Hearst Books Imprint to Publish Under Hearts Magazines Division

Posted on April 4, 2000

Hearst Books has become part of the Hearst Magazines Division, announced Cathleen P. Black, president, Hearst Magazines. The Hearst Book imprint joins the group of Hearst businesses that focus on brand extensions under the aegis of Michael Clinton, senior vice president, chief marketing officer and group publishing director, Hearst Magazines.

Hearst Books was formerly an imprint of William Morrow, recently acquired by HarperCollins as part of its purchase of the Hearst Book Group. Hearst Books will publish between 30 and 35 titles a year, with its next season planned for fall 2000. Client Distribution Services (CDS) will be responsible for sales, marketing, and fulfillment for Hearst Books.

"Hearst Books offers the magazine unit a natural opportunity to develop our brands, and we've been pleased by the recent growth of the line," said Black. "By bringing the imprint into the magazine division, we more closely align the business with our operation and with our commitment to further develop our well-established magazine brands."

Vice President and Publisher Jacqueline Deval, who will report to Clinton, will continue to run the imprint. Elizabeth Rice will continue her role as editorial director for the book line. The line publishes books in all formats, with emphasis on illustrated titles, and leverages content from the Hearst Magazines brands, including Country Living, Country Living Gardener, Good Housekeeping, House Beautiful, Popular Mechanics, Redbook, Town & Country, and Victoria, among others. The line also commissions original books to tie in with the magazine brands.

"We're very pleased with the growth of Hearst Books, as we tripled the business in a two year period. Further growth will come from aggressively developing core brands and from mining our rich backlist," says Deval.

Planned as lead titles this fall are Frank Lloyd Wright's House Beautiful, by Diane Maddex, a populist look at Wright's design principles, and a Country Living book called The Illustrated Cottage, by Nina Williams, a decorating book that draws its inspiration from Provence. A major future release is The Good Housekeeping Essential Cookbook, scheduled for fall 2001.

At the time of Hearst's sale of the Hearst Book Group, Hearst and HarperCollins agreed to continue discussions regarding the branded books division, and HarperCollins distributed the branded books on an interim basis. It has now been agreed by Hearst and HarperCollins that all rights to the branded books will continue to belong to Hearst, primarily due to the close relationship between Hearst Magazines and the branded books publishing program.