Dorchester Publishing has been sold at auction. The media congolomerate established in 1971 was best known for its romance line, and Hard Case Crime novels. Dorchester also published romance magazines True Confessions and True Story.
Over the last few years, the publisher has been in financial trouble. Owner of the company, John Backe, under the umbrella of Backe Group, Inc. filled for “notice of foreclosure” on February 28, 2012. The auction, held on March 8, had only one bidder a company called, FAA Investments. There is little known about this investment firm, and they have declined media interviews.
Norton Laszarus of OEM Capital, the company in charge of the sale stated that the auction “did not apply to the book publisher Dorchester Publishing itself.” In a statement he clarified: “We are on a mission to find buyers for the book titles of Dorchester Publishing, and we have a number of people interested.”
This foreclosure has left many authors without royalty payments and many staff members without salaries. With payments still pending, Dorchester’s legal and financial problems are far from over as many of their authors are filing legal actions against the publisher.
