Trusted Media Brands (formerly Reader’s Digest Association) is closing its White Plains, N.Y.-based children’s publishing unit, Studio Fun International U.S.
Pauli Cohen, the company's director of public relations, told PW via email that the shuttering of the location marks "the next step in executing on our strategy to focus on our core businesses and brands.” She added that the company is "continuing to evolve and innovate.”
When asked what will happen to the titles Studio Fun currently has under contract, Cohen said the publisher is "working with our licensors to finalize our plans to ensure an orderly wind-down." To that end, Studio Fun is continuing to do business through the end of the calendar year and will, she noted, "publish the fall list and fulfill all orders through that period."
According to a New York Department of Labor Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notice filed by TMB, and first reported in the New York Post, the closure will result in 31 employees losing their jobs.
TMB, which has offices in White Plains, Manhattan, and Milwaukee, owns 12 magazines, including Reader’s Digest and Taste of Home. The company also publishes spin-off book titles for adults.
Studio Fun is known for its premium licensed novelty formats, notably its Movie Theater Storybook series. Its list includes many titles tied to Disney’s Disney/Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm properties, as well as books under license from Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Mattel, Hasbro, Sanrio, Jim Henson Productions, and Sesame Workshop. One of its most recent launches is a series with the ASPCA, part of a move over the past two years to supplement its core preschool list with more titles for older kids.
NOTE: This story has been updated from its original version as new information was provided by Studio Fun.
