Our strategy

Bloomsbury Publishing is one of Europe's leading independent publishing houses with a reputation for a high quality management team and a highly valuable portfolio of intellectual properties.

The company has particular strengths in:

Media and Electronic Reference publishing - This forms part of the Specialist Division and developes information databases for electronic as well as print publication. The division has a number of major databases, one of which, The Encarta World English Dictionary in association with Microsoft, was completed in 1999. The English Language Teaching Database, the second of our databases was completed at the end of 2001, and the first publication from the database, The Macmillan English Dictionary, published in 2002, aimed at those learning English as a second language, is the only dictionary for learners to be created and published in both British and American English.

The Business Database was completed in 2002 and the first publication from the database, Business - The Ultimate Resource, had its worldwide launch in October of the same year. The databases are aimed at exploiting the massive growth of the use of the English language as the dominant communication tool in electronic and print form.

In 2007 we concluded a significant deal with the Qatar Financial Centre Authority. Qatar Finance - The Ultimate Resource is a new information resource aimed at financial professionals from CEOs and CFOs to junior accountants. Unique in the breadth and depth of information and including particular emphasis on best practice and thought leadership, the project, being written by over 300 high level contributors, will be launched in 2009.

In October 2008 Bloomsbury's new partnership with the Qatar Foundation (www.qf.org.qa), the Doha-based educational foundation, was announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair. This second significant agreement with Qatar is for the development of a three-fold business plan: firstly to publish books in Arabic and English, secondly to encourage reading and writing development initiatives, and thirdly to transfer publishing skills and knowledge to Qatar.

Children's publishing - a highly successful list including successful authors such as J.K.Rowling, Debi Gliori, and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Fiction and Non-Fiction - a growing list of successful authors such as Khaled Hosseini, William Boyd, Margaret Atwood, Joanna Trollope, Donna Tartt, Sophie Dahl, Richard Ford, David Guterson, John Irving, Michael Ondaatje, Jay McInerney, Ben Schott, Anthony Bourdain, William Dalrymple, Ben Macintyre, Heston Blumenthal and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

One of the company's greatest skills has been its ability to identify new authors, and using aggressive sales and marketing skills to publish their books successfully. This has been demonstrated over the years with authors such as Michael Ondaatje (The English Patient), David Guterson (Snow Falling on Cedars), J.K.Rowling, Ben Schott (Schott's Original Miscellany) and Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential). The company has a strategy of generating highly valuable, long term publishing rights, building a back catalogue of regular repeat income capable of exploitation in a variety of media.

Exploiting intellectual property

A key element to Bloomsbury's strategy is to broaden the base on which it acquires and exploits intellectual property. This began in 1994 with retaining paperback rights and moving into children's publishing. With the advent of the internet, the company identified a growing demand for quality on-line reference content which culminated in the development of our first major database, The Encarta World English Dictionary.

Our next move was to set up a US operation for our adult list so books could be acquired and published under the Bloomsbury imprint worldwide. The US market is four times the size of the UK market, so there is massive potential for growth. The US adult list list is already making its mark and producing bestsellers. During 2001 we set up Bloomsbury Children's USA to capitalise on the success of the UK children's operation. The first titles in the publishing programme were published in May 2002.

In October 2001 Bloomsbury launched an audiobook list of major abridged and non-abridged adult and children's titles.

In September 2008, Bloomsbury launched its own scholarly imprint, Bloomsbury Academic, specialising initially in the humanities and social sciences. Publications will be available on the internet free of charge and will carry Creative Commons licences. Simultaneously, physical books will be produced and sold on normal business terms around the world. For the first time a major publishing company is opening up an entirely new imprint to be accessed easily and freely on the internet. By supporting scholarly communication in this way, our authors will be better served in the digital age.

Creative Artists Agency - Hollywood

Over the years, we have developed a track record for successful books that have subsequently been made into films, The English Patient, The Piano, Snow Falling on Cedars, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Holes (2003) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). The agreement with the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Hollywood has opened a channel into the film business. For new books on our list with great film potential, we will submit direct to the CAA, thus increasing the chances of a film being made. We will then take a commission on all film royalty revenues earned.

A&C Black acquisition

Bloomsbury acquired A&C Black Plc in July 2000. The company, which was founded over 197 years ago, has developed a portfolio of highly valuable properties. These include, Who's Who, Black's Medical Dictionary, the Adlard Coles nautical list and the Christopher Helm ornithology list. By bringing the two companies together, the group has the opportunity to exploit the huge library of reference material, and develop new electronic databases. The amalgamation of the two company's reference divisions is already underway. By incorporating Bloomsbury's sales and marketing expertise into A&C Black's publishing programme, it is envisaged that there will be considerable scope to grow turnover within the company over the coming years.

A&C Black has made four strategic acquisitions:

Whitaker's Almanack

Whitaker's Almanack was acquired by A&C Black in May 2002. First published in 1868, twenty years after the first edition of Who's Who, Whitaker's Almanack was founded by Joseph Whitaker, publisher and part time editor of, The Gentleman's Magazine. To help with his work, he compiled a book of newspaper cuttings, extracts from government statistics, astronomical charts, calendars and anniversaries. This source material became the basis of Whitaker's Almanack which was an instant success, subscribing 36,000 copies before publication and updated annually since then. The books fits in well with A&C Black's existing list and there are many opportunities to build on its success through print and electronic exploitation.

T & AD Poyser Natural History

A&C Black acquired the T&AD Poyser Natural History list in June 2002. The imprint has been publishing quality ornithology books since 1973. The books on the list have won a string of awards and is a welcome addition to the existing Helm ornithology list within A&C Black.

