The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group has bought Globe Pequot Press from Morris Communications. The deal includes Globe Pequot Press, Lyons Press, Falcon Guides, Knack, Two Dot and Insiders' Guide. Morris will retain the Milepost, Skirt!, Pop Out and Western Horseman Books imprints, as well as Footprint Guides, which is located in the U.K.
Globe Pequot was founded in Stonington, Conn., in 1947 as the Pequot Press. In 1981, it was acquired by the Boston Globe, which added its name to the company. AT&T later bought Globe Pequot as part of McCaw Communications and in 1997 sold it to Morris. Known primarily as a regional publisher of books on New England, Globe Pequot, with headquarters now in Guilford, Conn., expanded into other regions of the country with its acquisition of Falcon Guides in 2000 and Lyons Press in 2001. It has an office in Helena, Mont., for its Two Dot imprint, which focuses on western regional history.
Rowman & Littlefield will retain the two offices in Connecticut and Montana, but by the end of the summer will move distribution from Morris's Springfield, Tenn., facility to its own facility in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa. Effective August 1, Rowman & Littlefield's NBN subsidiary will become the distributor for all Globe Pequot and Morris's Skirt!, Pop Out and Western Horseman imprints. NBN will also assume sales and distribution for Globe Pequot's 18 distribution clients.
Rowman & Littlefield president and CEO Jed Lyons commented: "With the addition of the Globe Pequot Press imprints, R&L becomes one of the largest publishers of regional books in the country. Joining our Down East Books, Taylor, Gulf and Northland imprints, we will be publishing several hundred regional titles annually. The expansion of our regional trade publishing program strengthens our position in that market while we continue to grow and develop our core academic and professional publishing programs."
Globe Pequot Press managing director Alexander Merrill added: "Rowman & Littlefield is the ideal new home for our imprints. Our Globe Pequot and Falcon titles fit seamlessly with their foothold in local expertise and our Lyons imprint nicely compliments their strength in the non-fiction and academic markets."
