Ten Speed Press Acquired By Random House
Ten Speed Press, a Berkeley, Calif.-based independent publisher of nonfiction books, has been acquired by Random House Inc. The purchase was completed late last month and the terms of the agreement between the two companies, which are both privately held, were not disclosed.
Ten Speed Press, which was founded in 1971 by Philip Wood, publishes children's books as well as books in the business and career, cookbook, and mind, body and spirit categories under its four imprints: Ten Speed Press, Celestial Arts, Crossing Press and Tricycle Press. The company publishes more than 100 new hardcovers and trade paperbacks annually and has a backlist of more than 1,000 active titles.
As a result of the acquisition, Ten Speed Press will become an imprint of The Crown Publishing Group. Its existing leadership team will remain intact, and its editorial, marketing, publicity, design and production staff will remain in Berkeley. Wood has been named publisher emeritus of the imprint, and a new reporting structure for Ten Speed Press will be announced in the coming weeks.
“I am confident Ten Speed Press … will thrive under Random House, whose highly professional people are committed to, and fully understand, publishing,” says Wood.
Distribution of all Ten Speed Press titles, which is currently handled by the company, will be assumed by Random House, effective May 1. Until then, book-sellers and distributors can continue to place orders with Ten Speed Press through their existing channels.
“We are excited about the Random House acquisition of Ten Speed Press, which will both strengthen and complement our portfolio in the publishing categories in which they excel," says Markus Dohle, Random House chairman and CEO. "This is a real opportunity for us to further grow our business with a terrific group of imprints and a great publishing team.”