Former Sterling CEO Charles Nurnberg, who resigned from the Barnes & Noble subsidiary in January, has formed Imagine Publishing and will publish his first titles in fall 2009. The house's list will resemble that of Sterling's, albeit on a smaller scale, focusing on nonfiction categories including science, nature, music, art, sports and reference. Additionally, Nurnberg has teamed with Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary to form the Peter Yarrow Books children's imprint. The two worked together on Puff, the Magic Dragon, a 2007 Sterling bestseller.
Imagine's offices are in New York City and Marlboro, N.J., and Nurnberg said that as of now the staff comprises freelancers. He acknowledged that Imagine's list will be similar to Sterling's. “My publishing philosophy has not changed,” he said, although no craft books, a Sterling staple, will be published by Imagine. Nurnberg said he will package the books differently as well. “They will have great tactile feel to them. Today, books need to be objects as much as they need to be good reads.” Nurnberg aims to release 40 to 50 books annually.
BookMasters Distribution Services (BDS) will distribute Imagine books; Nurnberg said he was impressed with the distributor's offer to copyedit, proofread, design and publicize books.
