Have you ever read Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox, or Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy? If so, you're probably already familiar with Disney's Hyperion book division.
Founded in 1991, Disney's Hyperion has been the adult trade book division of Disney Publishing Worldwide. But as of Friday, June 28, Disney entered an agreement with Hachette Book Group, which will transfer some 1,000 Hyperion titles – including those listed above – to Hachette. The agreement also includes multiple titles yet to be released. The price tag on this agreement has not yet been disclosed.
The agreement did not come out of the blue; Hyperion had previously announced that it would be clearing its shelves of adult titles in an effort to focus more on ABC and ensuing publications, such as the New York Times best-selling Castle series and tie-ins with the popular show The Chew. According to Andrew Sugerman, executive vice president of Disney Publishing Worldwide,
“We look forward to working with Disney/ABC to continue Disney Publishing’s proud tradition of bringing great stories to market in a variety of innovative ways.”
In addition, Disney will retain all Hyperion books that are marketed to children and young adults. Titles like Rick Riordan's popular Percy Jackson series will stay with Disney, along with Ridley Pearson's massively popular Kingdom Keepers books. Only adult titles will transfer to Hachette.
Hachette, which is based in New York, is a division of Hachette Livre, a French publisher that is a leader in educational publications worldwide. Hachette Book Group includes divisions that may already be familiar to readers, including Little, Brown and Co, as well as Little Brown Books for Young Readers.
Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch called the arrangement a “perfect complement” to Hachette's current – primarily non-fiction – repertoire. Pietsch continued,
“As Hyperion’s sales and distribution partner, we know the books and writers on the list well and look forward to taking on full publishing responsibilities.”
According to Hachette's website,
“As the acquisition agreement has just been signed, we are still gathering information and formulating next steps. We have a team in place at HBG who are working directly with Hyperion transition staff to ensure the smoothest possible transfer.”
