Sterling Publishing Buys London-Based Independent Publisher Boxer Books
By Natalia Alvarez
On 3 March 2022, Sterling Publishing announced the acquisition of London-based, independent children’s picture book publisher Boxer Books. The deal was completed on 25 February but financial details were not released. This will be a great opportunity for Boxer Books to expand their marketability and introduce their titles to readers on a global scale.
Boxer Books is a small, wholly independent business, run by publisher David Bennett, that specialises in picture books and board books for children, ages seven and up. Boxer Books has been incredibly successful, since its establishment over ten years ago, with notable publications such as Jonathan Allen’s Baby Owl series and illustrator Jane Ray’s newest collection. The hope with this deal is that Boxer Books will have the opportunity to continue providing quality titles for children and adults alike to enjoy, while Sterling Publishing is gaining the rights to most, if not all, of the popular titles published through Boxer Books, as well as those planned for the future.
Moving forward, David Bennett will continue to lead Boxer Books in London but will report directly to the Chief Creative Officer and publisher of Union Square, Emily Meehan.
Sterling Publishing is an American-based company with multiple imprints that publish a broad range of subjects, including over 5,000 titles currently in print. Some of Sterling’s additional imprints and their genres include Flash Kids (essential children’s curriculum materials such as workbooks and flashcards), Hearst Books (lifestyle titles under the brand names of Hearst magazine), Sterling Ethos (mind, body, and spirit titles covering subjects ranging from meditation to metaphysics) and Puzzlewright Press (a variety of puzzle-type titles including logic games, word searches and brain teasers). Originally founded in 1949 by David Alfred Boehm, Sterling Publishing is distributed by Union Square & Co. who will similarly be responsible for the distribution of Boxer Books for the American market. Boxer Books will also be distributed by Bounce Marketing, a UK-based distributor specialising in children’s publishers.
Sterling Publishing’s acquisition of Boxer Books included purchases for more than 200 of their backlisted titles, as well as dozens of their frontlisted projects. These will be published through the Union Square Kids and Boxer Books imprints. We look forward to seeing how this partnership will benefit all parties involved and will be keeping an eye out for any similar deals made in the publishing community!