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If the deal is approved by federal regulators, Workman will become Hachette’s eighth publishing group and will be led by Mr. Reynolds, Managing Director of Workman, who will report to Mr. Pietsch and join the Board of Directors of the society. Ms. Workman will retire upon closing of the transaction.
A wave of consolidation has profoundly reshaped the publishing industry over the past decade, with the 2013 merger of Penguin and Random House, News Corp’s purchase of romance publisher Harlequin and the acquisition by Hachette of Perseus Books.
The trend has accelerated in recent years, as the five biggest publishing houses have absorbed smaller companies in an attempt to expand their waiting lists and compete for the best-selling authors in what is. more and more become a winner. Some in the industry are worried about the impact of even deeper consolidation, which will give the bigger publisher even more advantage.
In March, HarperCollins announced the acquisition of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books and Media, the commercial publishing division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for $ 349 million, securing a large and valuable client list including long-standing JRR Tolkien sellers. , George Orwell, Philip Roth and Lois. Lowry, as well as children’s classics, cookbooks, and lifestyle guides. Last year, Penguin Random House struck a deal to acquire Simon & Schuster from ViacomCBS for more than $ 2 billion, a deal that could create the first mega-publisher if it stands up to regulatory scrutiny.
The sale of Workman will further reshape the landscape at a time when the industry has been altered by the pandemic. In 2020, publishers saw an even faster transition to online retailing, with readers turning to Amazon and big box stores for books. Despite production and supply chain issues, publishers have seen their profits skyrocket during the pandemic as more people turned to books for entertainment.
Revenue in 2020 reached $ 8.6 billion, an increase of almost 10%, and for the first five months of 2021, revenue increased 23.4% to $ 5.1 billion, according to the Association of American Publishers, which tracks the earnings of approximately 1,360 publishers.
In the decades since its founding, Workman has grown into a leading publisher of non-fiction, advice, and practical brands. Its “Brain Quest” series of educational games and workbooks has over 45 million copies printed. With his literary imprint, Algonquin Books, Workman has achieved literary successes such as “Water for the Elephants” by Sara Gruen, “An American Wedding” by Tayari Jones and Lisa Ko’s acclaimed debut novel “The Leavers”.
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