Metropolitan Books
Metropolitan Books is a Henry Holt imprint in New York, co-founded by Sara Bershtel in the 1990s and known for Barbara Ehrenreich, Atul Gawande and Thomas Frank.
- Editions tracked
- 27
- First editions
- 16
- Books
- 27
- Years
- 1931 to 2020
Metropolitan Books is a publisher based in New York. We track 27 editions it published between 1931 and 2020, 16 of them first editions across 27 books. Each book lists its first edition and the points that identify it.
About Metropolitan Books
Metropolitan Books is a New York non-fiction and literary imprint of Henry Holt and Company, co-founded in the mid-1990s by Sara Bershtel and known for politically engaged authors such as Barbara Ehrenreich, Atul Gawande and Thomas Frank.
History. Sources disagree on the founding year: Publishers Weekly gave 1995 in a 2019 report and 1997 in a 2022 report. Bershtel, a co-founder, became publisher in 2008 and was promoted to senior vice-president and publisher in 2019 to lead a planned expansion of the imprint. Holt is owned by the German Holtzbrinck group and operates within Macmillan in the United States.
Authors. Metropolitan's list has included Barbara Ehrenreich, Atul Gawande, Thomas Frank, Susan Faludi, Naomi Klein, Noam Chomsky, Greg Grandin, Joe Sacco, Edward Snowden, Elizabeth Warren, the Nobel laureate Herta Müller and the Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Fraser.
Later years. In September 2022 Holt laid off the imprint's staff, including Bershtel, who left on 14 October 2022; associate publisher Riva Hocherman was reported to be staying on at Holt. Holt said further news on Metropolitan's future would follow.
We have not yet written the guide to Metropolitan Books's first-edition conventions. Until we do, check each book's own page: we list its points where we know them. Know how Metropolitan Books marked its firsts? Tell us.
Authors
Series
Published by Metropolitan Books
Frequently asked questions
How many Metropolitan Books books does MyVolumes track?
We track 27 editions published by Metropolitan Books, 16 of them first editions, across 27 books.
Where these facts come from
- Schrank Makes Shifts at Holt, Publishers Weekly, 2019 (publishersweekly.com)
- Holt Lays Off Metropolitan Books Staff, Publishers Weekly, 2022 (publishersweekly.com)
- Metropolitan Books to Be Disbanded, Publishers Lunch, 2022 (lunch.publishersmarketplace.com)
- Henry Holt and Company, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 19 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.