Penguin Group Launches Classics Site

The Penguin Group has launched
PenguinClassics.com,
a major source of information about literary classics that will
carry interviews, research, discussion, and readers’ and teachers’
guides.

The publisher, a subsidiary of Pearson plc and owner of
such famous imprints as Viking, G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Signet,
says it is exploring potential alliances with e-commerce and
distribution partners.

“With the launch of PenguinClassics.com we are creating the
modern-day equivalent of the old-fashioned salon in which the
enduring values of the world’s greatest literature are discussed,
debated and passed on to a new generation of readers,” said Michael Lynton,
chairman and CEO of The Penguin Group.

The new Web site is the latest move in an ongoing expansion
of the Penguin brand. Recently, the group launched Penguin
Music Classics, a new classical music label, in conjunction
with the PolyGram Entertainment Group.

At PenguinClassics.com, readers will find that the site is
organised under the broad categories of Reference, Opinion and
Commentary, Interactivity and Searching. Within these areas
are innumerable essays, guides, web resources, bulletin boards,
interviews, and even games and puzzles.

The site’s design is
said to be based on the features of the familiar Penguin
Classics books.