Publishing veterans Madeline McIntosh, Don Weisberg, and Nina von Moltke have founded Authors Equity, a publishing company aimed at creating a "fully author-centric model," featuring profit-sharing, bespoke teams, collaborative publishing processes, and long-term commitments.
McIntosh, former CEO of Penguin Random House US, an independent director of Simon & Schuster, and president of the board of Poets & Writers, will serve as Author Equity's CEO and publisher. Serving as president is von Moltke, former president, strategic development, at PRH US, and a board member and treasurer of the Center for Fiction, while Weisberg, former CEO of Macmillan Publishers, will be senior adviser. Other core team members include Robin Desser, previously editor-in-chief of Random House and editorial director at Knopf; Carly Gorga, former head of partnerships and brand marketing at PRH US; and Andrea Bachofen, formerly of Random House and Amazon.
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| Madeline McIntosh | |
The majority of investment funding for Authors Equity has come from authors themselves, including James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, and Louise Penny, author of the Inspector Gamache mystery series.
Clear, who has committed to publishing future titles with Authors Equity, said the company "has taken the best elements of traditional publishing and combined them with a fresh approach that works perfectly for authors who want to succeed in today’s market. Authors get to create books on their own terms without having to let go of the excellence in editorial skill and mainstream distribution that is a strength of traditional publishing."
Penny, who will remain committed to St. Martin's, said she invested in Authors Equity because she is excited about what the company is doing. "It's time for a new way of doing business, where the author is top of the pyramid."
Simon & Schuster will distribute Authors Equity titles, as well as provide production support for some titles. Authors Equity will announce its debut titles in the months ahead.
Said McIntosh: "Publishing doesn’t need to be a zero-sum game. Authors, publishers, and readers alike benefit when there’s a variety of approaches in the market. Our approach won’t be right for everyone, but each author deserves a chance to find the right creative partnership and financial model that will give them the very best publishing experience."