Times Books Imprint to Relaunch Through Henry Holt and St. Martin's Press

Posted on July 12, 2000

The New York Times and Holtzbrinck Publishers, the U.S. arm of the German global media group, have announced an agreement to expand The Times's book development program and relaunch the Times Books imprint. Henry Holt and Company, one of Holtzbrinck's U.S. publishers, will co-publish a number of titles each year with The New York Times under the Times Books imprint. Times Books will publish informative books in categories such as current events, history, science, technology, business and health. The first titles in the relaunched Times Books imprint will appear in the spring of 2001.

New York Times-branded titles on a variety of other subjects, including reference, cooking and travel, will be published by other Holtzbrinck companies, most especially St. Martin's Press. Further, in 2001 St. Martin's will begin to publish the ongoing series of New York Times crossword puzzle books. Also beginning in 2001, Holtzbrinck will start to distribute The Times's self-published books, which to date have included New York City restaurant and hotel guides, an international museum guide, a photographic history of Times Square and two yearbooks on the New York Yankees.

The New York Times bought Quadrangle Books, a Chicago publishing company, in 1969 and changed its name to Times Books in 1977. In 1984, the Times Books imprint was licensed to Random House under an agreement that expired in December 1999.

``Joining with Holtzbrinck will enable us to take advantage of the success of our book development program through a strong partnership with a highly respected group of publishers. The opportunities are great, especially with Times Books. Our ambition is to build it into a leading imprint for authoritative information in book form,'' said Thomas K. Carley, President of The New York Times News Services.

John Sterling, Holt's President and Publisher, who spearheaded the negotiations for Holtzbrinck, said: ``I am thrilled to be bringing the venerable Times Books imprint to Holt. We're very eager to relaunch the imprint next spring and to work with our new friends at The Times to build a superb list of authoritative books that inform and educate readers everywhere.''

Sally Richardson, President of St. Martin's Trade and Mass Market Divisions, said: ``I'm very excited that a steady stream of books carrying the powerful New York Times brand will soon be added to our diverse list. And the series of Times crossword puzzle books is a great franchise, one we're eager to grow in the years ahead.''