Stone Bridge Press founder Peter Goodman has reacquired the Berkeley, Calif. publisher that he sold to Yohan, Inc, the Japanese book distributor, in 2005. Goodman bought the company from IBC, formerly a Yohan subsidiary, which took over Stone Bridge just prior to Yohan declaring bankruptcy in 2008. During the time Yohan owned Stone Bridge it also bought Cody’s Books, and, according to Goodman, money planned for investment in Stone Bridge went to Cody’s in a failed effort to keep the bookstore alive.
Goodman said he will release about 10 books this year, a mix of new releases as well as titles that had been delayed. One new title, Dead Love by Linda Watanabe McFerrin, will move Stone Bridge into the zombie market when it is released in September, since the book features Japanese zombies. The remaining titles are in Stone Bridge’s traditional area of Asian-related works. Other new titles include a revised edition of A Thousand Cranes by Florence Temko, Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar: A Student's Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors by Qin Xue Herzberg and Larry Herzberg, and My Life In Japanese Art And Gardens by Adachi Zenko.
Goodman said that depending on the author, he will move beyond the traditional advance/royalty structure to form partnerships with authors. “I think it’s something smaller publishers need to do,” he said about moving away from old royalty models.
Distribution of Stone Bridge titles will continue through Consortium.
