Perseus Books Group and Running Press Announce Merger
Posted on March 14, 2002
Running Press and the Perseus Books Group announced that they have entered into an agreement to merge the two companies, creating one of the largest independent trade book publishing companies in North America. The announcement was made jointly by Stuart (Buz) Teacher, president and publisher of Running Press, and Jack McKeown, CEO of the Perseus Books Group.
"This merger will bring together two entrepreneurial success stories in the world of publishing. Running Press' innovative publishing programs, franchise editions, and cross-channel distribution expertise are an excellent complement to the existing strengths of Perseus Books Group. We look forward to joining forces with one of the savviest and most creative publishing teams in the business under the leadership of Buz Teacher," said McKeown.
Running Press will join the other member publishers of the Perseus Books Group, which all maintain imprint level autonomy for editorial and marketing. Teacher will continue in his role as Running Press' president and publisher. As a member of the Group's Executive Committee, Teacher will be charged with finding innovative new marketing programs and distribution strategies to benefit the broad array of the company's backlist and frontlist publishing. He also joins the company's Board of Directors.
"Running Press has succeeded by being passionately committed to publishing innovative books with a strong backlist and series orientation. The joy of joining these two companies is that it capitalizes on our respective strengths and provides us all with the talent, resources and flexibility to succeed with any kind of book. Running Press' original publishing concepts and solid marketing are a great fit with Perseus Books Group's quality vision and innovative, decentralized model," said Teacher.
Running Press, founded in 1972 and based in Philadelphia, has 80 employees and nearly 800 books in print. The company publishes books under three imprints: Running Press (high quality illustrated books), Miniature Editions (a franchise of hardcover titles sold in 2 3/4" x 3 1/4" format) and Courage Books (a line of high-grade promotional titles, including the bestselling Diana: A Tribute, and a series of illustrated children's classics).
The Perseus Books Group was founded in 1997 and is based in New York. The eight member companies of the Group now publish over 500 new titles annually and maintain an active backlist in excess of 5,000 titles. The Group has published a dozen New York Times bestsellers and has won numerous prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction (1998).
In addition to Running Press, the other members of the Perseus Books Group are Basic Books, BasicCivitas Books, Counterpoint Press, DaCapo Press, Fisher Books, Perseus Publishing, PublicAffairs and Westview Press. The company recently established its U.K. publishing arms, Perseus Press, LTD and Public Affairs, LTD and will look to Running Press, LTD's existing UK operation for strategy and growth for the group.