St. Martin's Reference Division and Macmillan Press UK Combine to Create Palgrave

Posted on June 16, 2000

The Scholarly & Reference Division of St. Martin's Press and its British sister company, Macmillan Press (UK), have announced the creation of a new brand. As of September 2000, the two companies will be reorganized to operate as an integrated worldwide publishing company with a new name: Palgrave. In order to implement this ambitious strategy for growth, the new imprint is in the process of increasing its staff by 25%.

St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Press (UK) are members of the Holtzbrinck Group of companies. Holtzbrinck, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, also owns Scientific American, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Henry Holt and Company, and Handelsblatt, among other media properties.

``Our goal is to be the new academic publisher of choice in this changing world,'' says Garrett Kiely, President and Publisher of the St. Martin's Press Scholarly & Reference Division. ``We want our publishing activities to be a network linking people in the active pursuit of ideas, learning and scholarship. Such interaction -- between those expanding knowledge and those seeking it -- is vital in today's information-based global economy. We are here to provide it.''

Palgrave was chosen as the integrated organization's name because of its association with intellectual achievement both in the US and the UK. It is also a name that has strong connections in the world of arts, humanities, and academic scholarship. The Golden Treasury by Francis Turner Palgrave was first published by Macmillan in 1861, remains in print to this day. Most recently, the name has been used for multi-volume reference books in economics and finance that are considered the standard works in the field. ``The history and prestige of this new name makes it a perfect vehicle to re-launch our academic publishing for the future,'' says Kiely.