1. Home
  2. Penguin Random House
  3. Publishing houses
  4. Penguin Michael Joseph
  • Michael Joseph books
    Michael Joseph books

Penguin Michael Joseph: bestsellers are in our blood . . .

Michael Joseph, our founder, was already a bestselling author before he turned publisher in 1935 – the same year Penguin paperbacks arrived. He loved authors. In particular, Michael Joseph loved guiding them towards commercial success, bringing their brilliant stories to the wider world. In 1985, exactly half a century after their mutual founding, Michael Joseph became the commercial imprint of Penguin Books. Our founder’s legacy – the nurturing of writers and making of bestsellers – remains proudly in our blood to this day.

Our books

Penguin Michael Joseph publishes some of the world’s most popular authors. We specialise in women’s fiction, crime, thriller, cookery, memoir and lifestyle books. Many of our authors are now, or soon will be, household names, here in the UK and around the world. We seek out the very best authors in their field and bring their books to the widest possible audience. We take an author’s vision and turn it into a beautiful book people can’t help but talk about. In a crowded market, our books shine.

Recent highlights

Future releases

General fiction

Marian, Jojo, Liane, Lesley, Dawn, Stephen. Our novelists are recognised around the world as the finest storytellers anywhere. These are writers that readers come back to every year because, without fail, they tell entertaining, thrilling and, above all, enjoyable stories every single time. We sign up and launch only those debut novelists whose stories we believe the world will fall in love with. Whatever you’re interested in we have a bestselling author to spin you a bewitching tale.

Marian Keyes

Marian Keyes is a phenomenon. The multi-million copy, internationally bestselling author of some of the most widely loved, genre-defying novels of the past thirty years - such as Rachel's Holiday, Anybody Out There and Grown Ups - has millions of fans around the world. They are irresistibly drawn by her warmth and wit, fearless honesty, relatable characters and relationships, and sheer storytelling magic. Not only has Marian inspired and entertained countless readers, but also the next generation of writers too. As a beloved author herself, Marian is a passionate champion of storytellers everywhere, playing an active role in encouraging new voices. She has been the chair of judges for the Comedy Women in Print prize, a sponsor of the Curtis Brown Creative Marian Keyes scholarship, and most recently ran her own hugely popular Instagram Live series bringing free creative writing courses to thousands of viewers. Marian also uses her position to raise some of the most challenging issues of our time, including addiction, immigration, depression, domestic violence and the Repeal the Eighth campaign. Both critically acclaimed and commercially unstoppable, Marian's fourteenth novel Grown Ups went straight to No.1 in hardback and paperback in four global territories: UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards Audiobook of the Year. In addition to her novels, Marian has written two collections of journalism, as well as been the star of the second series of her hit show Between Ourselves aired on BBC Radio 4 at the start of 2021. Again Rachel, the sequel to her ground-breaking novel Rachel's Holiday, will be Marian's fifteenth novel. Marian is based in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

Marian Keyes

Liane Moriarty

Liane Moriarty is the bestselling author of nine novels, including The Hypnotist's Love Story, The Husband's Secret, Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers. Her novels have sold more than twenty million copies worldwide and been translated into over forty languages. Big Little Lies is now an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning HBO series, produced by and starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. Nine Perfect Strangers has been adapted for TV, starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy. Liane lives in Sydney with her husband, son and daughter.

Liane Moriarty

Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry is an award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director. He rose to fame alongside Hugh Laurie in A Bit of Fry and Laurie (which he co-wrote with Laurie) and Jeeves and Wooster, and was unforgettable as General Melchett in Blackadder. He has hosted over 180 episodes of QI, and has narrated all seven of the Harry Potter novels for the audiobook recordings. He is the bestselling author of four novels - The Liar, The Hippopotamus, Making History and The Stars' Tennis Balls - as well as three volumes of autobiography - Moab is My Washpot, The Fry Chronicles and More Fool Me. Mythos, Heroes and Troy, his retelling of the Greek myths, are all Sunday Times bestsellers.

