Richard Simon and Max Schuster launched the company in 1924 with $500 of pooled capital. They began operations in New York City with a book of crossword puzzles from the New York World as their first product.
Simon & Schuster operates on a planned publishing strategy that bypasses traditional author submissions. Editors generate ideas and hire writers to execute them based on current trends rather than waiting for manuscripts to arrive naturally.
Gulf+Western acquired Simon & Schuster on the 28th of January 1975 through an eight-for-one stock swap. The company later changed hands again in 1994 when Viacom purchased Paramount Publishing and reverted the name back to Simon & Schuster.
US federal judge Florence Y. Pan blocked the merger on the 31st of October 2022 citing antitrust concerns. The deal was officially nullified in November 2022 after an appeal attempt failed.
By 2024, the company publishes approximately 2,000 titles annually across 35 different imprints. These divisions cover adult fiction, children's literature, and specialized non-fiction markets including Star Trek licenses under Pocket Books.