New Imprints

The North America division of Australian publisher Hardie Grant has launched a new children’s imprint called Bright Light. Leading the line are publishing director Marisa Pintado, publisher Chren Byng, and art director Pooja Desai. A release states that they will publish “inclusive stories created by authors and illustrators from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.” They aim to publish 15 to 20 titles a year, starting in fall 2023 with eight picture books. Managing director of Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing Kate Brown said, “As publishers for children, we take our role of amplifying experiences and issues very seriously. We […]

Macmillan Children’s imprint Odd Dot will partner with Build-A-Bear to publish board books, picture books, chapter books, and sticker and activity books featuring the brand’s characters, including Honey Girls and Glisten and the Merry Mission, which are also adapted to film. The first titles will be out in spring 2024. Foundation Media Partners orchestrated the deal, and will handle the partnership on Build-A-Bear’s behalf. Publisher Nathalie Le Du will oversee the line for Odd Dot. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Build-A-Bear,” Le Du said in a release. “Their experiential retail locations and hands-on approach to storytelling could not have […]

Hachette Book Group’s sci-fi/fantasy division Orbit will launch the digital imprint Orbit Works. Titles will be published around the world in ebook and digital audio, which will be produced by Hachette Audio. The imprint will be led by Orbit executive editor Brit Hvide and editor Stephanie Clark, who was hired to acquire for Orbit Works. The imprint is open to both agented and unagented submissions. Orbit SVP and publisher Tim Holman, said in a release, “We are thrilled to be launching a new imprint that harnesses our team’s expertise in publishing science fiction and fantasy, the exciting opportunities presented by […]

Abrams will separate their ComicsArts imprints into its own division, alongside its adult and children’s groups. It will continue to publish graphic novels for adults, and expand to publish manga and international titles. The first books from the new division will launch in fall 2024, and forthcoming titles include graphic adaptations of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology. Abrams’s parent company, Média-Participations (MPP), publishes comics, graphic novels, and manga in France, and the new division will allow Abrams to bring those properties to the US market. “Graphic novels, comics, and manga are an area of tremendous […]

MCD, an imprint of Farrar, Straus, will launch AUWA Books with author, musician, and filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Questlove will lead AUWA Books as publisher and editor in chief, with his manager Alexis Rosenzweig as svp and editorial director, plus executive editors Malaika Adero and Ben Greenman. The imprint’s first book will be a memoir by Sly Stone, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), out on October 17 and co-written with Greenman. Forthcoming books include Questlove’s own Hip-Hop Is History, also co-written with Greenman (2024); a book by TikTok and podcasting personality Drew Afualo (2024); Josh Luber’s Building the […]

Tor Publishing Group announced that it is launching Bramble, a new imprint “dedicated to a wide array of romantic stories for the modern reader.” Monique Patterson will join as vp, editorial director, effective February 27, and will report to president and publisher Devi Pillai. Patterson, who has worked at St. Martin’s since 2000, has almost 25 years of publishing experience in romance, and “will oversee and develop Bramble as well as acquire titles for the imprint, in addition to acquiring fiction and non-fiction outside of Bramble.” The imprint will begin publishing this fall, beginning with Jennifer Armentrout’s fantasy romance FALL […]