Boyars sells titles to Penguin as it begins wind down
10.09.09 Benedicte Page in The Bookseller

Penguin has acquired 38 titles from Marion Boyars, as the 40-year-old independent publisher begins the process of winding down. Marion Boyars said the rest of its backlist was now available for acquisition but that the company would continue for the time being, and had "a full autumn programme".
Penguin's classics publisher Adam Freudenheim has acquired titles including Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Hubert Selby's Last Exit to Brooklyn and Hong Ying's K: The Art of Love, as well as works by Georges Bataille and Elias Canetti. Freudenheim said he was "delighted to be able to find a home for these titles at Penguin." Most will be published as Penguin Modern Classics in 2010 and 2011.
The company, which started out in the 1960s as Calder and Boyars and has been run by Marion Boyars' daughter Catheryn Kilgarriff since 1999, gave the news in a letter to trade customers.
It said: "Penguin have bought 38 titles from us and once we have completed our autumn program we will concentrate solely on the remainder of the backlist whilst operations wind down. Whilst Cathy has enjoyed the challenges faced here since she took over from Marion and is pleased to have achieved success with many new titles, she feels that in the current climate the time is right to sell."