Philadelphia-based indie publisher Quirk Books, which rose to prominence 23 years ago as the creator of the bestselling Worst Case Scenario brand, has paused its publishing program and laid off a significant portion of its staff, founder and publisher David Borgenicht confirmed to PW.

Those laid off were all nonsupervisory employees, including seven members of a union that had been formed a month ago. Pointing out that Quirk management had voluntarily recognized the union on June 19, Borgenicht denied that the layoffs were in retaliation. Quirk, Borgenicht said, had been dealing with “marketplace and operational challenges for a few years” and had recently implemented a strategic plan that included a reduction in the number of staff, as well as a six-month pause in developing and acquiring new books.

“We have a plan in place that required us to really make some staff reductions and change the nature of the list moving forward so that we can be profitable and grow again,” Borgenicht said. “We were very open with the union rep and the union about the need to do this.”

The fact that all seven of the impacted employees were union members and the timing of the layoffs a month after the election were “unfortunate coincidences,” Borgenicht said. “The layoffs had been planned and discussed for many months, and we worked collaboratively with the union to make sure that it happened in a fair way.”

Expressing regret for having to “let go of talented and creative people,” Borgenicht noted that as the creator of the Worst Case Scenario series, he is aware that “sometimes you need to just face the reality, make a plan, and move forward.”

Borgenicht said he hopes the reorganization will allow Quirk to return to publishing between 25 to 30 books a year, though he acknowledged that next fall could be “light” due to the current pause. The reorganization also includes the elimination of the children's editorial director position when current children's editorial director Alex Arnold separates from Quirk at the end of this month.

Quirk is not going to cease publishing children's books altogether, Borgenicht said, but instead is cutting back, so that this category "will likely only represent about 20-25% of the list going forward, We're focusing on the most successful parts of the children's list: board books and nonfiction."

The new layoffs follow the November 2024 departure of Jhanteigh Kupihea as president and publisher and the return of Borgenicht to head the company.

Production and sales assistant Robin Wright, one of the five remaining union members at Quirk, wrote in an email to PW, “While we're devastated by the layoffs of so many of our fellow union members, the restructure hasn't weakened our support. We are a smaller group now, but we are forging ahead and looking forward to bargaining our first contract.”

Bill Ross, the executive director of the NewsGuild of Greater Philadephia Local 38010, declined comment except to say that as the union bargaining agent, the NewsGuild had negotiated the terms of the layoffs with Quirk management, and that those laid off are receiving severance pay and extended health care coverage.