Originally founded in 2009 by Jane Friedman, Open Road enters a new chapter under the ownership of an investment group, with David Steinberger coming in as CEO.
Wattpad-Webtoon’s Book Group Opens Graphic Novel Imprint
The merged Canadian and Korean platforms are expected to generate 12 graphic novels per year in the Webtoon Unscrolled imprint.
French Youth Books: Glénat Acquires Hugo Companies for Romance, Comics
One goal of Glénat’s acquisition of Hugo, says Arthur de Saint Vincent, is a complementary use of licenses, heavy on romance and comics.
In the United States: Sourcebooks Acquires BES Publishing
‘Our children’s book business now accounts for more than half our annual sales,’ says Sourcebooks’ Kay Birkner as the company buys BES Publishing.
The Merged Wattpad Webtoon Studios Names First Projects
The two platforms brought together by South Korea’s Naver have begun early development on a trio of properties.
Frankfurter Buchmesse’s CEO Talk: Acquisitions and Creativity
Two leaders in the fields of investment and finance took questions from book industry journalists in this year’s Frankfurt Studio program.
Wiley Acquires J&J Editorial; Open Road Revenue Is Up 22 Percent
US industry notes: Wiley acquires peer-review specialist J&J Editorial, and Open Road announces first-half revenue gains in 2021.
Denmark’s JP/Politikens Acquires Norway’s Kagge Forlag: ‘Synergies’
Forecasting a broader purview for Kagge Forlag, Politikens’ Juul Lenne announces the merger with Erling Kagge’s company.
South Korea-Based Webtoon Announces a DC Comics Partnership
Webtoon, the platform for user-generated comics content has a partnership to offer new webcomics based on the DC Comics universe.
Michael Pietsch on Hachette Book Group’s Acquisition of Workman
International sales that can ‘enhance HGB’s offerings’ are a consideration in the Workman Publishing merger, says HBG CEO Michael Pietsch.