Sourcebooks
Status | Active |
---|---|
Founded | 1987 |
Country of origin | United States |
Headquarters location | Naperville, Illinois |
Distribution | Worldwide |
Key people | Dominique Raccah |
Publication types |
Books eBooks Calendars Apps e-commerce |
Official website |
www |
Sourcebooks, Inc., is a book publisher located in Naperville, Illinois, in the western suburbs of Chicago. The company publishes books, ebooks, and digital products in most consumer categories, including adult fiction, adult nonfiction (including college guides, memoir, history, gift books, and reference books), children's books, young adult, and romance fiction. Its imprints include:
- Sourcebooks (adult nonfiction)
- Sourcebooks Landmark (fiction)
- Sourcebooks Casablanca (romance fiction)
- Cumberland House (gift, cookbooks, and history)
- Simple Truths (business, leadership, motivation, and inspiration)
- Sourcebooks Fire (young adult)
- Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (children's books)
History
The company was founded in 1987 by Dominique Raccah as a business and finance publisher. Raccah cashed in $17,000 from her retirement fund to start the press.[1] Since that early start, it has expanded into most categories of trade publishing and has created more than 40 New York Times and USA Today bestselling titles, dozens of national bestsellers, and numerous category bestsellers (such as the Fiske Guide to Colleges and The Complete Book of Baby Names).[2] In 2011 it was publishing more than 300 books and calendars a year, had 75 employees, and was focusing on innovation within the digital transformation of the book industry.[3] By 2015, the publisher had reached 120 employees spread across a diverse list of adult, children's, and young adult books, in addition to its rapidly expanding e-commerce businesses.[4] Noted as the largest woman-owned trade book publisher in the United States, the publisher is also creating mobile apps and several websites on behalf of authors, licenses, and brands.[5]
In 2013, the publisher launched a personalized book engine with its Put Me In The Story application and website and has added brands such as Sesame Street, the Berenstain Bears, and Hello Kitty, in addition to authors and illustrators such as Nancy Tillman.[6][7] It also acquired motivational and inspirational book publisher Simple Truths, which specializes in direct-to-consumer publishing.[8]
The company cited a 20% gain in sales in 2014, with some of that gain coming from its own sales channels with Put Me In The Story and Simple Truths. In addition to strength with its adult fiction, romance, and nonfiction imprints, it reported its Sourcebooks Jabberwocky children's imprint and young adult imprint Sourcebooks Fire both up sharply. Those results included more than two million books sold for picture book author Marianne Richmond and YA author Natasha Preston nearing 100,000 copies sold. Preston and fellow YA writer Ali Novak gained commercial success with Sourcebooks Fire after starting their writing careers with the Wattpad online social writing community.[9]
References
- ↑ "Sourcebooks Raccah Charges Into Digital Age with eBook Publishing".
- ↑ Sourcebooks.com
- ↑ Meyer, Ann (2010-09-13). "dominique-raccah-niche-publishers". Chicago Tribune.
- ↑ http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/66509-at-sourcebooks-diversification-drives-gains.html
- ↑ "Sourcebook". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012.
- ↑ http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/sourcebooks-adds-new-favorites-to-put-me-in-the-story-platform
- ↑ Greenfield, Jeremy (2013-11-04). "Personalization In Publishing: Books Written Just For You". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
- ↑ http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/58902-sourcebooks-acquires-simple-truths.html
- ↑ http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/66509-at-sourcebooks-diversification-drives-gains.html