Rodale Books Creates International Unit

Rodale has formed an international books group that will be based in London and charged with selling the company's titles worldwide. Rodale Books International will be headed by Adrian Webster, chairman of Websters International Publishers, who will oversee a staff of eight. Sean Moore, former publisher of Dorling Kindersley New York, and Eileen Campbell, former managing director of Thorson's, will be editorial consultants to RBI.

Steve Murphy, president and CEO of Rodale, said that with the domestic book program performing well, the international market was "the next logical place to expand." The first list of 25 titles is scheduled to be released in January 2003, and a second list is planned for later in the year. The initial list will feature books originally published in the U.S., among them Pilates for Every Body, 8 Minutes in the Morning and Get a Real Food Life. The U.K.'s Pan Macmillan will distribute the titles to the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and all titles will be tailored for the various markets. Rights will be sold to publishers in non– English-speaking countries.

Part of Rodale's plan is to develop books that have international appeal, similar in approach to DK. While most of the titles will originate in the U.S., Murphy said he wouldn't rule out publishing books based on ideas from abroad. Indigenous publishing may happen "down the road," Murphy said. International sales now account for "a small part" of Rodale's book group sales, but Murphy would like the foreign market to account for 25% of profits within three to five years.