Duckworth Books buys September Publishing for undisclosed sum

September Publishing will become an imprint at Duckworth Books after being sold for an undisclosed sum.

The full team of three will transfer over, including September’s publisher Hannah MacDonald who will continue to lead the list, now as an imprint of Duckworth Books.

Founded by MacDonald in 2014, September has won the Regional Small Press of the Year award twice and been shortlisted every year since the award started. It has a core of upmarket mind-body-spirit publishing and has published five titles with author Sharon Blackie, as well as a wider range of illustrated and narrative non-fiction. September also has publishing relationships with the Van Gogh Museum and English Heritage.

Founded in 1898, Duckworth Books is one of the UK’s oldest publishing names still under independent ownership. Its Duckworth imprint, led by Clare Bullock, has non-fiction strengths in biography and memoir, history, science and smart thinking, as well as literary fiction. Duckworth Books’ sister imprint, Farrago, specialises in humorous fiction. Duckworth Books also has a longstanding relationship distributing The School of Life.

MacDonald said: “September has grown considerably since Charlotte Cole and I published the first three books in 2015. It’s been a rewarding journey thanks to our brilliant authors and the talented freelancers and expert teams we’ve worked with. But we now need greater infrastructure support and wider, global distribution.

“Joining forces with Duckworth gives us space and structure for growth, within a publisher whose values align with ours, and whose rich history of independent publishing is currently more exciting than ever.”  

Pete Duncan, m.d. of Duckworth Books, said: “I have come to know Hannah as one of the most thoughtful publishers of our time. The quality of the list she has built since founding September Publishing is second to none.”