Atlanta-Based Marsh Cove Productions Acquires August House Publishers, Inc.
Atlanta, GA — March 21, 2005
Marsh Cove Productions, a multimedia company based in Atlanta, Georgia, today announced the acquisition of a leading independent publisher, the award-winning August House Publishers, Inc. The combined companies will operate under the August House name going forward. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
August House Publishers, Inc., based in Little Rock, Arkansas, is an award-winning book and audio publisher recently recognized as one of "America's 101 Top Independent Publishers." August House was founded in 1979 by Ted Parkhurst, who was joined in 1981 by his wife Elizabeth (Liz) Parkhurst; both will remain with the company.
Marsh Cove also announced the corporate structure of the new company: Steve Floyd is Chief Executive Officer (CEO); Ted Parkhurst named President; Elizabeth (Liz) Parkhurst will be Publisher and Vice President; Joe Kissack is Executive Vice President, Sales and Distribution; Graham Anthony named Executive Vice President and Creative Director; Pamela Rubin will be Director of Education Services and Rob Cleveland will serve as Director of Development.
"The high quality of work and the stewardship of the storytelling tradition is the core of August House," commented Floyd. "We believe that the trust that Ted and Liz Parkhurst and the August House family of authors have built over the last 25 years is one of the reasons that the company has been so successful. This level of integrity is rare in business today and we will honor that trust by continuing to grow the business while remaining true to the traditions that are the foundation of these stories."
"Our goal is to popularize the art of storytelling so that it plays a bigger role in our culture while helping influence the way people live," Floyd continued. "We plan to accomplish our goal by expanding the August House product line and making it more accessible through a broader range of distribution channels including the internet, radio, television and film with even more emphasis on live events and strategic partnerships. These new opportunities will build upon the strong August House relationships that are already in place with libraries, schools, festivals and programming events."
Ted Parkhurst commented. "This was the right time to expand our core business and absolutely the right group to join forces with so that we could build an even stronger base for the future. The Marsh Cove group brings a wide range of expertise, with a similar vision and plan to super charge and take August House into new arenas."
Liz Parkhurst added, "They are committed to maintain the company's hard-earned trust and commitment to traditional folktales with a growing emphasis on education through storytelling. Ted and I are very excited about taking our current and future products into new and expanded channels."
The first book release under the new August House will be the latest effort from Award-winning author Donald Davis. In Mama Learns to Drive, Davis delightfully details a mother's attempts at driving lessons as seen through the eyes of her seven-year old son. The book will debut at the Texas Library Association Conference, April 5-8 in Austin, Texas, accompanied by a personal appearance by Davis.
In addition to Davis, the August House family of authors includes many widely-acclaimed and well-respected storytellers. August House efforts have won numerous Parents' Choice Awards, American Library Association Awards, American Bookseller Pick of the Lists, Children's Book Council Awards and Storytelling World Awards.
The new company leadership unifies a wide variety of experience that includes: interactive broadband technology, Hollywood distribution, creative expertise, education and live entertainment. Career highlights of the Marsh Cove corporate team:
Steve Floyd is nationally recognized for his leadership in the development of innovative and easy to use learning products and on-line systems. Throughout his career, he has focused on making technology more intuitive and more meaningful for people. He was a co-founder of iXL, an Internet strategic consulting firm while also serving as Senior Vice President of the company's e-Learning division. He also founded one of the pioneering interactive development companies, FloyDesign and ran it for over a decade. Floyd has also presented a variety of white papers and is the author of The IBM Multimedia Handbook, published by Simon Schuster.
Joe Kissack is a 20-year veteran of the advertising, television and multimedia worlds. He has served as CEO of the on-line publisher, HowStuffWorks and he developed a new form of multi-media distribution with LidRock. He also served as executive Vice President for Columbia Tri-Star Television, where he oversaw the multi-billion dollar syndication sales efforts for such series as Seinfeld, Just Shoot Me, Mad About You and Walker Texas Ranger.
Graham Anthony brings a wide range of creative and professional skills to his role as Creative Director, where he will help develop the creative treatment and visual style for characters and stories. His is an accomplished illustrator and art director, having worked on advertising campaigns, greeting cards and many publications. He also owned and published the successful Atlanta Single Magazine and also served as cartoonist for the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Pamela Rubin brings a wealth of classroom experience and individualized instruction to her role as our Education Director. She is responsible for developing our educational methodology and implementing validated educational principles in product design. A former university and elementary school teacher, Rubin has extended her classroom experience into a highly successful private practice where she helps children apply compensatory learning strategies. She is currently working individually with children in schools throughout Atlanta.
Rob Cleveland is a master storyteller, actor, comedian and teacher. In addition to his new role with Marsh Cove/August House, Cleveland is the storyteller-in-residence at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta. His talent in storytelling has also led to storytelling workshops for law students. As an actor, Cleveland has appeared in over fifty professional stage productions around the country. As a stand-up comedian, Rob has headlined all over the country in many different comedy clubs.
Through the creation of August House, Ted Parkhurst established a marketing channel for storytelling books and audio products nationally and internationally. Together with his wife, Liz, he has received Southern Living Magazine's award for distinguished contribution to Southern culture. Parkhurst is a two-time president of the Publisher's Association of the South. He is currently serving as a juror for Publishers Weekly magazine's bookstore of the year award for 2005. He was also named a distinguished alumnus by his alma mater, the University of Arkansas, Little Rock.
Liz Parkhurst has overseen the editing and production of more than 600 books during her 25 years at August House. She is the past-president of the Publisher's Association of the South. She is also the author of two books, her most-recent being Under One Flag: A Year at Rohwer, the story of life in the US internment camps for Japanese-Americans during WWII. Parkhurst was also named to the Hall of Fame by her alma mater, Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.
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About August House
Recently recognized as one of "America's 101 Top Independent Publishers," August House is a highly-acclaimed and award-winning multimedia publisher of children's stories and folktale anthologies. August House's is based in Atlanta, GA.
August House Media Contact
Rob Cleveland
404-442-4422
