Workman Publishing Company
Parent company Hachette Book Group | | |
Status | Active | |
---|---|---|
Founded | 1968 | |
Founder | Peter Workman | |
Country of origin | United States | |
Headquarters location | 225 Varick Street New York City, New York | |
Distribution |
| |
Publication types | calendars | |
Imprints | Artisan, Algonquin, Algonquin Young Readers, Storey, Timber | |
Official website | workman |
Workman Publishing Company, Inc., is an American
From the beginning Workman focused on publishing adult and children's
After over 50 years as an independent, family-owned company, Workman Publishing Company, Inc., joined The Hachette Book Group in 2021.[5] Its primary offices are in New York City.
History
After a short stint packaging books for Ballantine, Peter Workman founded Workman Publishing with his wife, Carolan, in 1968. The first book published under the Workman imprint was Richard Hittelman's 28-Day Yoga Exercise Plan, which is still in print. In 1975 Workman published its first New York Times bestseller, B. Kliban's Cat, a collection of humorous illustrations that also inspired the company expand into calendar publishing with Cat as its first wall calendar. In 1979, Workman's creative director, Paul Hanson, created the Page-a-Day Calendar. In the years since, Page-a-Day Calendars have shipped over 100 million copies.[6]
The following decades saw a succession of titles that had strong sales and strong cultural impact, beginning in with The Official Preppy Handbook (1980) and continuing with In and Out of the Garden (1981), The Silver Palate Cookbook (1982), What to Expect When You’re Expecting (1984), The Book of Questions (1987), All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat (1990), Good Omens (1990, the first and only novel published under the Workman imprint), Brain Quest (1992), Boynton On Board board books (1993), Shoes (1996), Fandex (1998), The Cake Mix Doctor (1999), How to Grill (2001), 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and Stitch N Bitch (2003), Gallop! (2007), Indestructibles (2009), Safari and Steal Like an Artist (2012), and a trifecta in 2016, including the launch of two brands—The Big Fat Notebooks and Paint by Sticker—and Atlas Obscura.[3]
Throughout its history, Workman has specialized in quirky but useful books, often with unusual formats. It published its first “book-plus” in 1983: How to Kazoo came with a real kazoo. Among its million-copy children's bestsellers are The Bug and Bug Bottle—the book came in a collecting bottle—and The Kids’ Book of Chess which came with a full chess set. The Brain Quest brand started with two decks of grommeted cards sold in a box. Indestructibles books are printed on a Tyvek-like paper that makes them rip-proof, chew-proof, washable and 100% non-toxic. The multi-million copy Scanimation and Photicular brands both have pages with moving images.[7] In 2020, Workman and its imprints expanded into the jigsaw puzzle business.
For years Workman's unofficial motto was "no book before its time", which reflected Peter Workman's obsession with getting every part of a book right before sending it out into the world. It's part of the reason that one out of three Workman books have over 100,000 copies in print, and that approximately 80% of its business is "backlist"—sales generated by books that stay in print for years.[8]
Peter Workman died in 2013. In 2015, Workman appointed Dan Reynolds, former President and Publisher of Storey Publishing, as its new President and CEO.[9] In September, 2021, Carolan Workman sold the company to the Hachette Book Group.[5]
Imprints and distribution
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2022) |
Imprints
Artisan
In 1994 Peter Workman founded his second company, Artisan, with the mission to publish subjects that can best be expressed visually, whether through photography, illustration, or graphic design. The company focuses on cooking, design, crafts and hobbies, and expanding the boundaries of general nonfiction. It seeks out authors who are thought-leaders and tastemakers, and works hand-in-hand with them to create physical books that are beautiful in their own right. Artisan's first significant bestseller was Thomas Keller's The French Laundry Cookbook, and recent New York Times bestsellers include The Noma Guide to Fermentation, Grace Bonney's In the Company of Women, John Derian Picture Book, The Dogist, The Kinfolk Home, and The New Health Rules. Other notable authors include Sean Brock, Cheryl Day, Joshua McFadden, Lucinda Scala Quinn, Einat Admony, David Tanis, and Naomi Duguid.[10]
Algonquin
Algonquin Books was founded in
Algonquin Young Readers
Algonquin Young Readers was founded in 2011 by Peter Workman and then Algonquin publisher, Elisabeth Scharlatt, as an imprint of Algonquin Books to publish books of enduring value for young readers, including
Storey Publishing
In 1983 John Storey bought Garden Way Publishing from Garden Way and changed the name to Storey Publishing. The company specializes in highly illustrated
Timber
Timber Press was founded in 1978 and is based in Portland, Oregon. It was acquired by Workman Publishing in 2006. Timber publishes books for gardeners, both amateur and professional, nature enthusiasts, environmentalists, and popular science readers. It also has a robust regional program. Some of their popular titles include Bringing Nature Home and Nature's Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy, Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life by Marta McDowell, Michael Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs, and Teaming with Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels.[17]
References
- ^ "International Sales & Rights – Workman Publishing". 7 April 2016. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
- ^ "Workman Publishing". Workman Publishing. 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ a b "History of Workman Publishing Company, Inc. – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ a b Milliot |, Jim. "Hachette Book Group Will Acquire Workman Publishing for $240 Million". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "About Us". Page-A-Day. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Workman Publishing Company, Inc. | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Dan Reynolds | Hachette Book Group". Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Artisan". Workman Publishing. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Algonquin". Workman Publishing. 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction". PEN America. 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "About Us". Algonquin Young Readers. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ MSERBEKIAN (2022-01-26). "2021 Pura Belpre Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "About Storey". Storey Publishing. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Authors". Storey Publishing. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "About Us". Timber Press. Retrieved 2022-07-14.