Mudita Venture Partners has made an unspecified investment in the hybrid publisher the Amplify Publishing Group. Originally known as Mascot Books, the company was cofounded in 2003 by Naren Aryal who remains CEO and publisher. With the investment, Josh Linkner, managing partner of Mudita, has been named chairman of the company. Mudita is an early-stage, $40 million fund.
In prepared comments, Linkner, the founder of five tech companies and author of four books, said Amplify, which publishes about 300 titles a year in both print and digital formats, is in a good position to offer authors the services they need to move ahead in their careers. “Amplify Publishing Group has a stellar reputation and an established track record of helping authors successfully bring their content to market—including titles by business executives, keynote speakers, and other thought leaders,” said Linkner.
In addition to Linkner, business journalist and media executive Eric Schurenberg has joined Amplify as editor-in-chief and has also joined the company board. Schurenberg was most recently the CEO of Mansueto Ventures, home to Inc. and Fast Company. In his role at APG, Schurenberg will head the company’s editorial direction, looking to acquire business, politics, current affairs, and thought leadership books.
Aryal said the addition of Linker and Schurenberg, as well as the new funding, will allow Amplify to expand its author services with initiatives that will be launched in the coming months.
The investment also led APG to consolidate all its imprints under the Amplify Publishing Group umbrella: Amplify Publishing, business and thought leadership titles; RealClear Publishing, political and policy titles, in partnership with RealClearPolitics; Tagged Publishing, narrative nonfiction from public figures; Mascot Books, popular fiction and nonfiction titles; Subplot Publishing, contemporary fiction; and Mascot Kids, titles for young readers.
