Former PRH US c.e.o. Madeline McIntosh launches new publishing company Authors Equity

Former c.e.o. of Penguin Random House US Madeline McIntosh is joining with Don Weisberg, former c.e.o. of Macmillan Publishers, to launch Authors Equity, a new publishing company “committed to reshaping the relationship between author and publisher”. 

According to a press release, its goal is “to create a fully author-centric model with core principles that put the author first — and offer financial incentives and a publishing process built around each author’s unique audience, vision, and needs”. 

The majority of investment funding comes from authors, including James Clear, Tim Ferriss and Louise Penny. 

Clear, author of Atomic Habits (Random House Business), will publish future books with Authors Equity. He said: “Authors Equity 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. The publishing world has changed. We are no longer in the ‘change is coming’ stage. It’s here, and Authors Equity is creating it.”  

McIntosh is the new company’s c.e.o. and publisher while Weisberg is senior adviser. Nina von Moltke, former president, strategic development at Penguin Random House US, is president.  

A press statement said: “Together, they bring deep expertise in the book business and a broad network of relationships with authors, agents, booksellers, and other partners and platforms across physical and digital markets. Unencumbered by industry precedent, the founders are excited to apply their collective experience to a model that allows them to be more flexible, to test, and to simply say ‘yes’ more often.” 

Robin Desser, former editor-in-chief of Random House and editorial director of Knopf, joins as editorial adviser. Carly Gorga, former head of partnerships and brand marketing at Penguin Random House US, is chief marketing officer. Andrea Bachofen, who pioneered the author services group at Random House, returns to publishing as chief operating officer after a decade at Amazon.  

McIntosh said: “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.”  

Authors Equity will be distributed by Simon & Schuster, which will also provide production support for some titles. The company has agreements in place for a variety of fiction and non-fiction books, and its first titles will be announced in the coming months.