Arcadia Publishing has agreed to acquire a “significant” majority interest in the New Orleans–based house Pelican Publishing. The purchase, due close in May, will be the first acquisition since Michael and Lili Lynton and David Steinberger formed a group to buy regional publishers and bought Arcadia last May.
Pelican has been in business for nearly 100 years and has been owned by the Calhoun family since 1970. Pelican president and publisher Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton will continue with Pelican after the acquisition, and Pelican’s staff will remain in New Orleans. The company has a backlist of more than 2,000 titles with a particular focus on New Orleans and Louisiana.
In a statement, Arcadia president and CEO David Steinberger said Pelican "is a publisher that fits well with Arcadia’s mission, which is to connect people with their past, with their communities and with one another.” Among its most popular books are such backlist bestsellers as Listen, I Say Like This by Chef Leah Chase and the children’s holiday classic Cajun Night Before Christmas, illustrated by James Rice, which is in its 25th printing.
