Sourcebooks, which published adult nonfiction and fiction before expanding into the children’s book market in 2007, continues to move aggressively into that market, which accounted for 32% of the 37-year-old company’s total net revenues in fiscal year 2023 and 51% of that year's releases. This morning, Sourcebooks, which is headquartered in Naperville, Ill., announced that industry veterans Ben Rosenthal and Mabel Hsu have left HarperCollins—where Rosenthal served as editorial director and Hsu as executive editor at Harper's Katherine Tegen Books imprint—to establish a new children’s imprint at Sourcebooks. Katherine Tegen Books has been in transition since its eponymous publisher retired in December 2022, and has yet to be re-named by HarperCollins Children's Books.
Rosenthal and Hsu will assume their new responsibilities at Sourcebooks on April 11. This will be Sourcebooks’ 13th children’s imprint.
While Rosenthal and Hsu’s imprint remains unnamed at this time, it will publish children’s nonfiction and fiction across all age categories and in all formats: picture books, middle grade, YA, and graphic novels. The imprint will aim to publish 16–24 titles each year. Rosenthal and Hsu will report to editorial director Jenne Abramowitz, who already oversees three of Sourcebooks's children's imprints (Jabberwocky, Young Readers, and Fire). The two, who are based in the New York City metro area, will work on a hybrid basis.
“We are absolutely thrilled to announce the expansion of our publishing program with the introduction of a new imprint, helmed by Ben and Mabel,” Jennifer Gonzalez, senior v-p and publisher of children’s books, stated in a release. “As our children’s business continues to thrive, we recognize the need to further diversify our list, explore new genres, and meet the evolving needs of readers. Ben and Mabel align seamlessly with our ‘Books Change Lives’ mission.” Gonzalez herself is another new hire: she left her position as Macmillan’s president of sales and marketing in early February to join Sourcebooks.
According to Sourcebooks, Rosenthal and Hsu have been tasked with building an imprint “that will showcase [authors and illustrators’] strong narrative voices and distinct styles by creating innovative, bold, and compassionate stories that bring the joy of reading to children of all ages.”
Hsu said, “We’re thrilled to build an imprint where authors and illustrators will be creatively supported by our dedicated team every step of the way, from acquisition to post publication. Our goal is to let creators focus on what they do best: quality storytelling where readers are put first.”
Rosenthal added, “We are so excited to join a mission-driven publisher that aligns with our goals and embraces innovation, experimentation, and a collaborative process across teams and departments. From our very first conversation with the team there, we felt such an enthusiasm for bookmaking and serving readers and look forward to the journey ahead at Sourcebooks.”
In an earlier version of this story, there was an error regarding which imprints Jenne Abramowitz oversees; this has been corrected.
