Arcadia Publishing

Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.[2][3][4] Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publishes text-driven books on American history and folklore.

Arcadia Publishing
Arcadia Publishing
Parent companyLezen
Founded1993
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationCharleston, South Carolina, U.S.
DistributionSelf-distributed
Key peopleDavid Steinberger (CEO)[1]
Publication typesBooks
Imprints
No. of employees108
Official websitearcadiapublishing.com

History

Arcadia Publishing was founded in Dover, New Hampshire, in 1993 by United Kingdom-based Tempus Publishing, but became independent after being acquired by its CEO in 2004. The corporate office is in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.[5]

It has a catalog of more than 12,000 titles, and it—along with its subsidiary, The History Press—publishes 900 new titles every year.[6]

Its formula for regional publishing is to use local writers or historians to write about their community using 180 to 240 black-and-white photographs with captions and introductory paragraphs in a 128-page book.[7] The Images of America series is the company's largest product line. Other series include Images of Rail, Images of Sports, Images of Baseball, Black America, Postcard History, Campus History, Corporate History, Legendary Locals, Images of Modern America, and Then & Now.

In 2010, Arcadia became the first major publisher to print all of their books on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) paper. All of the publisher's books are also printed and manufactured in South Carolina on American-made paper.[8]

In May 2017, Arcadia acquired Palmetto Publishing Group, a Charleston-based self-publishing service that had been in business since 2015.[1]

In 2018, Arcadia was acquired by Lezen, a new company owned by Lili and Michael Lynton.[9]

In March 2019, Walter Isaacson became the editor-at-large and senior adviser for Arcadia Publishing, where he will be promoting books for the company as well as editing, new strategy development, and partnerships.[10]

The History Press

The History Press is a subsidiary publishing house, owned by Arcadia. Its books mainly deal with "narratives of local heroes, tragic losses, collections of homegrown recipes, historic mysteries, and everything in between."[11] Some of their series include: American Legends (a series focused on local mythology, legends, and mysteries), Forgotten Tales (a line of books that catalogue near-forgotten stories), and Haunted America (paranormal history books that are written by local authors about ghost stories specific to cities across the US).[12][13][14]

The History Press was originally a U.S. subsidiary of United Kingdom-based publisher of the same name. In 2014, the U.S.-based portion of The History Press was sold to Arcadia Publishing.[15]

Acquisitions

In May 2019, Arcadia Publishing acquired Pelican Publishing Company.[16]

In 2021, Arcadia acquired Commonwealth Editions from Applewood Books.[17]

Distribution

The books are printed in the United States. Arcadia handles its own sales and distribution with the following each accounting for a third of the company's sales:

References
  1. Moore, Thad (May 30, 2017). "Mount Pleasant-based Arcadia Publishing buys Charleston-based self-publishing service in effort to diversify business". The Post and Courier. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  2. "Histories in the Making". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 11, 2002 – via Newsbank.
  3. Nolte, Carl (October 27, 2005). "Mini-Americana Publisher Finds Small to Be Bountiful". San Francisco Chronicle.
  4. Rice, Mark (Fall 2009). "Arcadian Visions of the Past" (PDF). Columbia Journal of American Studies. Vol. 9. pp. 7–26. Retrieved September 19, 2017.(analysis of the successful Images of America series).
  5. "Neighborhood Life". Neighborhoodlife.net. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  6. "Our Story". Arcadia Publishing. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  7. Hall, Alan (March 20, 2005). "The Book Is at the Printer!". Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County, Ohio. Archived from the original on October 2, 2006. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
    Hall, Alan (July 3, 2005). "Steubenville A Book Written by Librarians". Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County, Ohio. Archived from the original on October 2, 2006. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
    Hall is a co-author and describes the process of writing and editing an Acadia book Steubenville ISBN 978-0-7385-3399-5.
  8. Staff Writer (February 10, 2010). "Arcadia Publishing Becomes 100% FSC Certified". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  9. "Investor group acquires Arcadia Publishing". Charlestonbusiness.com. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  10. Hoff, Patrick (March 25, 2019). "Walter Isaacson joins Arcadia Publishing". Charleston Regional Business Journal. SC Biz News. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  11. "The History Press". Arcadia Publishing. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  12. "American Legends". The History Press. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  13. "Forgotten Tales". The History Press. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  14. "Haunted America". The History Press. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  15. "Arcadia Publishing Buys The History Press". Publishers Weekly. July 9, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  16. Milliot, Jim (April 4, 2019). "Arcadia Will Buy Pelican Publishing". Publishers Weekly. United States: PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  17. "Arcadia Acquires Commonwealth Editions from Applewood Books".
  18. Milliot, Jim (August 9, 2004). "Arcadia Publishing Adopts National View". Publishers Weekly'. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
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