Albert Whitman Comes Under New Leadership
-- Publishers Weekly, 3/4/2008 1:59:00 PM
The Morton Grove, Ill.-based children's book publisher, Albert Whitman & Company, is seeing a changing of the guard. Joe Boyd, who's been president of the house since 1986 (and with the company for more than 40 years) is retiring, along with his partner, v-p and Whitman veteran, Richard Gutrich. Boyd and Gutrich have sold the operation to John Quattrochi and Patrick McPartland, who used to work for Whitman. Quattrochi will serve as president and McPartland will be vice-president.The 89-year-old company publishes picture books, middle grade fiction and various series, including the Boxcar Children Mysteries. It's also known for its concept books, including such topics like homosexuality (My Two Uncles) and growing up with AIDS (Be a Friend: Children Who Live with HIV Speak). It publishes 25 to 30 titles annually and has a backlist of 550 titles.
