W.W. Norton

W.W. Norton & Company is an independent American publisher established in 1923 by William Warder Norton and Margaret D. Norton. The company began as a small operation focused on publishing quality books and has grown into one of the largest privately held publishers in the United States.

Norton is particularly renowned for its academic and educational publishing, including widely adopted college textbooks in history, literature, psychology, and the sciences. The company also publishes trade books for general audiences, including works of fiction, biography, and narrative nonfiction. Its imprints and divisions serve diverse markets from university presses to trade publishing.

The publisher is known for its commitment to editorial quality and author relationships, maintaining independence from larger media conglomerates. Norton has become a standard publisher for many academic disciplines and maintains significant influence in shaping college curricula through its textbook offerings.