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| Founded | 2006; 19 years ago (2006) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Tony Lyons |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Distribution | Simon & Schuster (United States & worldwide – except South Africa) |
| Key people | Tony Lyons(President and Publisher) |
| Publication types | Books |
| Imprints | Allworth Press, Arcade CrimeWise,Arcade, Sky Pony, Sports Publishing, Carrel Books, Talos Press,Night Shade Books, Good Books, Helios,Not For Tourists, Hot Books, Racehorse Publishing, Clydesdale Press, Seahorse Press, Racehorse For Young Readers, Peakpoint Press |
| No. of employees | 56(as of October 2018) |
| Official website | www |
Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. is an Americanindependent book publishing company founded in 2006 and headquartered inNew York City, with a satellite office inBrattleboro, Vermont.[1]
The current president and publisher is founder Tony Lyons, former president and publisher ofLyons Press until 2004. As noted byPublishers Weekly, "Skyhorse's list will have some similarities to the old Lyons Press, with books on sports, flyfishing, nature and history a central part of Skyhorse's publishing program. The list includes narrative nonfiction, military history, gambling and business titles. In addition, [Tony] Lyons intends to bring back 'forgotten classics'."[2]
In 2010, Skyhorse acquiredArcade Publishing with its portfolio of 500 titles,[3] as well as another 300 titles through the acquisition of Allworth Press.[4] Skyhorse also announced the 2011 acquisition of Sports Publishing with its 800 titles, and the launch of a children's and young adult imprint called Sky Pony Press.[5] By 2011, Skyhorse grew "from one imprint to five, and from eight employees to more than 40".[6] The company "entered a three-year, 30-book licensing agreement withNorstedts ofSweden to acquire world English rights to a range of titles on crafts, health, fitness and cooking."[6] In 2011, Publishers Weekly listed Skyhorse Publishing as one of the fastest-growing independent presses.[7]
Skyhorse added 250 new titles to its catalog with its acquisition of science-fiction and fantasy publisherNight Shade Books in 2013.[8] Also, that year Skyhorse announced the launch of the new imprint, Carrel Books, catering to the library market with books on medicine/health, history, biography/memoir, business/careers, among others.[9] In 2014, Skyhorse partnered withPerseus Books Group to acquire the assets of Good Books. While Perseus retained theMayo Clinic line of health books from the Good Books catalog, Skyhorse obtained all other books assets, including theNew York Times BestsellingFix-It and Forget-It series.[10] Another Skyhorse imprint, Talos Press published its first book in 2014. In partnership with the literary agency, International Transactions, Skyhorse launched the new imprint, Yucca Publishing.[11]
In May 2015, partnering withDavid Talbot, founder and former editor-in-chief ofSalon, Skyhorse launched the investigative book imprint Hot Books.[12] Hot Books’ first title, released September 2015, wasThe Beastside: Living (and Dying) While Black in America, written by D. Watkins. In an interview byFresh Air hostTerry Gross onNPR, Watkins recounts harrowing stories of growing up in East Baltimore.[13]
Skyhorse started a new division in 2016 called Racehorse Publishing, which publishes a range of categories, including promotional titles, instant books, and classic works of literature. The promotional line is operated under the new Clydesdale Press imprint. Another new imprint, Seahorse Press, publishes books on boating, sailing and sea adventures.[14] Skyhorse launched the new imprint Arcade CrimeWise to publish crime fiction, mysteries, noir, thrillers, and spy novels.[15]
To manage the close to 1,000 titles that it stood to publish in 2016, Skyhorse increased staff from 56 to 81 in 2015.[16]
Skyhorse Publishing had revenue of more than $43 million in 2015 and a backlist of 6,000 titles. With 93 people then on staff, the company planned to release 900 books in 2017 through its 18 imprints.[17] Practical books for sports lovers, gardeners, cooks and gamers, etc., sold more than 3 million copies in total during 2015. Adult coloring books, first introduced in May 2015, have sold over 4,000,000 copies.[18]
In June 2017, a group of Skyhorse employees announced intentions to hold a union election in order to joinUnited Auto Workers Local 2110.[19] According to aNational Labor Relations Board count, staffers fell short of the votes needed on November 30, 2018, with 18 voting for, 28 voting against, and an additional 23 votes submitted but counted as ineligible ballots.[20]
In April 2018, Skyhorse announced “a major reorganization” with job cuts of 16 full-time positions and plans “to reduce new titles published by ‘approximately 25 percent’ in 2018” compared to 2017, when it released 1,120 titles.[21] Publisher Tony Lyons announced the decision in response to a decline in net sales by 19% in 2017, and issues related to paper shortages and book distribution.[22]
