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On August 19, 800-CEO-READ will officially change its name to Porchlight Book Company, the bulk bookseller announced this week. Coinciding with the name change, the company will also launch a new website, publish two monthly bestseller lists and expand its editorial coverage.
Porchlight Book Company/800-CEO-READ was founded in 1984 in Milwaukee, Wis., by Jack Covert and the late David Schwartz and was originally called Schwartz Business Books. It grew out of the business books section of the Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops and, over the years, was also known as Business Literacy Services and Dickens Books. Once the name change is official, all previous names will be retired.
"I am delighted to be a part of this new chapter in my family's bookselling story," said Rebecca Schwartz, the company's owner, president and CEO. "I am certain that my grandfather, Harry W. Schwartz, and my dad, A. David Schwartz, would be so very pleased by the work we continued to do, work that in a very real way grew out of their legacies." Carol Grossmeyer, who was married to A. David Schwartz, is also an owner.
While the company initially focused on just business books, its scope has expanded over the years. To reflect that, one of its new monthly bestseller lists will focus on general non-fiction (with the other focused on business books), and its editorial coverage will look at books from all genres. The company's annual Business Book Awards will continue under Porchlight Book Company.
"For many years now, we have sold more than just business books, and this brand expansion and comprehensive website will give us the chance to introduce more people to the array of high-touch bookselling services we have developed over the years," said general manager Sally Haldorson. "As a group of voracious readers, there's nothing we enjoy more than putting books into the hands of every type or genre of reader."