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Oct 4 – Oct 10, 2010 Edition Debbie MacComber to Publish Six Novels With Random House
(New York, October 4, 2010)–Debbie Macomber, a #1 bestselling author of womens fiction, with more than 130 million copies of her novels in print worldwide, will join the Random House Publishing Group in 2012, to be published by its Ballantine Bantam Dell division’s Ballantine imprint. Gina Centrello, President and Publisher, Random House Publishing Group, announced the acquisition from the author’s agent, Theresa Park of the Park Literary Group, of worldwide hardcover, paperback, audio, and e-book publication rights for six Macomber novels. Terms were not disclosed.
Debbie Macomber is the beloved author of more than 100 novels to date, which include her hugely popular Cedar Cove and Blossom Street book series. Four of her titles have debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. World publication rights for the forthcoming Macomber novels were acquired by Libby McGuire, Publisher, and Jennifer Hershey, Editor-in-Chief, of Ballantine Bantam Dell. Ballantine will publish three of her books a year beginning in 2012, including a new series set in the author’s hometown of Port Orchard, Washington. Hershey will co-edit the Macomber novels with Ballantine Bantam Dell Senior Editor Shauna Summers.
The values of family, community and service are integral elements of Debbie Macomber’s storytelling, which are cherished by her readers and admired by her peers. This past July, the Romance Writers of America presented her with their prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. She also has been honored with a Quill Award for her novel 44 Cranberry Point, a RITA and RT Book Reviews Awards. An accomplished knitter and yarn-store owner, Macomber has parlayed her passion for the craft into her Blossom Street series and also into philanthropy for those in need. All profits from sales of her signature knitting merchandise lines are donated to knitting charities and to World Vision, an organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide. Ballantine Bantam Dell is honoring Macomber’s longstanding commitment to assisting the needy with a donation to World Vision in her name. Debbie Macomber said, “I am delighted and grateful to find a home with the energetic, inspired, and extremely impressive team at Ballantine Bantam Dell. I’m looking forward to a new stage in my 28-year publishing career, full of fresh ideas and exciting opportunities to bring my stories to the widest possible audience, and to deepen my long-term relationships with my loyal readers.”
“I am a longtime Debbie Macomber reader who is a tremendous admirer of her storytelling gifts, so it is a dream opportunity for me to work with her,” said Jennifer Hershey. “My colleagues and I are excited to be working with a writer so engaged by her fans and deeply connected by their shared personal values.”
Libby McGuire observed, “Reading a Debbie Macomber novel is an enormously enjoyable and enriching experience for me and for millions of others, and we are as excited about involving her devoted readers with her new Ballantine books as we are highly motivated to build upon her remarkable success to reach a large new audience for them. This will be a long, fulfilling partnership among Debbie, Ballantine Bantam Dell, our booksellers, and her readers.”
Last year, Macomber’s novel Mrs. Miracle was adapted as a Hallmark Channel television movie starring Doris Roberts, and a second one, currently in production, is scheduled to air on Hallmark this Thanksgiving weekend.
The Random House Publishing Group is a division of Random House, the world’s largest trade-book publisher, whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG.
