F+W (formerly F+W Publications and F+W Media) was a media and e-commerce company headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Founded in 1913 in Cincinnati, F+W published

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

s, 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 ''Writer's Digest'' is an American magazine aimed at beginning and established writers. It contains interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles. History ''Writer's Digest'' was first published in December 1920 und ...

''. The company grew though a series of acquisitions, including book publisher

David & Charles David & Charles Ltd is an English publishing company. It is the owner of the David & Charles imprint, which specialises in craft and lifestyle publishing. David and Charles Ltd acts as distributor for all David and Charles Ltd books and cont ...

Krause Publications Krause Publications is an American publisher of hobby magazines and books. The company was started by Chester L. Krause (19232016) in 1952 and published '' Numismatic News''. In the coin collecting community the company is best known for its ...

in 2002, ''

Horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

'' 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 E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

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, w ...

protection on March 10, 2019. The book publishing assets of the company were won by

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

at a bankruptcy auction in June 2019. The grouping of the assets drew criticism. Several properties including ''

Sky & Telescope ''Sky & Telescope'' (''S&T'') is a monthly magazine covering all aspects of amateur and professional astronomy, including what to see in the sky tonight and new findings in astronomy. Other topics covered include: *observing guides for planets, ...

'' 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 Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

crafts A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes work of art, artwork in which more than one Art medium, medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different List of art media, media. M ...

writing Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

antiques An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

and

collectibles A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

. 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

, Impact Books,

, North Light Books, ''

'' 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