Skyhorse Publishing has completed its purchase of the Good Books assets in a bankruptcy auction, but with a twist. Following the purchase of the assets, Skyhorse sold the Mayo Clinic line to Perseus Books Group. The sales order was approved by the court Wednesday, and the transaction is expected to close in a few days.
Perseus will release the Mayo books under its Da Capo Lifelong imprint. Among the titles acquired are the bestsellers The Mayo Clinic Diet and The Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet, as well as the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy, Mayo Clinic’s Guide to Your Baby’s First Year and the upcoming Mayo Clinic Guide to Fertility and Conception. Da Capo Lifelong is already the publisher of the The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living and the upcoming Mayo Clinic Handbook for Happiness.
Skyhorse kept all other Good Books assets, including the Fix-It and Forget-It series. In addition, Skyhorse retained the Amish and Mennonite fiction, as well as health, gift, and other lifestyle titles. Approximately 1.3 million books were included in the sale. All of the titles will be distributed by Perseus Distribution, which has been Skyhorse’s distributor since August of 2013.
The Mayo Clinic had balked at the initial sales offer made last Friday, which prompted Perseus to get involved. As part of the new agreement, Mayo will receive $317,263 to cover past royalties and could receive up to $78,000 more.
“The logistics of this deal were very challenging, and there were many twists and turns, but we found a way to bring the various groups together to make this work for all parties,” said Tony Lyons, Skyhorse’s president and publisher. Skyhorse paid about $1.57 million for the assets, beating out a bid from Rowman & Littlefield. (While R&L was the under bidder for Good Books, it had no involvement in the Night Shade auction, as PW incorrectly reported Tuesday).
