In an effort to give more brand recognition to its health, self-help, cookbooks and fitness titles, Hatherleigh Press has created the Healthy Living Books imprint and hired two new staff members to grow the line. Lori Baird, whose editorial background includes a stint with Yankee Books, has been named editorial director of the imprint, and Corin Hirsch, most recently deputy art director for the U.K. magazine Smart Partners, has been appointed project manager.
The Long Island City, N.Y.-based Hatherleigh has published 20 titles annually, but will up that figure to 30 in 2003 with most of the increase occurring in the Healthy Living imprint. Fourteen of the 17 books set for release in the spring will come out under the Healthy Living banner, said Kevin Moran, Hatherleigh's marketing director. Fitness over Fifty will be the first book published under the imprint and other titles set for release include Walk the Weight Away, Fit Foods and The Cardiac Recovery Handbook. Moran noted that when Andrew Flach launched Hatherleigh five years ago, his objective was to publish books that would appeal to baby boomers as they aged. The formation of Healthy Living focuses the company's attention on that goal, Moran said.
Hatherleigh is on track to have a record year in 2002 following a very successful 2001, when sales rose 48%. Leading the sales increase this year has been The Body Sculpting Bible for Men and The Body Sculpting Bible for Women, which both have more than 25,000 copies in print since their release in January. The company also has had steady sales from Living with Hepatitis C which is now in its third edition with more than 100,000 copies in print. Moran attributed the higher sell-through of Hatherleigh's books to "recognition from booksellers that we produce highly salable commercial properties." Its titles are distributed by Norton.
