MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
October 15 – October 22, 2009 Edition
Grove Atlantic to Sell Shares in Atlantic Books
NEW YORK, NY/AUTHORLINK NEWS/10/14/09–Grove/ Atlantic, Inc., (GAI) New York-based independent publishing house, is selling a portion of its UK-based subsidiary, Atlantic Books, to Australian publisher Allen & Unwin, and has secured additional new financing to support the UK operation.
The Australian publisher will become a significant new shareholder in the publisher, and the additional funding will be used to develop its new fiction imprint, Corvus, which plans to increase its output to 48 titles in 2010.
Under the new structure, GAI will no longer be the parent company for Atlantic Books. Instead, GAI will take minority shareholder position in the UK unit.
Anthony Cheetham was named director of the Corvus imprint in September. Chairman and publisher Toby Mundy said both he and Cheetham “may invest in due course”.
A raft of changes at Atlantic will also see independent Australian publisher Allen & Unwin becoming what Atlantic described as “a significant new shareholder” in the publisher, while Atlantic said it had also secured “substantial” additional new financing. Part of this will be used to develop its new fiction imprint Corvus, which will increase its publishing programme to 48 titles a year in 2010.
Mundy said: “Atlantic Books has prospered within the Independent Alliance and it remains an important part of our world; now the business is strengthened significantly by these new relationships with Allen & Unwin and Grove/Atlantic, the finest independent publishers in Australia and the United States.
“With my outstanding colleagues here, and partners around the world, I think we are well placed for the next phase of the company’s growth.”
Morgan Entrekin, the CEO of GAI, will continue to sit on the board of Atlantic Books. Ravi Mirchandani has joined the Atlantic board in his current role as editor-in-chief.
Grove/Atlantic, Inc., one of America’s oldest independent publishers, was formed by the 1983 merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. Grove/Atlantic’s imprints (Grove Press, Atlantic Monthly Press, Canongate U.S., Black Cat, and Open City) publish literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and translations.
The British subsidiary, Atlantic Books, was founded in 2000, and is a member of The Independent Alliance , a global alliance of ten UK publishers and their international partners.
Allen & Unwin is Australia’s leading independent publisher and has been voted “Publisher of the Year” eight times including the inaugural award in 1992 and six times since 2000.
A&U publishes around 250 new titles each year including literary and commercial fiction, a broad range of general non-fiction, academic and professional titles and books for children and young adults. Imprints
include Allen & Unwin, Arena, Crows Nest, Inspired Living (MBS) and Jacana (Natural History). The company is headquartered in Sydney.
