Kensington is a paperback-led independent New York publisher founded in 1974, home of Zebra and Pinnacle. Most of its books first appeared as mass-market paperbacks, and Zebra also reissued older stories.
Kensington Pub. Corp is a publisher active from 1981. We track 141 editions it published between 1981 and 2024, 124 of them first editions across 141 books. How Kensington Pub. Corp marked its first editions is set out below, with a checker for the year on your title page.
Kensington Publishing Corp. is a family-owned independent publisher in New York, founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius and Roberta Grossman. It grew out of Lancer Books, the paperback house Zacharius had run from 1961 to 1973, and it began with paperback romance; the company's own account says it started as a historical romance publisher with $67,000 of capital.
Its Zebra and Pinnacle paperback lines both appeared in 1975. In the early years the books were sold mostly through railway stations, airports, bus terminals and drugstores rather than bookshops. Current imprints include Kensington, Zebra, Pinnacle, Dafina, Citadel, Kensington Cozies, John Scognamiglio Books and Erewhon, covering romance, suspense, mystery, westerns, historical fiction, fantasy and true crime.
Kensington took over the publishing assets of Holloway House in 2008, the ebook publisher Lyrical Press in 2014 and the speculative fiction publisher Erewhon Books in 2022. Penguin Random House Publisher Services distributes its books under a 2014 agreement. Authors on its list include Fern Michaels, Lisa Jackson, Joanne Fluke and William W. Johnstone.
Walter Zacharius died in March 2011, aged 87. His son Steven, who joined in 1993, is chairman, president and chief executive, and Steven's son Adam also works in the firm. Kensington describes itself as the largest wholly independent commercial publisher left in America.
Holding a copy? The first edition checker shows Kensington Pub. Corp's practice for the year on your title page.
Kensington began as a paperback house, and Zebra and Pinnacle are mass-market paperback lines. Many of its titles never had a hardback; for those, the first printing of the paperback is the first edition.
Kensington began as a paperback house, and Zebra and Pinnacle are mass-market paperback lines. Many of its titles never had a hardback; for those, the first printing of the paperback is the first edition. 1970s to 1980s - Zebra and Pinnacle started in 1975, and their books were sold largely outside bookshops, through stations, airports and drugstores. 1990s to 2000s From 2010
We track 141 editions published by Kensington Pub. Corp, 124 of them first editions, across 141 books.
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 22 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
