Insight Editions has bought Weldon Owen from Bonnier Publishing USA and will operate it as Weldon Owen International. Founded in 1984 and with headquarters in San Francisco, Weldon Owen publishes cookbooks, lifestyle, children's reference and educational titles, focusing on co-edition publishing, packaging, and custom publishing. Among its clients are Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Gymboree and Hallmark. It will continue to be distributed by Simon & Schuster.
Roger Shaw will remain president and publisher of Weldon Owen and will work with CEO Michael Madden who is moving over from Insight Editions. John Owen, who co-founded Weldon Owen with Kevin Weldon, will return to the company with responsibility for the children's division. According to the Bookseller, "all five U.K. staff [are] in consultation over redundancy."
Insight Editions founder and CEO Raoul Goff said, "The alliance of our two companies provides an ideal synergy. The level of quality and innovation at Weldon Owen is the perfect complement for Insight's long-standing brand position of providing high-quality products rooted in long-term partnerships."
Shimul Tolia, CEO, Bonnier Publishing USA, added: "Bonnier could not have found a better home for Weldon Owen than its original co-founder John Owen and Raoul Goff of Insight Editions. It really is like a homecoming story."
Bonnier, the Swedish media corporation that owns a significant number of book publishers in Europe, particularly in Sweden and Germany, had been expanding rapidly in English-speaking countries. But early this year, after "profitability problems" in the U.K., there have been several high-level departures in its U.K. division.