Skyhorse andSimon & Schuster released the news in July 2018 that Simon & Schuster will distribute Skyhorse titles in the U.S. and most markets and territories around the world beginning on January 1, 2019.[23]
In 2023, Skyhorse acquiredRegnery Publishing with its 1,548 titles, making Regnery a Skyhorse imprint.[24] Skyhorse acquired All Seasons Press in 2024, adding it as a new imprint and its list of titles to the Skyhorse portfolio.[25][26]
In 2008, Skyhorse published the erotic travelogueAround the World in 80 Lays, by Joe Diamond, writer forPlayboy TV's travel seriesSexy Things to Do Before You Die.[27] Skyhorses's 41st bestsellerDefeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe byMalcolm Nance, debuts as #9 on theNew York Timese-book bestseller list, July 3, 2016.[28]
The Case Against Impeaching Trump byAlan Dershowitz became aNew York Times bestseller on July 29, 2018.[29] Published through Skyhorse's Hot Books imprint, “Mr. Dershowitz said he wanted to offer a counterpoint to the raft of books arguing for the validity of impeachment.”[30]
On March 23, 2020, Skyhorse Publishing announced that it had acquired and released the memoirApropos of Nothing byWoody Allen through its Arcade imprint.[31] The book, originally set for an April 7 release byHachette Book Group, was cancelled after Hachette employees staged a walkout in protest.[32]Apropos of Nothing was listed on the April 26, 2020New York Times Best Seller list forHardcover Nonfiction.[33] On September 8, 2020, Skyhorse publishedDisloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump byMichael Cohen, which became a #1New York Times bestseller.[34]
The book,The Walk byPhilippe Petit, about his walk between New York'sWorld Trade Center towers, released by Skyhorse on July 21, 2015,[35] based on a majormotion picture also titledThe Walk directed byRobert Zemeckis and released on September 30, 2015.[36] On September 16, 2016, Skyhorse released the official motion picture tie-in bookSnowden, timed to the release of theOliver Stone film by the same name.[37] The bookLast Flag Flying, byDarryl Ponicsan, published by Skyhorse on September 5, 2017, has been made into a feature film.[38]
Sky Pony, the children's book imprint of Skyhorse, publishes a line of unofficialHacks for Minecrafters books, and a series of original, unofficial novels. Along withScholastic, the official licensing publisher ofMinecraft books in the U.S., the two houses publish the majority of Minecraft titles for kids.[39]
On May 17, 2021, Skyhorse announced that it would releaseBlake Bailey's biography ofPhilip Roth,Philip Roth: The Biography. The book was originally published by W. W. Norton & Company, which withdrew it after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against Bailey.[40]
On November 16, 2021, Skyhorse published the bestsellerThe Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health byRobert F. Kennedy Jr.[41][42][43]
Skyhorse added to its New York Times bestselling list of books by publishingVax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brian Hooker on August 29, 2023.[44] andUnhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them) by Jack Posobiec and Joshua Lisec, on July 9, 2024.[45]
Skyhorse has published thirty-five titles about theassassination of John F. Kennedy,[46] including many promotingconspiracy theories.[47][48] The company was reported to have invested $1 million on acquisition, printing and marketing for the publication of eight new books on the subject in 2013; as well as $300,000 to $400,000 on the reprints of seventeen others.[48] Authors on the subject published or re-published by Skyhorse includeRichard Belzer,[46][48]Gaeton Fonzi,[46]Jim Garrison[48]Mark Lane,[48]Peter Dale Scott,[48]Roger Stone,[46]Jesse Ventura,[46] andHarold Weisberg.[46]
Skyhorse Publishing has been criticised as a toxic workplace, and for printing books containing conspiracy theories.[49] TheLos Angeles Times has described it as "almost comically agnostic on the truth".[50]
In 2013, theSouthern Poverty Law Center chided Skyhorse Publishing for allowing theAmerican Free Press, whom they described as "an anti-Semitic periodical run by long-timeHolocaust denierWillis Carto", to sell two of Belzer's books co-written with journalist David Wayne,Dead Wrong andHit List.[51]
The Guardian called Skyhorse publisher Tony Lyons “the US publisher who picks up books ‘cancelled’ by other presses.[52] In response, Lyons said, “Maybe the role of publishers is to bring people closer. To encourage them to read things they disagree with, that make them angry, but ultimately to learn things that help them bridge the gap to what they thought they hated but may find some nuance in.”[53]
In June 2022,Simon & Schuster announced it would be distributing Skyhorse's forthcoming publication of theHouse Select Committee's report on the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.[54] The book will contain an introduction byDarren Beattie, a former Trump employee and conspiracy theorist who has referred to the Committee's investigation as a "witch hunt."[55][56]
In 2023, the AP reported that Skyhorse had a deal to publish books by the vaccine misinformation organisationChildren's Health Defense, run byRFK Jr.[57]
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