HarperCollins has acquired the rights to the majority of the titles published by Newmarket Press, the independent New York City publisher started in 1981 by Esther Margolis. Newmarket’s well-known film and entertainment titles will continue to be released under the Newmarket name which has become and part of HC’s It Books imprint, and Margolis is joining It has an executive editor.
Newmarket has published more than 200 books in the areas of film, theater, and performing arts, including official tie-in books for films that have garnered more than 300 Oscar nominations and nearly 100 wins. Newmarket has published illustrated books of, among others, Milk; The Matrix; Gladiator; Moulin Rouge; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Chicago; Sense and Sensibility; Saving Private Ryan; and Dances with Wolves. The company has also released more than 100 titles in the fields of parenting, psychology, health, biography, history, business, and fiction. It’s best performing books include the What’s Happening to My body series that has sold more than 2 million copies and the recent bestseller, Daphne Oz’s The Dorm Room Diet. All non-film-and-entertainment-related Newmarket Press titles acquired by Harper will be published as trade paperbacks under the William Morrow Trade Paperbacks imprint.
“For years, Newmarket Press has been the industry’s leading publisher of film-related books. Its list of screenplays, making-of books, tie-ins, and other titles on cinema is second to none. Esther Margolis is a highly respected veteran of both the publishing and the film industries, with unparalleled relationships with countless studios and filmmakers. Her wealth of knowledge and experience in publishing to this audience will be an invaluable asset to the growing It Books list,” said Cal Morgan, senior v-p publisher, It Books.
HC has already taken over distribution of the Newmarket titles; other than Margolis, no other Newmarket staff members have moved to Harper.
