From our friends at Dundurn Press:
Dundurn Press announced today that it has purchased Thomas Allen Publishers. The anticipated closing date will take place on August 1, 2013. Thomas Allen & Son Limited will continue to act as distributor for its expanding list of US and UK client publishers.
“Thomas Allen & Son has a long tradition of book publishing in Canada,” says Kirk Howard, president of Dundurn Press. “As a fellow Canadian publisher, with our own mandate to preserve history, we have tremendous respect for Thomas Allen’s contribution to our country’s publishing landscape. By purchasing Thomas Allen Publishers, Dundurn Press will ensure that the company’s legacy continues.”
“I am confident,” says Thomas Allen & Son president and CEO Jim Allen, “that Dundurn will continue publishing books to the high standard that Thomas Allen Publishers has built its reputation on. These past 13 years have seen tremendous successes, including being honoured with Canada’s most prestigious literary awards and nominations. As Thomas Allen & Son focuses on the growth of our distribution business, I am thrilled that our authors and agents will be supported in their essential work by Dundurn Press.”
The publishing division of Thomas Allen & Son Limited launched in 2000 with Patrick Crean at the helm and the objective of returning to the original mandate, set down in 1916, of publishing books with distinction and merit. The current author roster includes Tamas Dobozy, author of Siege 13, winner of the 2012 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize; Priscilla Uppal, whose memoir Projection will release in September; and Ted Barris, whose new book, The Great Escape, will release in October.
Dundurn Press has a long history of expansion. It acquired Natural Heritage Books and Beach Holme Books in 2007, the English-language version publishing arm of XYZ in 2008, and Napoleon & Co. in 2011. Also that year, Dundurn merged with Patrick Boyer’s company, Blue Butterfly Books.
Dundurn Press was founded in 1972 by Kirk Howard, who was at the time a community college instructor frustrated by the lack of books on Canadian history. At first a small publisher of Canadian nonfiction, focusing on military history, current affairs, politics, and biography, the company has since expanded. Publishing more than 100 books a year, the publishing program now includes award-winning adult and YA fiction, mysteries, biographies, business, and current affairs titles, as well as a wide range of military history. This fall season will feature books from Steve Paikin, architect Eberhard Zeidler, Ann Ireland, musicians Sean Kelly and Christopher Ward, amongst others.
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