Thomas Reed Publications

A&C Black acquired Thomas Reed Pubications in September 2002. The imprint has been publishing nautical books since 1768. Titles on the list are aimed at professional training for merchant mariners and also the practical boating leisure market. The books will be published alongside A&C Black's Adlard Coles nautical list and consolidates our position as one of the world's largest nautical book publishers.

Andrew Brodie Publications

In January 2003, A&C Black acquired Andrew Brodie Publications, an educational publisher of photocopiable books for the UK schools market. A&C Black already has a highly successful educational list, and the additional material that comes with Andrew Brodie, will give the Company greater penetration into the schools educational market.

Bloomsbury's acquisition of Peter Collin Publishing Limited

Bloomsbury acquired the specialist dictionary and language publisher, Peter Collin Publishing Limited in September 2002. Peter Collin Publishing is well-known in academic and international markets for its range of high-quality English and bilingual dictionaries. It publishes over 130 dictionaries and language titles that are used by students, translators and professionals around the world. It also includes the Aspect Guides imprint publishing travel guides and phrase books and publishes the UK's best-selling crossword reference title, Bradford's Crossword Dictionary. The strengths of the Peter Collin list in specialist and bilingual dictionaries complement our own dictionary ranges and will substantially enhance our reference publishing programme.

Acquisition of Berlin Verlag

In March 2003 Bloomsbury acquired Berlin Verlag Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH and BvT Berliner Taschenbuch Verlags GmbH ("Berlin Verlag"), together one of Germany's leading literary publishers, from its founder Arnulf Conradi. Berlin Verlag publishes 30 hardback and 72 paperback titles per year and has a backlist of 350 titles. The majority of Berlin Verlag's books are read by adults and its authors include Nadine Gordimer, Margaret Atwood, Richard Ford, Peter Esterhazy, Peter Nadas, Zeruya Shalev, Elke Schmitter, Ingo Schulze and Tilman Spengler. Several of Berlin Verlag's authors currently have their books published by Bloomsbury in the English language.

Bloomsbury, as a group, has acquired a huge library of intellectual property, which it is exploiting to build upon its successes to date. The key to the group's continued success is the on-going investment in books for future years publication. The group continues its search for talented new authors, which will contribute to the success of the group in future years.

Acquisition of Nautical Data Limited

In December 2003, Bloomsbury's subsidiary company, A&C Black Publishers Ltd acquired Nautical Data Ltd, the publishers of the Reed's Nautical Almanac series. First published in 1932, the Reed's Nautical Almanac is a unique compendium of annually updated navigational and port information, relied upon by tens of thousands of leisure and professional boaters. The Almanac and its regional editions, will become part of A & C Black's Adlard Coles Nautical imprint.

Acquisition of Walker Publishing

In December 2004, Bloomsbury acquired Walker Publishing Company, Inc. of the USA. Walker was founded 45 years ago by Samuel S. Walker, Jr, and is a publisher of Adult Non-fiction and Children's books. Major titles on Walker's list include Dava Sobel's bestsellers, Longitude and Galileo's Daughter, Mark Kurlansky's Cod and Salt and Ross King's Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, along with Judith Finchler's children's classic, Testing Miss Malarkey, illustrated by Kevin O'Malley. Other earlier authors were Isaac Asimov on the Adult list and Barbara Cooney and Tomie De Paola on the Children's list.

The business operations of Walker and Bloomsbury USA will be combined, although the book imprints of both companies will remain as separate divisions within the US company. The acquisition has enabled Bloomsbury to broaden its presence in the US publishing market.

Acquisition of Methuen Drama

In June 2006 A & C Black, completed the acquisition of Methuen Drama from Methuen Publishing Limited. The highly prestigious and established Methuen Drama list includes plays by top contemporary authors such as Caryl Churchill, Michael Frayn and Mark Ravenhill, as well as established classics by Bertolt Brecht, Oscar Wilde and Dario Fo, and is an excellent fit with A&C Black's existing Theatre and Drama books, including the New Mermaids series of plays. The combination of the two lists gives A&C Black the largest Theatre and Drama list in the UK.

Acquisition of Featherstone

Acquired in March 2008, Featherstone is a specialist educational publisher aimed at teachers and professionals who work with 0-7 year olds. The list is complementary to A&C Black's leading lists in primary education and teacher resources and is now successfully integrated into our schools sales and marketing organisation.

Acquisition of Berg Publishers

Acquired in September 2008, Berg Publishers is a specialist Oxford-based academic publisher of books and journals aimed at students and professionals in the subjects of design, fashion, anthropology, history and craft. Berg is a market leader in its field having pioneered the concept of fashion theory which is now a course widely taught at universities throughout the world. The company is in the process of creating a major online subscription-based resource, the Berg Fashion Library, for fashion students, lecturers and the broader industry. It is scheduled to be launched in 2010.

Acquisition of John Wisden & Co

Acquired in November 2008, Wisden is the UK's and the world's best- known sports yearbook, with its annual Almanack approaching its 150th anniversary. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack will join our other famous reference titles including Who's Who, Whitaker's Almanack, Writers' & Artists' Yearbook and best-selling sports books such as the Know the Game series. The great names in cricket have been contributors to Wisden, from Sir Neville Cardus to Mike Atherton. New books for 2009 include Wisden on the Ashes.

Acquisition of The Arden Shakespeare

Purchased in December 2008, The Arden Shakespeare publishes the premier scholarly editions of Shakespeare worldwide. It is being integrated into Methuen Drama, a list which has shown strong organic growth since its acquisition in 2006, with a number of important new estates signed, including Arthur Miller and George Bernard Shaw. We expect similar growth from Arden which will benefit from the global sales and marketing operation already in place for Methuen and in particular sales being handled through Bloomsbury USA's operation.