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New Boston Partners, LLC, Owner of Samuel Weiser, Inc., Becomes RED WHEEL/WEISER
New imprint launched; will specialize in the area of spiritual self-help
New Boston Partners, LLC, which purchased Samuel Weiser, Inc., the 50-year-old publisher, in December 2000, has been re-named Red Wheel/Weiser, it was announced today by Michael Kerber, President and CEO, and Jan Johnson, Publisher. Starting with the company's fall list, books will be published under both the Weiser Books and its newly created Red Wheel imprints."This name change is our first step toward broadening the range of books we publish," said Kerber. "In addition to Weiser's established foundation of esoterica, we are now moving wholeheartedly into the area of spiritual self-help. We've also geared up our sales and marketing efforts. We've hired Chris Wold, most recently special sales director at Tuttle Publishing, as sales and marketing director and added commissioned sales rep groups."
"Red Wheel Books are more about practice than they are about theory," added Johnson. "Red Wheel is about a broad definition of spirituality and of books. We're talking about books and other mixed media with print tools for people to use to find ways to enhance and improve their own lives."
Since December, the company has been actively signing up books in this area. Among the authors under contact are the husband and wife team Monte Farber and Amy Zerner, who will reflect on their marriage and other collaborations in the tentatively titled Love, Light, & Laughter: Secrets of the Enchanted Couple. The book is part spiritual autobiography and part "secrets" for anyone to use to enhance their own intimate relationships. In Spirit Maps, the writer, artist, and spiritual seeker Joanna Arettam has brought together more than 35 full-color pieces of contemporary art, arrange in the order of the charka spectrum, with meditations that help readers find respite and energy. The inspired singer, teacher, and medium Carol Lynne is creating a book and CD package called Heart and Sound that teaches how to send prayer energy out into the universe and get it back in manifold ways.
"We're not re-inventing the wheel, so-to-speak," Johnson commented. "But the idea of the book has changed and expanded. Red Wheel will provide new, simple, interactive ways for people to connect to each other, to connect to their inner lives, and to connect their inner lives with their out-in-the-world lives. We found the red wheel to be an apt symbol for what we're trying to do. Wheels get you places, move you forward. They're a symbol of both motion and wholeness in just about every culture or religious belief system. Red is, of course, the color of passion and life. We hope-- and believe-- people will find comfort, inspiration, passion, and answers through these books."
"We'll publish at least eight Red Wheel titles per season," Kerber said. "Plus we'll continue to publish traditional Weiser titles as well, including occult classics that aren't available anywhere else." Red Wheel/Weiser also maintains an active backlist of more than 400 titles and Weiser Wholesale, another division, annually distributes 3,500 titles for nearly 200 client publishers.