Red Wheel/Weiser, the Boston-based independent publisher, has signed a letter of intent to acquire the publishing assets of Conari Press for an undisclosed price. The Berkeley, Calif., publisher releases about 30 titles a year in such categories as relationships, personal growth, parenting, spirituality, and women's and social issues. It has an active backlist of approximately 200 titles and is best known for Random Acts of Kindness, which has sold more than 700,000 copies since it was published in 1993. The publisher has had 24 regional and national bestsellers since it was founded in 1987.
Michael Kerber, Red Wheel president, said, "Conari has a terrific reputation and they are a great, great fit with us." Red Wheel will maintain the Conari name as an imprint. Conari's fall list will be published out of its California offices, but over the summer Conari's operations will be integrated into Red Wheel's Boston offices. "We're not big enough to have bicoastal offices," Kerber noted. Conari founders Will Glennon and Mary Jane Ryan will leave the company once the acquisition is completed. Publishers Group West will continue to distribute the Conari list "at least for a while," Kerber said.
The acquisition of Conari will push Red Wheel's revenues to nearly $10 million.
