Palgrave Reorganizes; Will Sell Off 'Grove'
by Steven Zeitchik and Amanda-Jane Doran -- Publishers Weekly, 1/27/2003
Palgrave Macmillan, the scholarly publisher that resulted from the merger of the St. Martin's scholarly publishing division with Macmillan U.K., is undergoing a substantial reorganization that will include selling its high-end line of Grove Dictionaries and rearranging divisions and lines of reporting.
Recognizing that "while markets are local, there is a desire to be global," the company has brought together the U.S. (i.e., Palgrave) and U.K. (i.e., Macmillan U.K.) editorial divisions into one group under Macmillan's Sam Burridge, said Palgrave publisher Garret Kiely. Previously, only U.S. editorial reported to Kiely. Both the production and sales and marketing divisions also will be united; in the past, the Palgrave and Macmillan divisions of each had been run separately.
Kiely himself has a new position: he will head the global sales and marketing force. As a result, Margaret Hewinson, who headed sales in the U.K., will become Kiely's deputy. Janice Kuta, who headed sales in the U.S., will leave the company, and Ian Jacobs and Josie Dixon, who oversaw editorial for the academic line in the U.K., will also depart.
"We wanted to de-layer some of the structures in the U.K.," said Kiely of the editorial changes, adding that the whole restructuring was designed to "create more transparency and keep everyone on the same page." He said that for the most part, he did not expect the kinds and number of books the publisher produces to change.
One line that will see a change, however, is the iconic Grove imprint. The same re-evaluation that led to the restructuring has prompted the company to seek a buyer for the high-end reference titles, including the 125-year-old Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, last published in 29 volumes in January 2001. The company sells upscale online editions of its books, primarily to institutions, for as much as $6,000.
Eighteen employees work for Grove, and Kiely said that if a buyer does not wish to take on the staff, Palgrave could absorb some of them. Kiely said the sale was being made because the company wanted to commit exclusively to its core business of scholarly books.
