Lerner Publishing Group, based in Minneapolis in the U.S. state of Minnesota since its founding in 1959, is one of the largest

independently owned A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

children's book publishers in the United States. With more than 5,000 titles in print, Lerner Publishing Group offers

nonfiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

and

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

books for grades

K-12 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

History

Lerner was founded in 1959 by Harry Lerner. The company started as a one-room office in the old

Lumber Exchange Building The Lumber Exchange Building was the first skyscraper built in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, dating to 1885. It was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by Franklin B. Long and Frederick Kees and was billed as one of the fir ...

in downtown Minneapolis. Lerner's sister-in-law, Marguerite Rush Lerner, M.D., asked him to publish her stories about childhood diseases. These became the Medical Books for Children series (1959). The company has expanded to encompass four offices: the main Lerner building, Lerner Distribution Center, and Muscle Bound Bindery, all located in Minneapolis, and a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

office located in the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...

. In 1963, Lerner was the first publisher to print original art featuring multi-racial children, and has continued a tradition of innovation.

Imprints

Lerner Publications

Lerner Publications is intended for K-5 students, publishing 130 books annually in photo-driven series for schools and libraries.

Millbrook Press

Millbrook was a Connecticut-based publisher founded in 1989 by the French publisher Groupe de la Cite. Millbrook was sold to a group led by management in 1994. Lerner acquired Millbrook Press in 2004. Millbrook publishes under three sub-imprints: Millbrook, Copper Beech, and Twenty-First Century. Millbrook prints books for both the consumer and school market

Millbrook's trade imprint, Roaring Brook Press, was sold separately to Macmillan Publishers, Holtzbrinck Publishers.

Carolrhoda Books

Carolrhoda Books was begun in 1969, named after Carolrhoda Locketz, a close friend of Sharon Lerner who died after serving in the Peace Corps. Carolrhoda publishes about 20 titles annually: picture books,

, and single-title

for trade and library editions.

Graphic Universe

Graphic Universe was launched in 2006 and prints books in graphic novel format. The imprint has two main series: Twisted Journeys and Graphic Myths and Legends. The imprint is notable for using well-known artists from the comic book genre.

Twenty-First Century Books

Twenty-First Century Books was acquired along with Millbrook Press in 2004. This imprint focuses on books for grades 6+, usually photo-driven.

Ediciones Lerner

Ediciones Lerner prints

Spanish-language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

translations of popular nonfiction titles for

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

students.

LernerClassroom

LernerClassroom, launched in 2000, is specifically geared towards educational titles, including resources for teachers. Some titles are from the Group's list, and others are specially developed. The imprint works mostly with nonfiction, but some fiction.

Kar-Ben Publishing

Kar-Ben Publishing was acquired in 2001, for artwork- and photo-driven fiction and nonfiction titles geared for the children's Judaica market.

Cloverleaf Books

Created for K-2 grades, they contain bright, eye-catching art and picture book designs to grab the attention young readers.

Searchlight Books

Designed for grades 3-5, these books are simple, straightforward nonfiction texts that build children's’ reading skills.

Darby Creek Publishing

Darby Creek Publishing, which will continue as an imprint, was acquired by the Lerner Publishing Group in 2010. Established in 2002, Darby Creek, is in Columbus, Ohio and publishes K–12 fiction and nonfiction titles for the school and public library markets, and the trade bookstore market. Its authors include Lurlene McDaniel, David Lubar, and

Joseph Bruchac Joseph Bruchac (born October 16, 1942) is an American writer and storyteller based in New York. He writes about Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a particular focus on northeastern Native American and Anglo-American lives and folklore. He ...

. Lerner had been distributing Darby Creek titles since 2003.

Zest Books

Zest Books, a young adult nonfiction publisher, was founded in 2006 and acquired by Lerner in 2018.https://lernerbooks.com/Pages/Our-Imprints#brands

The Sharon Lerner Scholarship

The Sharon Lerner Scholarship is a four-week scholarship, begun in 1983, to honor Sharon Lerner, art director and founder of Carolrhoda Books. The scholarship is intended to promote understanding and cooperation between international publishers of children's book

References

* * Business.com
"Millbrook Press Inc. (the) Information."
Business.com. Accessed on July 22, 2008. * Lerner Books
"Lerner Books."
Lerner Publishing Group. Accessed on July 22, 2008. {{Authority control Companies based in Minneapolis Book publishing companies based in Minnesota Privately held companies based in Minnesota Publishing companies established in 1959