William Shinker founded Gotham Books in New York City on September 4, 2001. With a publishing career spanning more than thirty years, Shinker brought his considerable talent and experience to Penguin Group (USA) to create this new imprint, a tightly focused list of high-quality, commercial nonfiction. Gotham Books, so named by Shinker to convey the energy and excitement of its list, bears a colophon designed by Eric Baker of Eric Baker Designs that evokes a mythic skyscraper made of open books.