Stephen Fry

Jane Fallon

Jane Fallon is the multi-award-winning television producer behind shows such as This Life, Teachers and 20 Things to Do Before You're 30. Her Sunday Times bestselling books - Getting Rid of Matthew, Got You Back, Foursome, The Ugly Sister, Skeletons, Strictly Between Us, My Sweet Revenge, Faking Friends, Tell Me a Secret, Queen Bee and Worst Idea Ever - have sold over a million copies in the UK.

Jane Fallon

Giovanna Fletcher

Giovanna Fletcher is a number one bestselling author and podcast creator. With eleven titles under her belt so far, she is one of the UK's most successful women's fiction authors; she has also written two non-fiction works focusing on parenting and motherhood. Her podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby has over seven million downloads to date and has featured a range of celebrity guests, including the Duchess of Cambridge. Giovanna is an ambassador for The Prince's Trust, a patron for CoppaFeel!, and she also works closely with Tommy's and Save the Children. In 2020 she was crowned I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here's Queen of The Castle.

Giovanna Fletcher

Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes is a novelist and journalist. Her books include the bestsellers Me Before You, After You and Still Me, The Girl You Left Behind, The One Plus One and her short story collection Paris for One and Other Stories. The Giver of Stars is her most recent bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick. Her novels have been translated into forty-six languages, have hit the number one spot in twelve countries and have sold over thirty-eight million copies worldwide. Me Before You has now sold over fourteen million copies worldwide and was adapted into a major film starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. Jojo lives in Essex with her family.

Jojo Moyes

Lesley Pearse

International bestselling author Lesley Pearse has lived a life as rich with incidents, setbacks and joys as any found in her novels. After her mother died, Lesley spent three years in an orphanage before she was taken home when her father remarried. Resourceful, determined and willing to have a go at almost anything Lesley left home at sixteen. By the mid Sixties she was living in London, sharing flats, partying hard and married a trumpet player in a Jazz rock band. She has also worked as a nanny, a Playboy bunny and designed and made clothes to sell to boutiques. It was only after having three daughters that Lesley began to write. The hardships, traumas, close friends and lovers from those early years were inspiration for her beloved novels. She published her first book at 49 and has not looked back since. Lesley is still a party girl.

Lesley Pearse

Dawn French

Dawn French has been making people laugh for 30 years. As a writer, comedian and actor, she has appeared in some of this country's most long-running and celebrated shows, including French and Saunders, The Vicar of Dibley, Jam and Jerusalem, and more recently, Roger and Val Have Just Got In. Her first three novels, A Tiny Bit Marvellous, Oh Dear Silvia and According to YES, are all Sunday Times bestsellers.

Dawn French

Conn Iggulden

Conn Iggulden is one of the most successful authors of historical fiction writing today. He has written three previous bestselling historical series, including Wars of the Roses. Dunstan is a stand-alone novel set in the red-blooded world of tenth-century England, and The Falcon of Sparta is a stand-alone in which Iggulden returns to the Ancient World. The first book in his new Athenian series, The Gates of Athens, was a Sunday Times top five bestseller. Protector is the latest instalment in the Athenian series.

Conn Iggulden

Eve Chase

Eve Chase writes rich, page-turning mysteries set in beautiful places, thick with secrets. The Glass House was a Sunday Times bestseller, Richard and Judy Book Club pick and word-of-mouth lockdown hit. Longlisted for the HWA Gold Crown award 2018, The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde went on to become an Amazon bestseller. In 2019, Black Rabbit Hall won the Saint-Maur en Poche prize in Paris for Best Foreign Fiction and also went on to be an Amazon bestseller. Before writing novels, Eve worked as a journalist in magazines and newspapers. Married with three children, she lives in Oxford, alongside a very hairy golden retriever called Harry.Say hello on Instagram and Twitter @EvePollyChase and facebook.com/EveChaseAuthor. For press reviews and more detail about her books visit evechase.com

Eve Chase

Crime and Thriller fiction

Penguin Michael Joseph’s crime and thriller list is not stuffed with the usual suspects. Each and every one of our writers has their own unique – and sometimes maverick – take on their field. Whether it is historical epics or action-packed adventures, missing-person cases or twisty psychological thrillers, our bestselling authors strive to bring something new to the genre.

