Here it is folks! Our big announcement at Frankfurt, as seen today in The Bookseller and Book Trade publications…
The O’Brien Press, Ireland’s leading independent publisher, has announced its acquisition of distinguished Irish press Brandon Books, a year after its founder, Steve MacDonogh, died suddenly, leaving Brandon leaderless.
This important deal includes the purchase of the Brandon name and a significant number of their key titles, their contracts and book stock. Brandon Books will continue trading as an imprint of The O’Brien Press as of October 2011.
Publisher and founder of The O’Brien Press, Michael O’Brien, noted that The O’Brien Press looked forward to welcoming many of Brandon’s writers to their new home at The O’Brien Press and commented:
‘Steve was a man of many talents. From a small base in beautiful Kerry, he created an international literary press. He was a lifelong friend and colleague.’
Brandon Books has been a leading imprint in Ireland since 1982, during which time it has established an international reputation for both fiction and non-fiction. It has enjoyed a colourful and often controversial history and its list includes bestselling authors such as Alice Taylor, whose 1995 book, To School Through the Fields, quickly became the biggest-selling book ever published in Ireland.
Looking forward to 2012, Ivan O’Brien, Managing Director of The O’Brien Press, commented:
‘We will be focusing on fiction of literary quality and will actively seek out new original talent, bringing to our Brandon imprint the care, flair and fresh thinking that has helped O’Brien become Ireland’s leading independent publisher. Of course, we will continue to publish established authors like Alice Taylor, Gerry Adams and Sam Millar. Brandon authors will benefit from our worldwide literary agency network and from our in-house design, editorial and production management.’
The O’Brien Press, founded in 1974, is an independent, award-winning book publisher with almost 600 titles in print. With over 500 active translation agreements in 50 territories, O’Brien Press has built a reputation for books of quality and integrity both at home and abroad.
Visit the Brandon Website to see their excellent list.