Lerner Publishing Group Acquires Zest Books
November 26, 2018
MINNEAPOLIS, MN— Lerner Publishing Group announced today the acquisition of Zest Books. Zest Books publishes young adult nonfiction books on entertainment, history, science, health, fashion, and lifestyle advice. Zest Books will operate as an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group. As part of Lerner, Zest will launch at least 10 new titles in 2019, and further expansion of the list is planned future seasons.
“YA nonfiction is extremely important and relevant to today’s teens, who deserve quality lifestyle advice and who are many times at the forefront of complicated current events. As teens continue to educate themselves and engage, YA nonfiction has become one of the fastest growing genres in publishing,” said Hallie Warshaw, publisher and creative director of Zest Books. “Lerner will be a great home for Zest Books because it ensures that Zest will continue to publish relevant and compelling YA nonfiction, while providing the support and expertise to become an even larger player in the marketplace.”
The new Zest Books imprint will add approximately 60 backlist titles to the Lerner Publishing Group catalog. Publisher Hallie Warshaw will continue to oversee acquisitions at Lerner as the new Publisher at Large, Zest Books.
“Zest Books stands out in the marketplace because of the relevant, well-researched, and attractively designed YA nonfiction that Hallie has been publishing for more than 10 years,” said Adam Lerner, publisher and CEO of Lerner Publishing Group. “With Zest Books and Twenty-First Century Books both producing quality YA nonfiction, Lerner is expanding our commitment to create exceptional and cutting edge YA that is relevant to today’s teen readers.”
Zest Books’ operations will move to the Minneapolis office of Lerner Publishing Group. Lerner’s distribution center will take over all processing, warehousing, fulfillment, billing, customer service, and credit and collection for frontlist and backlist titles effective July 1, 2019.
For more information about Zest Books, contact Hallie Warshaw at hwarshaw@lernerbooks.com or Lindsay Matvick, lmatvick@lernerbooks.com.
About Lerner Publishing Group
Lerner Publishing Group creates high-quality fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults. Founded in 1959, Lerner Publishing Group is one of the nation’s largest independent children’s book publishers with fourteen imprints and divisions: Lerner Publications, Millbrook Press, Carolrhoda Books®, Twenty-First Century Books™, Graphic Universe™, Darby Creek™, Kar-Ben Publishing™, Carolrhoda Lab®, LernerClassroom™, Hungry Tomato®, ediciones Lerner, First Avenue Editions™, Lerner Digital™, and Lerner Publisher Services. For more information, visit www.lernerbooks.com or call 800-328-4929.