Conn Iggulden

Conn Iggulden is one of the most successful authors of historical fiction writing today. He has written three previous bestselling historical series, including Wars of the Roses. Dunstan is a stand-alone novel set in the red-blooded world of tenth-century England, and The Falcon of Sparta is a stand-alone in which Iggulden returns to the Ancient World. The first book in his new Athenian series, The Gates of Athens, was a Sunday Times top five bestseller. Protector is the latest instalment in the Athenian series.

Conn Iggulden

Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler was the author and co-author of a great number of international bestsellers, including the famous Dirk Pitt® adventures, such as Celtic Empire; the NUMA® Files adventures, most recently Fast Ice; the Oregon Files, such as Marauder; the Isaac Bell historical thrillers, which began with The Chase; and the recent Fargo Adventures, which lastly included Wrath of Poseidon. Cussler died in 2020.

Clive Cussler

C. J. Tudor

C. J. Tudor's love of writing, especially the dark and macabre, started young. When her peers were reading Judy Blume, she was devouring Stephen King and James Herbert. Over the years she has had a variety of jobs, including trainee reporter, radio scriptwriter, dog walker, voiceover artist, television presenter, copywriter and, now, author. Her first novel, The Chalk Man, was a Sunday Times bestseller, has sold in over forty countries and will be developed into a six-part drama with BBC Studios Production. Her second novel, The Taking of Annie Thorne, was also a Sunday Times bestseller as was her third novel The Other People. Her fourth novel, The Burning Girls, was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection and is being adapted for TV by award-winning screenwriter Hans Rosenfeldt, creator of The Bridge and Marcella. She lives in Sussex with her family. Twitter @CJTudor Facebook @CJTudorOfficial

C. J. Tudor

Gillian McAllister

Gillian McAllister has been writing for as long as she can remember. She graduated with an English degree before working as a lawyer. She lives in Birmingham, where she now writes full-time. She is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Everything But the Truth, Anything You Do Say, No Further Questions, The Evidence Against You, How To Disappear and the Richard & Judy Book Club pick That Night. She is also the creator and co-host of the popular Honest Authors podcast.

Gillian McAllister

Tim Weaver

Tim Weaver is the Sunday Times bestselling author of eleven thrillers, including No One Home and You Were Gone. He has been nominated for a National Book Award, twice selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club, and shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award. He is also the host and producer of the chart-topping Missing podcast, which features experts in the field discussing missing persons investigations from every angle. A former journalist and magazine editor, he lives near Bath with his wife and daughter.

Tim Weaver

Alex North

Alex North was born in Leeds, where he now lives with his wife and son. He studied Philosophy at Leeds University, and prior to becoming a writer he worked there in their sociology department. The Whisper Man was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, and is being published in more than 30 languages.

Alex North

Gregg Hurwitz

Gregg Hurwitz is the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Evan Smoak thrillers Orphan X, The Nowhere Man, Hellbent, Out of the Dark, Into the Fire, and Prodigal Son. He is also the author of You're Next, The Survivor, Tell No Lies and Don't Look Back. He lives with his family in LA, where he also writes for the screen, TV and comics.

Gregg Hurwitz

Claire Douglas

Claire Douglas has worked as a journalist for fifteen years, writing features for women's magazines and national newspapers, but she's dreamed of being a novelist since the age of seven. She finally got her wish after winning the Marie Claire Debut Novel Award, with her first novel, The Sisters, which was followed by Local Girl Missing, Last Seen Alive, Do Not Disturb, Then She Vanishes and Just Like the Other Girls. Her latest novel, The Couple at No 9, was a Sunday Times top 3 bestseller and a Kindle number 1. She lives in Bath with her husband and two children.

Claire Douglas

Cookery

Penguin Michael Joseph has been home to the country’s bestselling cookery writer – Jamie Oliver – for over twenty years. As he has grown in stature so our list has swelled to include the brightest, freshest chefs, food writers and dieticians, helping us all to create scrumptious treats as well as eat healthily, cater for big occasions or cook family meals that cost just a few pennies.

