Dorling Kindersley, also known as DK, is an international publishing company that specializes in illustrated reference books for all ages.

It was originally a book-packing company founded by Christopher Dorling and Peter Kindersley in 1974 before changing to being a publisher in 1982.

A distinct style of many DK books are illustrations and text on white backgrounds, starting with their first release being a First Aid Manual for the British voluntary medical services.

Richard Holmes is Professor of Biographical Studies at the University of East Anglia, and editor of the Harper Perennial series Classic Biographies launched in 2004. His is a Fellow of the British Academy, has honorary doctorates from UEA and the Tavistock Institute, and was awarded an OBE in 1992. His first book, Shelley: The Pursuit, won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1974. Coleridge: Early Visions won the 1989 Whitbread Book of the Year, and Dr Johnson & Mr Savage won the James Tait Black Prize. Coleridge: Darker Reflections, won the Duff Cooper Prize and the Heinemann Award. He has published two studies of European biography, Footsteps: Adventures of a Romantic Biographer in 1985, and Sidetracks: Explorations of a Romantic Biographer in 2000.