Jewish Publication Society (JPS) Sells Inventory to U. of Nebraska Press

Via JTA:

“The university’s Board of Regents approved the agreement last Friday despite concerns that the purchase of the publication society’s 250 book titles, for $610,000, would not be profitable.

JPS, a 123-year-old publisher based in Philadelphia, reportedly has an annual revenue of $1 million to $1.5 million. Half of its sales — about 50,000 books — are of the JPS Bible, the most widely read version of the Old Testament, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.”

From the Lincoln Journal Star:

We’re basically going to be taking over the process from manuscript publication through distribution and sales,” said Donna Shear, director of the NU Press. “They will develop the content, but we will handle the rest of the process.”

Under the arrangement, the Jewish Publication Society would continue to find and develop new works. The society’s annual revenue is between $1 million and $1.5 million, Shear said. It sells more than 50,000 copies of the Bible each year, representing nearly half of its book sales, said Rabbi Barry Schwartz, CEO of the society.

Like many small independent publishers, the society has struggled in recent years to publish its many titles, and it began looking for a university press with which to partner, Schwartz said.

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Filed under: Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Publishing