Chelsea, Mich., small publisher Sleeping Bear Press has sold its line of mapping titles to Taylor & Francis for an undisclosed price. The list includes nine active titles and 15 under development. "It was really a sideline for us," Sleeping Bear president Brian Lewis explained. The sale will allow Sleeping Bear to focus its efforts on its core areas, which include golf, sports, nature, children's and Michigan-related books, and proceeds from the sale will allow Lewis to up Sleeping Bear's title output from 50 in 2001 to 65 next year.

Lewis said Sleeping Bear is on track for a record year for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2002, with sales projected to top $8 million. The company's children's and sports/golf books have done very well over the last several months, Lewis reported. A particularly strong seller since September 11 has been A Is for America, part of the publisher's alphabet book series for children. Birdbaths and Paper Cranes, released at the start of October, now has 40,000 copies in print and helped lead Sleeping Bear to the biggest month in its history, Lewis said.

Founded in 1994, Sleeping Bear has 30 employees and a backlist of more than 100 titles.