F+W, (formerly F+W Publications and F+W Media), was a media and e-commerce company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1913, F+W published

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s, books, digital products (including e-books and e-magazines), produced online video, offered online education, and owned and operated e-stores, as well as consumer and trade shows.

History

F+W was named after two of its early publications: ''Farm Quarterly'' and '' Writer's Digest''. The company grew though a series of acquisitions, including book publisher David & Charles,

Krause Publications Krause Publications is an American publisher of hobby magazines and books. Originally a company founded and based in Iola, Wisconsin, they relocated to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, in April 2018. The company was started by Chester L. Krause (19232 ...

in 2002, '' Horticulture'' magazine, and Adams Media in 2003. The private equity firm ABRY Partners purchased F+W in 2005. In August 2012 F+W Media acquired Interweave, an arts and crafts media company based in Loveland, Colorado. In 2014, F+W Media acquired New Track Media, renamed itself F+W, and was acquired by the private equity company Tinicum. In 2008, the company began to focus more on e-commerce activities and offering products and services related to the content of its magazines. The e-commerce business grew from one store with $6 million in revenue in 2008 to 31 e-commerce stores with more than $65 million for 2015. In May 2017, some creditors received a 97% stake in the company in exchange for debt relief and a new line of credit.

Demise

In January 2018, with the CEO and two other top executives leaving the company, F+W slashed its workforce by 40%. F+W filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

protection on March 10, 2019. The book publishing assets of the company were won by Penguin Random House at a bankruptcy auction in June 2019. The grouping of the assets drew criticism. Several properties including '' Sky & Telescope'' were sold individually.

Overview

F+W Media was a special interest content provider and marketer of enthusiast magazines, books, conferences, trade shows, and interactive media properties. F+W's special-interest categories included art, crafts, mixed media, writing, genealogy, antiques and collectibles,

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

. In 2011 the Company entered the fiction market with the acquisition of Tyrus Books. In 2012, the company launched imprints in romance (Crimson Romance) and young adult fiction (Merit Press). Publications were organized around some 20 community-based units, each of which focuses on a particular special interest category. The company also published about 600 new book titles annually, and had a library of some 4000 titles. Its brands were David & Charles, Impact Books,

, North Light Books, '' Writer's Digest'' and Interweave Press.

Situation after dissolution

In June 2019 the assets of F+W were sold at bankruptcy auctions. Various assets of F+W were sold prior to the bankruptcy filing.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Defunct publishing companies of the United States Defunct companies based in New York City Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 Publishing companies established in 1913 American companies established in 1913 1913 establishments in Ohio 2019 disestablishments in Ohio American companies disestablished in 2019