A few weeks after launching its Hear Your Story imprint, Sourcebooks announced on Thursday the launch of another new imprint, its 19th to date: Stonefruit Studio. Stonefruit Studio will, according to a release, publish “distinctively creative children’s books across all age categories and formats.” The imprint will publish 16-24 titles annually, including picture books, middle grade, YA fiction, graphic novels, and nonfiction, with the common denominator being books whose “authors and illustrators can showcase their bold narrative voices and distinct styles that bring the joy of reading to children of all ages.”
Ben Rosenthal and Mabel Hsu, Stonefruit Studio’s editorial directors, are two industry veterans hired away from HarperCollins this past spring to build this imprint. Rosenthal was editorial director at HarperCollins's Katherine Tegen children's imprint, and Hsu was that imprint's executive editor. The duo report to Jenne Abramowitz, editorial director for the Sourcebooks Fire, Young Readers, and Jabberwocky imprints within the children’s publishing division of the multifaceted, multimedia company, which is headquartered in Naperville, Ill. Senior art director Celeste Knudsen and editorial assistant Mikaela Luke round out the Stonefruit Studio team.
“Stonefruit Studio is about celebrating stories that are fresh, diverse, and unexpected— in other words, ‘stories that refuse to be eaten politely’,” Rosenthal said. “We’re building a space where authors and illustrators can explore big ideas and take creative risks.”
Hsu added that “Stonefruit’s approach will be highly collaborative, which means we’re looking for creators who want to partner [with us to] edit, design, produce, market, and publish these books together.”
Stonefruit Studio’s inaugural list will debut in summer 2026 with three releases that are to date untitled: a picture book by Matthew J. Burgess, illustrated by Matthew Forsythe, that celebrates imaginative dreaming; a middle grade read that is “a spooky, tech-twisted” series by Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly and Eliot Schrefer; and, for YA readers, an “Enola Holmes-meets-Buffy fantasy adventure” by J.A. Morgenstein.
Books to be released in subsequent seasons include, in picture books, “a hilarious tale” about a princess pony by Jordan Morris, illustrated by Charlie Mylie; the adventures of the last living dinosaur by Skylar Hogan; and a “surreal chess-themed story” by Jacob Sager Weinstein, illustrated by Victo Ngai. Middle-grade releases will include “a wildly reimagined hero’s journey” by Printz Award-winner Daniel Nayeri; a “humorous” graphic novel about a secret organization of pests by Michelle Sumovich; and an “adventurous” graphic novel about a family taking on the Aztec underworld by Yehudi Mercado. For YA readers, Stonefruit Studio’s early offerings will include Firstborn, the first in a romantasy trilogy by debut novelist M.J. Hastings.
Sourcebooks has moved aggressively into the children's book market in recent years, and has been very successful: in fiscal year 2023, children's books accounted for 32% of the company's total net revenues; 51% of Sourcebooks' releases in 2023 were children's books. Sourcebooks does not have statistics yet for fiscal year 2024, but Heather Moore, executive director, impact marketing for Sourcebooks Kids, noted that NPD BookScan shows Sourcebooks is up 30% in POS of children's and YA books.
“Stonefruit Studio exemplifies what Sourcebooks does best: empowering stories and their creators to connect with readers in profound ways,” said Sourcebooks CEO and publisher Dominique Raccah, who founded the company in 1987. “I’m so thrilled to see this talented team bring their passion and creativity to life with this new imprint!” Jennifer Gonzalez, publisher of children's books at Sourcebooks, who joined the company in January, added, "Ben and Mabel are creating something truly special, bringing an exciting array of stories that will inspire and captivate young readers. We are excited to offer a dynamic platform for authors and illustrators to push boundaries and redefine the landscape of children’s books.”
