Bend, Ore.–based Blue Star Press has acquired Sasquatch Books from Penguin Random House, which had bought the Seattle-based publisher, one of its distribution clients, in 2017.
Blue Star’s purchase of Sasquatch is part of a 10-year extension of the publisher’s sales and distribution agreement with PRH. (Blue Star has been distributed by PRH Publisher Services since 2019.) Sasquatch, which has a backlist of about 650 nonfiction titles across all formats, will operate autonomously and maintain its editorial independence, while also allowing Blue Star to add scale to its existing operations.
“As Blue Star continues to expand and as industry competition intensifies, we want to bolster our centralized resources and broaden our portfolio to fuel greater creativity,” said Blue Star CEO Peter Licalzi in a statement. “Combining Sasquatch’s esteemed reputation with Blue Star’s innovative approach to publishing will help drive continued success and help us thrive in the evolving publishing landscape.”
Jeff Abraham, now president of publishing operations, services, and technology at PRH, had overseen Sasquatch since its purchase in his previous role as president of PRHPS. Sasquatch had remained a standalone imprint and was never integrated into any PRH groups. Abraham said that Blue Star “makes a perfect fit for Sasquatch’s next chapter.”
Licalzi cofounded Blue Star in 2015, and the company found immediate success publishing into the adult coloring book surge. Since that time, Blue Star has expanded into the arts and crafts, children’s, gift books, health and wellness, and lifestyle categories. It was one of PW’s fast-growing indie presses in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Sasquatch will become the publisher’s third imprint, joining Blue Star Press and Paige Tate & Co.
Blue Star was represented in the deal by Susan Reich and David Lamb of Book Advisors LLC.
