Hybrid publisher Jolly Fish Press caused a lot of confusion, and a fair amount of anger, when it recently announced that it would close at the end of October. This morning the indie house pivoted and made another surprise announcement, claiming it has reached an agreement in principle to sell the company to "an established publisher.”
The news that Jolly Fish would close caught many agents and authors off guard, with a number taking to social media to express their anger and frustration. Jolly Fish's about-face regarding its future is still unclear.
Jolly Fish said in a press release that it will provide more details on the sale in a few days, but noted that it has reached out to its authors to inform them of the new development.
The reason Jolly Fish said it would close, according to information provided in the original release, was that, after five years of publishing, it was unable to find new financing. Jolly Fish acknowledged in its newest statement that it handled the announcement of its closing poorly, but said at the time it believed shutting down was its only option.
