IPG to distribute several new publishers, including Parenting Press and World Book imprints Bright Connections Media and Incentive Publications

March 18, 2013

CHICAGO, March 18, 2013—Independent Publishers Group is proud to announce that it has signed up several new publishers for distribution: Parenting Press, World Book’s Bright Connections Media and Incentive Publications imprints, the Institute of Economic Affairs, Sussex Academic Press and Te Papa Press.

Seattle-based Parenting Press will be distributed by IPG, effective immediately. Parenting Press was established in 1979 by Elizabeth Crary with the publication of Without Spanking or Spoiling: A Practical Approach to Toddler and Preschool Guidance, which remains in print. For more than three decades, the company has been publishing a wide variety of resources for parents, educators, children and early childhood professionals. Their best selling title, Janan Cain’s The Way I Feel, a children’s picture book about emotions, has more than 1.7 million copies in print.

“In this bookselling environment, we are delighted to have the opportunity for the broader market penetration that IPG and its sales staff can offer,” said Carolyn Threadgill, publisher of Parenting Press.

The company’s titles also include more than 100 other children’s and child-guidance books as well as teacher guides, a monthly newsletter and downloadable information sheets.

Bright Connections Media and Incentive Publications, two new imprints of Chicago-based World Book Inc., will also be distributed by IPG, effective immediately. Recently acquired by World Book, Incentive Publications specializes in educational resources for the middle grades and effective teaching strategies for grades K-12. Their backlist includes more than 400 titles. Among Incentive’s best sellers are its comprehensive BASIC/Not Boring series and, for teachers, Learn to Love Teaching Again and Teaching Kids to Manage Their Own Behavior. Started in fall 2012, Bright Connections Media aims to publish books that connect children’s curiosities to a solid foundation of sound information, helping to ensure that the child’s reading experience is fun, educational and engaging. This fall, Bright Connections Media will publish several titles, including My First Ten Pictures, a counting book illustrated with classic paintings, and Monsters and Mythical Beasts, a field guide to fantastical beasts.

Founded in 1955 and based in London, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is the UK’s pre-eminent free-market, economic think tank. Its stated mission is to “improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analyzing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.” Best known for their flagship publication The Journal of Economic Affairs, IEA also publishes between 15-20 frontlist titles a year with a backlist of about 300. Their U.S. and Canadian distribution will be handled exclusively through IPG’s River North Editions beginning this summer.

Sussex Academic Press is based in Brighton, England, and publishes between 30 and 40 titles each year. Their active backlist of nearly 350 titles spans several academic disciplines from Humanities, Theology & Religion, and Economics to Middle East Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, Social Sciences, and Literary Criticism. Sussex Academic will begin distribution services through IPG’s River North Editions program on July 1, 2013.

The publishing arm of New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa Press publishes a wide range of nonfiction trade books based on the museum’s collections and exhibitions as well as other richly illustrated contemporary and historical art books and award-winning titles that represent New Zealand’s unique national identity. They have a backlist of around 75 titles and will begin distribution services this fall through IPG’s Art Stock Books.

Established in 1971, IPG was the first organization specifically created for the purpose of selling and marketing titles from independent presses to the book trade. Acquired by Chicago Review Press, Inc. in 1987, IPG has a wide reach in the market, distributing academic, Spanish-language, computer and general trade nonfiction and fiction titles. In the fall of 2006, the senior management of Chicago Review Press, Inc., the parent company of IPG, bought Trafalgar Square Publishing, Inc., the leading U.S. distributor of UK publishers.

Backed by IPG’s full sales and marketing force, River North Editions was established to distribute titles with more scholarly appeal, ideal for specialized retailers, course adoption and library collection development, to the U.S. and Canadian markets. Some of the most respected publishers in the world are distributed through River North Editions. Acquired in 2010 as a new distribution arm of IPG, Art Stock Books features fine art, architecture, design and photography titles from publishers worldwide.

For more information, please contact Publicity Manager Jen Wisnowski, (312) 337-0747 ext. 227.