Millbrook Press decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because bankruptcy "will provide the best structure to move forward," Millbrook CEO Dave Allen told PW . Millbrook filed for bankruptcy February 6 in Bridgeport, Conn. The company will continue to look for buyers for its two library imprints, Millbrook and Twenty-First Century Books, and will also entertain offers for its trade imprint, Roaring Brook Press. The company put Millbrook and Twenty-First Century up for sale in December.
Allen said it was necessary to file for Chapter 11 because "the continued decline in the school and library market did not provide enough impetus to carry on all imprints." He said it was "doubtful" that a new Millbrook will emerge as a result of the bankruptcy proceedings. In its Chapter 11 filing, Millbrook listed liabilities of $9 million and $8 million in assets. Its largest unsecured creditor is Phoenix Color, which is owed just over $1 million. Aladdin Books, based in London, is owed $894,752, while Worzalla Publishing is owed $827,494. It's not just suppliers waiting to get paid; the filing notes that Simon Boughton, publisher of Roaring Brook, is owed a $28,000 bonus.
Millbrook will continue to sell and fulfill orders for all imprints. A new printing of Roaring Brook's Caldecott-winning The Man Who Walked Between the Towers has gone back to press for 110,000 copies, which are expected to ship the first week of March.
