Hachette Book Group (HBG) announced today that they have acquired more than 1,000 titles published under Disney Book Group. The catalog includes Newbery, Caldecott, and Geisel award-winners, bestselling series, and backlist titles by children’s literature luminaries, as well as a number of new books releasing in 2020 and beyond. These titles will begin publishing under HBG’s Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (LBYR) division and imprint, effective immediately. Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW) will focus on acquiring and developing content that can be leveraged beyond books across multiple platforms and media.
Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch said, “We’re thrilled to be the new home for this extraordinary collection of books. HBG already knows and loves these titles after many years of handling
sales and distribution for Disney Book Group’s imprints, and we are proud now to become their publisher. This acquisition is a natural step in HBG’s plans for growth and backlist expansion. I’m looking forward to seeing LBYR turn its creative and collaborative energies and its market expertise to this superb group of children’s book creators.”
“Hachette, our distributor for many years, is the perfect home for this collection of books and authors,” said Tonya Agurto, senior vice president, Disney Publishing Worldwide. “As part of one of the largest entertainment companies in the world, we look forward to creating and developing content that is so compelling that it can be experienced beyond books across multiple platforms and media.”
Disney Publishing Worldwide and its affiliates will continue to work with its remarkable roster of authors and publish vertically under multiple imprints, including Disney Hyperion, Disney Press, Disney Editions, Marvel Press, and Disney Lucasfilm Press.
Megan Tingley, EVP Publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, added, “We are eager to welcome so many talented authors and illustrators to the Little, Brown family. LBYR has been focused on strategic growth, hiring new editors and expanding into graphic publishing and nonfiction, and this acquisition plays a significant role in this plan. There is exciting potential in this catalog, which includes award-winning and bestselling titles in all categories—board books, picture books, middle grade, young adult, and graphic novels—and which strongly complements our publishing program. A number of these writers and artists are beloved ones we already publish, and we look forward to working with them, as well as with talent new to our list, in the years ahead.”
LBYR will publish print and ebook formats of these additional titles, and they will hire a team to support the transition of these books, managing all aspects of publishing.
