Parent company Here Media has announced that Alyson Books, which has not put out a print book since 2009, will from now on exclusively publish e-books.
Publishers Weekly reports John Knoebel, v-p of consumer marketing at Here Media, has been named interim publisher until a new digital publisher can be found. Knoebel said he doesn't expect Alyson to begin publishing e-books for nine to 12 months. 'We want to develop a strategy that makes sense,' he said, adding that Here Media would like to have the new publisher on board and involved with creating the new business model. The recruitment of a digital publisher "could take some time,' Knoebel said."
One major reason for the change? The recent closure of many gay bookstores. Current publisher Don Weise, who will now leave Alyson, made several unsuccessful attempts to purchase the publishing house form Here. Weise has issued a press release that reads in part:
“I worked for months to get a deal done—not just for myself, but especially for the many authors whose work has defined Alyson for the past 30 years. After shopping the press around to several publishers, it became clear that the only way to preserve Alyson was for me to assemble financing to purchase the company myself. But even after offering a price that I believe to be twice the fair market value, we were unable to come to an agreement.”