Jamie Oliver

A global phenomenon in food and campaigning, Jamie Oliver has inspired millions of people to cook fresh, delicious food from scratch. Jamie Oliver is a global phenomenon in food and campaigning. During a 20-year television and publishing career he has sold over 46 million books worldwide, and achieved an estimated global TV audience reach of 67 million across 182 territories. As a result Jamie has inspired millions of people to enjoy cooking fresh, delicious food from scratch. Through his organisation, Jamie has set an ambitious goal to halve the level of UK childhood obesity by 2030, and improve everyone's health and happiness through food. His belief that business can be a force for good in driving positive change saw the Jamie Oliver Group achieve the prestigious B-Corp status in July 2020. Jamie has now published 24 best-selling cookery books, making him the top-selling non-fiction author in UK history. Jamie's 2019 title Veg has sold over 1M copies worldwide and is now the UK and Australia's best-selling vegetarian cookbook since records began. Jamie's latest book 7 Ways was released internationally in August 2020. Alongside his work in TV and publishing, Jamie also connects with audiences across multiple digital platforms, creating and appearing in exclusive content for jamieoliver.com, the Jamie Oliver YouTube channels and a variety of social platforms. His portfolio of successful restaurants now spans 21 countries around the world, and his growing range of food and kitchen products features everything from kitchenware and utensils to various food products including herbs & spices, pasta, sauces and much more. Jamie started cooking at his parents' pub, The Cricketers, in Clavering, Essex, at the age of eight. After leaving school he began a career as a chef that took him to the River Café, where he was famously spotted by a television production company and the Naked Chef was born. In 2001 Jamie left the Naked Chef behind when he set up his first Fifteen restaurant in London, which marked the start of a 15-year journey training disengaged young people for careers in the catering industry. A few years later, he led the call for improved school dinners in the UK, resulting in huge - and lasting - change to the entire school food system. Since then, Jamie's national and international campaigns have continued to revolutionize the way people feed themselves and their families, and to galvanize governments and industry alike to help drive positive change in food education and public health. All of his commercial activities strive to promote and define new best-practice standards. Jamie now lives in Essex with his wife Jools and their five children.

Jamie Oliver

Nadiya Hussain

Since winning 2015's Great British Bake Off in a finale watched by over 13 million viewers, Nadiya Hussain has become a national treasure. She has presented several of her own BBC2 cookery series to great acclaim, with episodes reaching on average 1.9 million viewers each week. Her next cookery series, Nadiya's Fast Flavours, will air on BBC2 in autumn 2021, accompanied by her brand new TV tie-in cookbook. Her series have also been shown internationally on Netflix and her cookbooks have so far been published into the USA, Germany and the Netherlands, with more territories expected to follow. Nadiya's other projects have included several standalone travelogue TV programmes, a series of childrens books and a memoir, a reporting role for The One Show, a range of cookware and several partnerships with major brands. Nadiya writes a regular column for The Times and has become recognised as a commentator on mental health after opening up about her own struggles with anxiety. Born in Luton to British Bangladeshi parents, Nadiya now lives in Milton Keynes with her husband, Abdal, and their three teenage children. She was recently awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting and the culinary arts. Her previous cookery titles include Nadiya's Kitchen, Nadiya's British Food Adventure, Nadiya's Family Favourites, Time to Eat and Nadiya Bakes.

Nadiya Hussain

Amelia Freer

Amelia Freer (FdSc, DipION, mBANT) is a qualified nutritional therapist and author of the bestselling Nourish & Glow: The 10-Day Plan, Eat Nourish Glow and Cook Nourish Glow. Amelia embarked on a career in nutrition after years of struggling with her own diet and now uses her expertise to transform the lives of her clients and readers. Amelia works with busy clients eager to fulfil their potential by changing their diet. Amongst her success stories are famous names such as Boy George, James Corden and Sam Smith.

Amelia Freer

Meal Prep King

John Clark and Charlotte Deniz, based in Bolton and Blackpool, have lost an incredible combined weight of 15 stone. They are now showing others how to achieve permanent weight-loss in an easy, affordable, healthy way.

Meal Prep King

Lifestyle

When it comes to books about how we live, Penguin Michael Joseph has the best authors with the very best advice. Whether you’re seeking happiness through cleaning, wanting to feel energised and revitalised, looking for help with exercise or some style advice, or embarking on a full mindfulness regime, you’re only a few pages away from a healthier, happier you.

