On Tuesday, in response to rapidly declining sales and earnings, HarperCollins closed its Collins imprint and cut a rumored 60 positions. As part of the cutbacks, The Bowen Press is closing, and publisher Brenda Bowen has left the company.
The Bowen Press was just getting up to speed—it had released two titles, and was set to officially launch this month. A company spokesperson said that Bowen titles will be released under either the HarperCollins Children’s Books or HarperTeen banner.
HarperCollins is keeping the fledgling Walden Pond Press imprint; Jordan Brown, who joined HC in 2008, will continue to focus on it as it prepares to launch in winter 2010. Brown, who was reporting to Bowen, will now report to Katherine Tegen, who continues to lead her own imprint. The company is also keeping its new Balzer & Bray children’s imprint, which is set to debut this fall.
Several others were laid off from the children’s division at the same time, including art director Stephanie Bart-Horvath, designer Matt Adamec and associate editor Gretchen Hirsch.
In a related cost-saving move, the children’s division will relocate from its location on Sixth Ave. in New York City to HarperCollins’s headquarters on East 53rd Street. The division had moved to Sixth Ave. in 2000, following HC's acquisition of William Morrow and the merging of the children’s divisions.
