Worthy Publishing Expands, Acquires Freeman-Smith
(Press Release) BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – September 13, 2011—Worthy Publishing announces expansion of the company’s publishing program through acquisition of specialty publisher Freeman-Smith. Freeman-Smith will operate as an imprint of Worthy Publishing and will continue to be headed by company co-founder Ron Smith. “Freeman-Smith has a history of successes ranging from devotional books, gift books, and custom publishing projects,” said Byron Williamson, president of Worthy Publishing. “Through our acquisition of Freeman-Smith, Worthy Publishing has gained immediate market share as well as the ability to produce top-quality specialty products for both our authors and our corporate partners.”
Freeman-Smith was founded in 2000. The publisher has produced several hundred books including the best-selling Prayer series and Food, Fitness and Faith series. Currently, Freeman-Smith has two titles published in partnership with Big Idea Entertainment featuring the Veggie Tales characters on the CBA children’s best-seller list.
A partner in producing exclusive products for LifeWay, Family, Parable, CBD, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and others, Freeman-Smith has also created products for Simon & Schuster’s popular HUGS series as well as titles for other publishers. “We’ve become known for creating high-quality books in a short amount of time,” said Ron Smith, publisher of the new imprint. “We will continue to publish exclusives for our partners as well as gift and specialty product that will be distributed through Worthy’s normal channels.”
Freeman-Smith’s titles will be distributed through EMI, Worthy’s distribution partner, and will be available to all retailers. The new imprint joins the company as Worthy Publishing launches its first season of books with the Fall 2011 line including New York Times best- selling authors John Townsend, Steve Arterburn, Chuck Colson and a new book by Cathleen Falsani titled Belieber! detailing pop culture icon Justin Bieber’s faith.
About Worthy Publishing: Worthy Publishing, a division of Worthy Media, Inc., is a privately- held Christian publishing company based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Focusing on a boutique list of new books each season, Worthy publishes a wide variety of genres including fiction, personal growth, current events, devotionals, biography, leadership, Bibles, specialty products, as well as books and curriculum for spiritual growth.