Mrs Hinch

Sophie Hinchliffe (Mrs Hinch) is 28 years old and - in her own words - loves to clean AKA Hinch. Sophie coined the term 'Hinching' for cleaning, and shares her Hinching adventures on her hugely popular Instagram account. Sophie is a big believer in the idea that a happy home can help create a happy mind, and decided to write a book packed with tips to help shine your sink and soothe your soul. Mrs Hinch is married to Mr Hinch and they live in Essex with their dog Henry Hinch.

Mrs Hinch

Dr Julie Smith

Dr Julie Smith is a clinical psychologist with over a decade of professional experience. She is also an online educator and TikTok star with more than 2.7 million followers.

Dr Julie Smith

Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle is widely recognized as one of the most inspiring and visionary spiritual teachers in the world today. With his international bestsellers, The Power of Now and A New Earth-translated into 52 languages-he has introduced millions to the joy and freedom of living life in the present moment. His teachings focus on the significance and power of Presence, the awakened state of consciousness, which transcends ego and discursive thinking. Eckhart sees this awakening as the essential next step in human evolution. The New York Times has described him as "the most popular spiritual author in the United States", and in 2011, Watkins Review named him "the most spiritually influential person in the world".

Eckhart Tolle

Gyles Brandreth

Gyles Brandreth is a writer, broadcaster, veteran of Just A Minute, QI and The One Show, former MP and Government Whip, now Chancellor of the University of Chester and founder of the 'Poetry Together' project bringing schoolchildren and older people together to learn poetry by heart. His many books include the best-selling poetry anthology, Dancing by the Light of the Moon, and the international best-seller about spelling and punctuation, Have You Eaten Grandma? With Susie Dent, the lexicographer from Countdown, he co-hosts the award-winning podcast, Something Rhymes With Purple. With Dame Sheila Hancock he presents Great Canal Journeys on Channel 4. With Dame Maureen Lipman he is a regular on Celebrity Gogglebox. Gyles is married to writer and publisher Michèle Brown and has three children, seven grandchildren, and lives in London with his wife, his jumpers, and Nala, the neighbour's cat.

Gyles Brandreth

Memoir

It could be the secrets behind the success of the already famous or it could be a newly discovered tale – either way, we turn our authors’ memoirs into memorable bestsellers. We only seek out people who’ve got a real story to tell, one that we believe readers are dying to hear and we help our authors connect with their audiences, hosting events up and down the country, where they can meet legions of fans, old and new.

Raynor Winn

Since travelling the South West Coastal Path, Raynor Winn has become a regular long-distance walker and writes about nature, homelessness and wild camping. Her first book, The Salt Path, was a Sunday Times bestseller and shortlisted for the 2018 Costa Biography Award. In The Wild Silence, Raynor explores readjusting to life after homelessness. She lives in Cornwall with her husband Moth.

Raynor Winn

Daisy May Cooper

Daisy May Cooper is an award-winning comedy actress and writer. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2018 for her role as Kerry Mucklowe in the BBC Three series This Country, a mockumentary-style show about the eccentricities of life in rural England, which she co-created and co-wrote with her brother, Charlie Cooper. This Country has also won multiple BAFTA awards. She recently starred in Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield, and has featured on TV shows including Avenue 5, Doc Martin and The Wrong Mans.

Daisy May Cooper

Meet our Managing Director

Louise Moore

Managing Director, Penguin Michael Joseph

Penguin Michael Joseph Press Office

Contact for enquiries relating to titles from Penguin Michael Joseph.

PMJPublicity@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies to make our website work. If you click 'Accept All’ we will use cookies to understand how you use our services and to show you personalised advertising and other content. You can change your cookie settings by clicking 'Manage Cookies'. For more information please see our Cookie Policy

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience.

For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions. See More.

Analytics

Analytics cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. These cookies may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. See More.

Preferences & Features

Preference and Feature cookies allow our website to remember choices you make, such as your language preferences and any customisations you make to pages on our website during your visit. See More.

Targeting / Advertising

Targeting cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you and your interests. They perform functions like preventing the same content from reappearing, ensuring ads are displayed and, in some cases, selecting content based on your interests. See More.