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Deseret Books Expanding in Traditional and Nontraditional Field
Roxane Farmanfarmaian -- 1/3/00
Rising to the challenge of meeting a growing U.S. market of "wisdom-based literature," Deseret Books, the book publishing arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has expanded its array of imprints -- while at the same time taking over the operations of its biggest competitor.
Last spring, Deseret Management Co., the holding company for businesses affiliated with the church, acquired Bookcraft Inc., which was founded in 1942 by John Kenneth Orton and remained a primarily family-owned business until it was bought two years ago by Infobases Inc., an electronic publishing company based in Provo, Utah. Bookcraft published approximately 100 titles a year and had a backlist of about 400 titles when it was acquired by Deseret. The merging of the 133-year-old Deseret Books (with a backlist of about 1,200) and Bookcraft creates what has been called "the King Kong of the LDS publishing world."
None of the Bookcraft employees lost their jobs in the merger. Instead, the company is expanding the number of titles produced in 2000, is launching a new imprint called Eagle Gate and has revived a moribund imprint called Shadow Mountain. Sheri Dew, v-p of publishing at Deseret Books, will oversee the combined editorial group, which is expected to produce about 300 titles in 2000, including audio and electronic products.
According to Deseret president Ronald Millett, both the Deseret and Bookcraft imprints will continue to be used, though their lists will be redefined. Under the direction of Cory Maxwell, formerly editorial manager of Bookcraft, the Deseret Books imprint will include Latter-day Saint doctrinal, historical and biographical titles. Inspirational, self-help, family, children's and fiction will bear the Bookcraft label. Timothy Robinson, formerly editorial director of Deseret Books, has been named the new Bookcraft director. Eagle Gate, under the management of former Bookcraft publishing/art director Jane Erickson, is projected to have 10 titles on its spring list and will feature library editions, collections, niche market publications, art books and gift items such as bookmarks and pictures.
Breaking out of the primarily LDS market into the national arena, the 18-year-old Shadow Mountain imprint will publish from 10 to 15 crossover titles, "values-based" literature in such genres as fiction, fantasy, history/biography, cooking and children's that address the rising demand for spiritual and inspirational products. "These will be nondenominational products for a general audience," said Millett. Already Shadow Mountain has published two companion volumes to PBS documentaries, including American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith, which was aired nationally the day after Thanksgiving.
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