Picador is an imprint (trade name) of Pan Macmillan in the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia, as well as of Macmillan Publishing in the United States. Both companies are owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. Picador was started in the UK in 1972 with the aim of publishing outstanding international writing in paperback. Picador authors have included Jonathan Franzen, Michael Chabon, Angela Carter, Thomas Pynchon, Bret Easton Ellis, and Salman Rushdie.