Sean Moore, former v-p and publisher of Dorling Kindersley's U.S. operations, has formed a new publishing company that will focus on illustrated nonfiction titles, most of which will be published in cooperation with well-known partners. Hydra Publishing will release its first list next spring with distribution to be conducted by Holtzbrinck Publishers.

Moore is drawing on his contacts at a wide range of organizations to develop Hydra's publishing program. The debut list will include three titles done in cooperation with BBC Worldwide Americas: Charles Dickens: Public Life, Private Passion by Peter Ackroyd; Monsters We Met, which will be supported by a television series set for the Animal Planet channel; and The Ship: Recreating Captain Cook's Endeavor Voyage, based on the History Channel series. A fourth title, West Point in the Making of America, will be published in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution.