Hachette acquires SPCK’s Sheldon Press

Hachette UKHachette UK has acquired Sheldon Press, a specialist medical, mental health and self-help imprint of the Christian knowledge publisher SPCK. It will become part of John Murray Learning. The terms of the transaction were undisclosed.

John Murray Learning will be retaining the Sheldon Press brand and has committed to announcing a full reissue programme plus “ambitious” front-list plans “in the near future”.

Sheldon Press has over 150 titles in print, covering a large range of mental and physical health issues faced by individuals in the developed world. The list includes eight titles on the Reading Well ‘Books on Prescription’ recommended reading list and a number of prize-winning titles at the British Medical Association Book Awards. Among its best known titles are Depressive Illness: The Curse of the Strong by Tim Cantopher and Curing Arthritis the Drug Free Way by Margaret Hills.

Nick Davies, Managing Director of John Murray Press, said, “We are delighted to welcome the authors of Sheldon Press to Hachette UK. We already have an excellent reputation in mental and physical health publishing thanks to a number of market-leading titles on our John Murray Learning and Jessica Kingsley lists, and this reputation will only be enhanced by this new relationship with Sheldon. We plan to expand the range and scale of our publishing and look forward to taking these important books to new audiences in the months and years ahead.”

UK, London

Salem Web Network acquires Godvine.com

Salem Web Network, the online division of Salem Communications Corporation, a U.S. radio broadcaster, Internet content provider and publisher targeting audiences interested in Christian and conservative opinion content, has acquired Christian website, Godvine.com.

Godvine.com is a leading source for Christian and family-friendly videos, reaching approximately 3.5 million visitors and nearly 30 million page views per month. Godvine.com has over 2.8 million Facebook fans.

The addition of Godvine.com will make Salem Web Network the largest online destination for Christian content with an average of 5.8 million unique visits per month.

“The acquisition of Godvine immediately delivers a substantial new audience to Salem. We’ve watched it become one of the most widely visited Christian websites and we are thrilled to put our expertise and knowledge behind this rapidly growing website and take it to the next level,” said Rick Killingsworth, Executive Vice President at Salem Web Network.

David Evans, President of New Business Development, Interactive and Publishing at Salem Communications added, “Over the past two years Godvine.com has experienced phenomenal social media growth. With this acquisition Salem now has a great opportunity to really begin to take advantage of social media for sharing inspiration and the Gospel of Christ.”

USA, Richmond, VA