Forty years ago, MotorBooks International, a St. Paul, Minn., publisher specializing in automotive books, was founded on the belief that people want as much information about their cars as they can get. Turns out that the company's founder was right.
Randy Roland, CEO of MBI publishing, told PW it's a good time to publish books about cars. In addition to Americans' love of cars, Roland said, the success of cable TV shows like American Hot Rod and Monster Garage, both MBI licensees, have produced a surge of interest in the DIY car repair manuals and custom car books that MBI specializes in. "These shows give the books a lift," said Roland.
The original firm, known as Classic Motorbooks, imported foreign books on car maintenance, racing and motorcycles and sold them through direct mail. The company began publishing its own books in 1973 and its publishing program took off in the 1980s. In 2000, MBI was acquired by Flagship Partners, a New York City—based private equity investment firm, which provided additional resources to expand the publishing program.
MBI Publishing now publishes nearly 200 books a year on cars, aviation, trains and even tractors—a rural niche MBI created—in addition to Americana and military history. Imprints include Motor Books (auto repair, motorcycles and racing), MBI (tractors, rural auto and trains including model trains), Zenith Press (military history) and Crestline, a promotional and bargain books line.
Sales at the company have increased 50% over the past five years, aided in part by its growing distribution business of automotive books. The company's newest initiative is Zenith Press, which was launched last year. Richard Kane, formerly with Presidio Press, is heading the military history imprint, which hit the jackpot with The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century by Thomas X. Hammes, who received much TV coverage during the early days of the Iraq war. And this summer the imprint is offering Hunting Al Qaeda by an anonymous Special Forces soldier and Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot by Star Smith.
MBI offers a diverse title mix within its specialties, and its top titles sell 50,000 to 60,000 copies. Spring titles include The Cruel Sport by Robert Daley, a reprint of a classic photo book on Grand Prix racing; The Six Men Who Built the Modern Auto Industry by Richard Johnson; and, from its Americana line, Cinema Treasures: A New Look at Classic Movie Theaters by Ross Melnick and Andreas Fuchs.
"We may be a long way from the epicenter of publishing," said Roland, "but we've got a staff full of car enthusiasts and we're a car enthusiast's company. We have a lot of fun and we're doing books people want."
