Pan Books began as an independent publisher, established in 1944 by Alan Bott, previously known for his memoirs of his experiences as a flying ace in the First World War.

A few years after it was founded, Pan Books was bought out by a consortium of several publishing houses, including Macmillan, Collins, Heinemann, and briefly, Hodder & Stoughton.

So too did Leslie Charteris's books about The Saint, Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise, and novels by Edgar Wallace, Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner, Peter Cheyney, Georgette Heyer, Neville Shute, John Steinbeck, Josephine Tey and Arthur Upfield.

), SR Boldero (1898–1987), Roger Hall, Edward Mortelmans, John Pollack (1918–1985), Sam Peffer, Dave Taylor (1921–1985), and Carl Wilton.

Among its current authors are Ken Follett, Kate Morton, Jeffrey Archer, Peter James, David Baldacci, Joanna Trollope, C.J.