Ten years after launching Flux, its YA fiction imprint, New Age publisher Llewellyn Worldwide has sold it to another Twin Cities company, North Star Editions, which publishes books for children and teens.
While North Star Editions has, as of July 1, assumed all responsibility for publishing and sales of Flux titles, Llewellyn will continue to handle warehousing and fulfillment. Mari Kesselring, previously an editor at Red Line Editorial (which is based in the Minneapolis area), has been named managing editor for Flux.
Llewellyn debuted Flux in 2006 with a commitment to publishing alternative voices, which was reflected in its mission statement that Flux is “where Young Adult is a point of view, not a reading level.” The imprint launched the careers of authors Maggie Stiefvater, A.S. King, Laura Faria Stolarz, and Simone Elkeles, among others.
At its peak in 2009, Flux released 24 fiction titles with initial print runs ranging from 4,000 to 15,000 copies. Flux titles have received awards from the American Library Association, the Independent Publishers Association, and other organizations, including a 2014 National Stonewall Award to Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirsten Conn-Mills. Flux's acquisitions editor for seven years, Brian Farrey, left in October 2015, and was not replaced. There are 11 titles on Flux’s 2016 frontlist.
Speaking to the sale, Sandra Weschcke, president of Llewellyn, said she is "confident North Star will grow and prosper with Flux." She added that Llewellyn is looking forward to a "productive relationship” with North Star.
