Total Sports, an online and print sports information company based in Raleigh, N.C., has teamed up with Sports Illustrated to form a joint book-publishing venture. Total/Sports Illustrated will operate as a separate division of Total Sports, and books released under the joint venture will bear the Total/Sports Illustrated imprint. SI's long-term licensing agreement with Total gives it representation on the T/SI editorial board and an equal voice on editorial, legal and quality-control issues. John Thorn, publisher of Total Sports, will oversee the day-to-day operations of the new imprint.
First titles under the imprint are scheduled to be released this fall, and the two companies expect to eventually publish 20 to 30 books per year. The first list will feature Twentieth Century Sports, a collection of sports photographs from the archives of SI and the Associated Press, and 12 Leadership Principles of Dean Smith. In addition to publishing new books, T/SI may revise and/or reissue titles from the Total Sports and SI backlists. Trade distribution is being handled by Publishers Group West, and the imprint also plans to make use of the direct-marketing capabilities of Time-Life.
