An imprint of Random House, Villard Books was founded in 1983 and named after the Stanford White brownstone mansion on Madison Avenue (New York City) that served as Random's headquarters for twenty years. It established its reputation during the 1980s and 1990s through best-selling authors of nonfiction and fiction such as Jon Krakauer, Eve Ensler, Governor Jesse Ventura and Peter Greenberg. Villard also became known for its titles in the areas of humour, personal narrative and new-voice fiction (including the books of Laurie Notaro and Jon Katz).
Villard Books has published at least two Australian authors - Krisptopher Saknussemm and Fiona Giles.