Penguin Random House buys Rodale Books

Penguin Random House has purchased the trade book publishing assets of US wellness publisher Rodale Books from Hearst.

PRH US will take over publication of Rodale's frontlist and backlist titles effective immediately as part of the acquisition. Terms of the transaction, which included 2,000 backlist titles and 100 frontlist books, were not disclosed.

Rodale Books’ Adult nonfiction will form part of the Crown Publishing Group, as an imprint of its ‘illustrated and lifestyle’ division, comprised of the Harmony, Ten Speed Press, and Clarkson Potter publishing programs, overseen by Aaron Wehner, senior v.p., and Clarkson Potter who is publisher of Ten Speed Press and Harmony Books. Diana Baroni, v.p and editorial director of Harmony Books, will be responsible for Rodale Books.

The Rodale Kids imprint, which made its debut last autumn, will be taken on by Random House Children’s Books, led by Barbara Marcus, president and publisher. Mallory Loehr, senior v.p. and publisher of Random House Books for Young Readers Group, will be responsible for Rodale Kids.

It is not yet known if any staff members are moving from Rodale to PRH.

The New York-based Rodale Books has been led by several generations of the Rodale family and is known for publishing titles in the wellness, lifestyle, fitness, and cookbook categories for more than 75 years. These include An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore, The Bulletproof Diet by Dave Asprey and popular series such as The South Beach Diet along with trade titles from Prevention, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Runner’s World, and its other magazine and online brands. Penguin Random House will be acquiring over 100 frontlist titles from Rodale Books and the Rodale Kids imprint, and over 2,000 backlist titles.

Markus Dohle, c.e.o. of PRH, said: "Our exceptional publishing teams at both Crown Publishing Group and Random House Children's Books look forward to building upon Rodale Books' decades of success and supporting its distinguished authors and their books for decades more."

Maya Mavjee, president and publisher of Crown Publishing Group, said that Rodale Books Adult publishing program "complements our Harmony Books list perfectly". She added: " Bringing Harmony and Rodale together builds a powerhouse within our publishing division as a category leader, and we look forward to welcoming Rodale authors to our Group.”

Marcus said: “Rodale launched their Kids line with an inspiring commitment to shaping a brighter future for young readers, and this is evident in the focus of their books: encouraging and motivating good habits of nutrition, fitness, mindfulness, and environmental responsibility. The Rodale Kids titles will expand the offerings of our division into areas that we believe are so important for young readers, teens and families today."