Sourcebooks (publisher)

Last updated
Sourcebooks
Parent company Penguin Random House
StatusActive
Founded1987
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters location Naperville, Illinois
Distribution
  • Raincoast Books (Canada)
  • Melia Publishing Services (UK)
  • New South Books (Australia & New Zealand) [1]
Key people Dominique Raccah
Publication types
Imprints Sourcebooks, Landmark, Poisoned Pen Press, Fire, Jabberwocky, eXplore, Young Readers, Casablanca, Bloom Books
Official website www.sourcebooks.com

Sourcebooks LLC is an American book publisher located in Naperville, Illinois. The company publishes books, ebooks, and digital products.

Contents

History

The company was founded in 1987 by Dominique Raccah as a business and finance publisher. [2] Raccah cashed in $17,000 from her retirement fund to start the press. [3] The company expanded into other categories of trade publishing. [4] As of 2010, the company had 54 apps in development. [5] By 2015, the publisher had 120 employees. [6] In 2010, they were the largest woman-owned book publisher in the United States. [7]

In 2013, the publisher launched a personalized stories creator application and website with its "Put Me In The Story" program. It has brands such as Sesame Street, the Berenstain Bears, and Hello Kitty, in addition to authors and illustrators such as Nancy Tillman. [8] [9] Later additions to "Put Me In The Story" included Curious George and characters from Disney and Nickelodeon, among others. [10] In 2013, Sourcebooks acquired the book publisher Simple Truths. [11] The company reported a 20% gain in sales in 2014, with particular gains from its Jabberwocky children's imprint and Fire young adult imprint. The results also included sales of more than two million picture books by Marianne Richmond. [6]

In December 2016, Raccah was named book publishing's "Person of the Year" by Publishers Weekly , a book publishing trade magazine. [10] In February 2017, Publishers Weekly reported NPD BookScan data showing Sourcebooks as the 18th-largest trade publisher in America. [12] Sourcebooks published 385 titles in 2017 and was the 14th-largest trade publisher in the U.S. [2]

In 2018, Sourcebooks acquired the mystery imprint Poisoned Pen Press. [13] The following year, Penguin Random House acquired 45% of Sourcebooks, with the company forming a new management board that included Penguin Random House executives. [14] In 2023, Penguin Random House became the majority owner of Sourcebooks, owning 52% of the company; [15] and Sourcebooks acquired Callisto Media, the parent of Rockridge Press. [16] The same year, Penguin Random House and Sourcebooks launched Callisto China. [17] As of January 2024, Sourcebooks says that it is the seventh largest book publisher in the United States. [18] In 2024, Penguin Random House increased its stake in Sourcebooks to 75%. [19]

Imprints

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References

  1. ↑ "International Customers". Sourcebooks. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Button, Liz (2018-05-23). "A Closer Look at Sourcebooks, Dominique Raccah's "Female-Forward" Publishing Company". American Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
  3. ↑ "Kindling the ebook flame | Crain's Chicago Business".
  4. ↑ "About Sourcebooks - Sourcebooks.com". www.sourcebooks.com.
  5. ↑ Meyer, Ann (2010-09-13). "dominique-raccah-niche-publishers". Chicago Tribune.
  6. 1 2 Kirch, Claire. "At Sourcebooks, Diversification Drives Gains". PublishersWeekly.com.
  7. ↑ "Sourcebook". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Sourcebooks Adds New Favorites to Put Me In The Story Platform". 18 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Greenfield, Jeremy (2013-11-04). "Personalization In Publishing: Books Written Just For You". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  10. 1 2 Milliot, Jim. "Dominique Raccah: PW Person of the Year, 2016". PublishersWeekly.com.
  11. ↑ Kirch, Claire. "Sourcebooks Acquires Simple Truths". PublishersWeekly.com.
  12. ↑ Milliot, Jim. "Ranking America's Largest Publishers". PublishersWeekly.com.
  13. ↑ "Poisoned Pen Press Will Become Sourcebooks' Mystery Imprint". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  14. ↑ Milliot, Jim; Maher, John (2019-03-22). "PRH Takes Minority Stake in Sourcebooks". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  15. ↑ Milliot, Jim. "Better Sales, but Higher Costs, for Publishers in 2023". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
  16. ↑ Milliot, Jim. "Penguin Random House, Sourcebooks Buy Callisto Assets". PublishersWeekly.com.
  17. ↑ Nawotka, Ed. "PRH and Sourcebooks Launch Callisto China". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  18. ↑ "What does it mean to work at Sourcebooks?". read.sourcebooks.com. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  19. ↑ Anderson, Porter (2024-08-28). "Bertelsmann: Strong Showings in the First Half of 2024". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  20. ↑ "Sourcebooks Launches Three Children's Imprints". Sourcebooks. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  21. ↑ Milliot, Jim (March 3, 2023). "Dominique Raccah Does It Her Way". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved March 4, 2023.
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