Two of 12 titles to be released in 2020 by the new Hearst Home imprint. Images: Hearst

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

‘Content-Creation Expertise’

In media messaging today (September 26), we learn that Hearst Magazines has launched a new illustrated lifestyle book imprint derived from its portfolio of brands.

The company also is rolling out a children’s book imprint, Hearst Home Kids.

Beginning in March, Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) is to begin selling and distributing Hearst titles from the imprints internationally in a multi-year agreement.

Today’s news was announced by Hearst Magazines president Troy Young and Brian Madden, senior vice president for at Hearst Digital Media for consumer revenue and development.

The new imprints are to be led by Hearst Books vice president and publisher Jacqueline Deval. Content is to include cookbooks and titles on diet, nutrition, health and wellness, decorating, pop culture, and self-help.

The first three titles of 12 to be released in 2020 by Hearst Home are:

• Healthy Keto: Prevention Healing Kitchen, 75+ Plant-Based, Low-Carb, High-Fat Recipes from Prevention magazine with a foreword by Rachel Lustgarten (March)
• Food Network Magazine The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook: 150+ Recipes for Young Chefs from Food Network magazine with an introduction by Maile Carpenter (April)
• Sugar Shock: The Hidden Sugar in Your Food, Its Dramatic Impact on Your Health, 100+ Smart Swaps to Cut Back edited by Carol Prager (May)

Brian Madden

In a prepared statement, Brian Madden at Hearst is quoted, saying, “Our brands are beloved by millions of people who consume content across all our platforms on any given day.

“Our content-creation expertise and unmatched data capabilities will enable us to inspire and entertain book readers, while deepening their connection with our brands. And having Penguin Random House Publisher Services, a leader in the industry, as our partner will help us amplify our reach in a strategic and dynamic way.”

Hearst Books’ Deval, for her part, is quoted, saying, “Our ability to leverage Hearst’s first-party data to identify reader engagement with trending topics allows us to create the highest-quality books to meet those consumer needs and interests.

Jacqueline Deval

“Another key differentiator for these new lifestyle imprints is our ability to reach large target audiences with built-in advertising and editorial support across our brands.”

Hearst Books, which is a division of Hearst Magazines, has released multiple bestsellers across its brands through licensed partnerships with outside publishers.

The division’s New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers and other successes include Delish Eat Like Every Day’s the Weekend (HMH); Food Can Fix It, by Mehmet Oz (Scribner); and What I Know for Sure, by Oprah Winfrey (Flatiron Books).

Jeff Abraman

The division also publishes Hearst Specials “bookazines.” Recent successes in this area, the company reports, include O, The Oprah Magazine’s “Let It Go”; Town & Country‘s “The Royal Wedding Album”; Delish’s “Easy Keto”; Good Housekeeping’s “Keto Diet for Beginners”; and Prevention’s “CBD 101.”

And for PRH Publisher Services, Abraham is quoted, saying, “These are significant brands and properties that are internationally recognized, and we see substantial opportunity in the marketplace to break out wonderfully fun and influential new book imprints.”

Hearst’s magazines, according to the company, have an aggregate audience of 146 million readers and site visitors monthly “including over 73 percent of all women and more than three-quarters of millennial women” in the United States. That audience is distributed across more than 240 sites and “more than 300 editions” of magazines, 25 titles being based in the States.

Hearst Magazines operates iCrossing, an international digital marketing agency, and CDS Global, a business process provider. Hearst Magazines holds a majority stake in KUBRA, a customer experience management solutions company, and is a partner in the publishing services company PubWorX.

Meanwhile, under Abraham’s direction, PRH Publisher Services reports that its clients include National Geographic Partners, Beacon Press, DC Comics, Rizzoli, Melville House, the New York Review Books, and Shambhala. The services referred to include sales, warehousing, physical and digital distribution, credit and collection, marketing, and information technology.

More from Publishing Perspectives on Penguin Random House is here, and more  from our Industry Notes series is here.