent and has retained its place in the affection and respect of our readers and intelligent booksellers.

Since 1949, Calder Publications has published many books on all the arts: on musical subjects, especially opera, as well as on painting, the theatre and critical and philosophical theory. Calder's authors have achieved 19 Nobel Literature Prizes and three for Peace, and we fully expect that number to increase.

A complete account of the life of Calder Publications and its founders, Pursuit, is available in hardcover, priced at £30/$45. The book gives not only a record of over half a century of publishing and literary activity but also a portrait of a life that entered politics and influenced all areas of the arts.

Browse the Calder Publications List >

The Calder Bookshop
(also known as The Bookshop Theatre)

In 2000 John Calder opened the Calder Bookshop on the Cut. The bookshop is now undergoing a period of change and expansion. It specializes in literary fiction, poetry and drama, and hosts a variety of discussions, literary readings, film showings, music events and theatre performances. The shop is located near the Old Vic (and opposite the Young Vic) on 51 The Cut, close to Waterloo station. If you have never been there, please come along to browse our selection of books. A full list of events (up to three months in advance) is available from the bookshop. The monthly programme is also available on our website.

Calder Bookshop
51 The Cut
London SE1 8LF
Tel. +44 (0)20 7620 2900

For more information and to place book orders, please email Mark Jackson, the bookshop manager, on "info" followed by the @ sign, followed by calderbookshop.com, or click the link below.

Contact Our Bookshop >

Bookshop Events Programme >

Browse the Calder Publications List >