After an abrupt announcement earlier this month that it planned to shut down operations, hybrid publisher Jolly Fish Press said that its assets will be acquired by North Star Editions, an independent publisher specializing in children’s and young adult literature.
The acquisition, which includes all Jolly Fish copyrights and partnership agreements, comes on the heels of the hybrid publisher's announcement in mid-October that it planned to shut down at the end of the month because it had been unable to secure new financing. The news about the closure, which was also made suddenly, startled and unsettled agents and JFP authors, many of whom said they heard the news via social media.
Then, last week, JFP went public with the fact that it had found a buyer, revealing on Friday that the buyer is North Star Editions.
JFP publisher Christopher Loke said: “It’s with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to five wonderful years at the helm of JFP, but I’m grateful that the books—and the mission we set out to achieve—will live on under the North Star Editions brand.”
North Star Editions has published such popular authors as Laurie Faria Stolarz, Simone Elkeles, and Maggie Stiefvater.
In July 2016, North Star Editions acquired Flux, a teen-focused fiction imprint from Llewellyn Worldwide. In January 2017 NSE plans to launch Focus Readers, a new middle-grade imprint with 50 titles. The line will focus on titles for students in grades 3-7 with an emphasis on accessible text and visuals aimed to engage younger readers.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing Jolly Fish to NSE,” said Flux managing editor, Mari Kesselring. “We plan to build off the momentum that the hard-working JFP staff started and continue JFP’s dedication to publishing breakthrough manuscripts, while also using our experienced sales and marketing force to extend the reach of the current title list and future publications.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly confused Flux, which was acquired, with Focus Readers, which is a new imprint that will launch in 2017.
