About a year ago, National Geographic turned its book division away from direct mail and toward the trade. Now the Washington, D.C., publisher is trying more rejiggering. It announced last week that it was rolling together its children's trade unit and its three-year-old school unit. Ericka Markman, who has been heading the school division, will now lead the combined operation, reporting to Books and Education Publishing president Nina Hoffman. National Geographic Explorer, the group's magazine aimed at grades 3—6, will also be part of the integration.
Hoffman said that the decision comes because each unit was doing sufficiently well that the publisher felt it should expand their respective reaches. The rollup will affect mostly areas like production and trade-show presentations; editorial and sales will remain separate, although Hoffman said sales reps for one market "will be incentivized" to sell in the other.
The company hopes the effects will flow in both directions, but seems particularly interested in increasing the appeal of the trade titles to schools. "I think the school group will have the greater benefit," said Hoffman. "There has been pent-up demand by parents, teachers and educators for high-quality nonfiction reference material."
