Kane/Miller

Kane/Miller
Parent company Educational Development Corporation
Founded 1984
Founder Madeline Kane and Sandy Miller
Country of origin United States
Headquarters location La Jolla, California
Publication types Books
Official website www.kanemiller.com

Kane/Miller Book Publishers, Inc.[1] is a La Jolla, California-based specialty children's book publisher of international titles. The company was acquired by the Educational Development Corporation in 2008.

History

Kane/Miller was founded in 1984 by siblings Madeline Kane and Sandy Miller.[2][3] Miller had previously been involved with importing movies from outside the United States of America, and when he had his first child, he realized the cultural benefits of also bringing in books.[4] The publisher found success in 1993 with Tarō Gomi's Everyone Poops, a Japanese language import that sold over one million copies and is now their best-known title.[4][5] By 2000, the company closed its Brooklyn, New York offices to be based solely in La Jolla, California.[6] Both Kane and Miller retired by 2001, at which point the company had only three employees.[2] Kira Lynn was named the new head of the company shortly thereafter, and title output subsequently increased from approximately three titles per season to anywhere from eight to eleven.[6]

Acquisition

By December 1, 2008 Kane/Miller had been acquired by the Educational Development Corporation (EDC),[7] the sole US trade publisher of the United Kingdom-based Usborne Books.[8][9] According to Randall White, board chairman, CEO, and President of EDC, the integration of the two companies went smoothly.[9] The move was well received within the publishing industry, and EDC expressed hope that it would increase sales.[9] However, due to the late-2000s recession, sales in the 2009 fiscal year were somewhat decreased.[9]

Products

Kane/Miller titles are mainly international titles with multi-cultural themes, offering around 110 titles in 2005.[4][9] The majority of the company's titles are fiction, geared mostly towards four to eight year-olds, although the company has also published some books for readers in the baby-prekindergarten and nine to twelve age ranges.[10] As stated above, the publisher's greatest commercial success was Everyone Poops, followed by Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Australian author Mem Fox which began its publishing run in 1985, and as of 2005 was nearing one million copies sold.[4] Another top-seller was 2004's Guji Guji by Taiwanese author Chih-Yuan Chen, which sold 65,000 copies between 2004 and 2005.[4] The company became the US distributor of the Anna Hibiscus series by UK-based Nigerian author Atinuke Tanya Akinyemi-Sears in 2010.[11] Recently, Kane/Miller began seeking stories from American authors as well, in order to diversify their offerings.[9]

The publisher is currently looking for submissions about social issues, manners, self-help, death, art, music, sports, and science.[10]

Sales

Kane/Miller books have not been sold at Amazon.com since 2012.[5] Like other books from Educational Development Corporation, they are sold to traditional bookstores and by independent salespeople at book fairs and on the party plan. Since shortly after their decision to stop selling to Amazon, the company's total sales have increased significantly.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Welcome to the World of Kane Miller Books". Kane/Miller. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Children's Books From Around The World". Urban Mozaik Magazine. 2001. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Speakers". Usborne Books & More. 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lodge, Sally (April 4, 2005). "What's your niche? Five children's publishers have identified specific needs, and are targeting those markets". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Evatt, Robert (21 June 2014). "Educational Development Corporation succeeds despite Amazon". Tulsa World.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Britton, Jason; Diane Roback (March 11, 2002). "Catching Up A look at recent changes in children". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Kane/Miller Book Publishers Inc.". BusinessWeek. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  8. ↑ "About EDC". Educational Development Corporation. 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 "Educational Development Corporation 2009 Annual Report". Educational Development Corporation. 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Kane/Miller Book Publishers". JacketFlap. April 18, 2007. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Osagie, Evelyn (March 14, 2012). "‘I am married to books’". The Nation. Retrieved April 9, 2012.