The McGraw-Hill Cos.' business and trade reference group will launch a new trade science program beginning next spring. The series will treat science as serious nonfiction. While the titles in the line will be written for a general audience, the program's editor, Amy Murphy, told PW she would like "scientists to see the series as a valued outlet for their work."
Murphy, who joined MHC last November from Barnes & Noble, where she was the science buyer, said the heart of the program will deal with the natural sciences. Kicking off the program will be Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist by Brother Guy Consolmagno, which will be released in March with a 60,000-copy first printing. Three additional titles are set for the spring, and eight are scheduled for the fall. Murphy hopes to publish 15 titles in 2001 and 20 in 2002. The list will be a mix of hardcover and trade paperbacks generally ranging in price from $20 to $30.
MHC will sell the line primarily through trade outlets, although Murphy said she will exploit the company's ties in the education and professional marketplaces. She also sees sales opportunities in the international market.
