Tor - Forge was founded by Tom Doherty in 1980 and sold to St. Martin's Press in 1986. Along with St. Martin's Press, Henry Holt and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, it became part of the Holtzbrinck group, now known as Macmillan Publishers. Tor and Forge are the two primary imprints of Tom Doherty Associates. Forge publishes an array of fictional titles, including historical novels and thrillers. Tor Books also publishes two imprints for young readers: Starscape (for readers 10 years of age and up) and Tor Teen (for readers 13 years of age and up).
A United Kingdom sister imprint, Tor UK, also exists and specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror, while also publishing young adult crossover fiction based on computer games franchises. Tor UK maintains an open submission policy. Notable authors published by Tor and Forge include Kevin J. Anderson, Steven Brust, Orson Scott Card, Jonathan Carroll, Philip K. Dick, Terry Goodkind, Steven Gould, Brian Herbert, Robert Jordan, Andre Norton, Harold Robbins, Brandon Sanderson, Skyler White, and Gene Wolfe. Tor UK has published authors such as Douglas Adams, Rjurik Davidson, Amanda Hocking, China Miéville, Adam Nevill, and Adrian Tchaikovsky.