IN SURPRISE MERGER.

Independent publishers BeWrite Books and Jacobyte Books – although a world apart geographically – have found so much in common they are to join forces under the BeWrite banner.

The move means that European and American oriented BeWrite will now circumnavigate the globe with its prestigious Australian acquisition.

Jacobyte Books will be wound down with BeWrite Books adopting most existing Jacobyte titles and its large author stable between now and the official closure of JB on June 30 2005. Jacobyte boss Meredith Whitford – who will help oversee the transition – will then join BB as a key member of its editorial team.

Jacobyte – which opened as an ebook publisher seven years ago and turned to paperback in 2001 – could never establish the platform for international print and distribution that the more heavily staffed BeWrite Books was able to achieve when it extended its online operation to paperback publishing just over two years ago. And it was decided that BeWrite's incorporation of Jacobyte was the only realistic answer to the problem.

Most JB authors will be offered immediate new contracts, taking BeWrite's release schedule over the next twelve months to more than fifty titles. Several Jacobyte works in progress will also now be completed and released with BB's bee logo on their spines.

The new entity will be heavy on crime, science fiction, romance, fantasy, horror, thriller, historical fiction and co- and sole-authored short story collections, and will always have room for those works not easily pigeonholed by genre (something for which each company has become well known). BeWrite has also committed – over and above its own scheduled anthologies – to the release of co- and sole-authored poetry collections by Jacobyte poets. Emphasis will still be on creating breaks for new talent.

BeWrite publisher, German-based Cait Myers, said: "We've worked warmly with Jacobyte from the start … they were pioneers and knew so much more than we did about non-inventory publishing. But it's never been possible to pool print and distribution resources as we'd hoped because of JB's perceived awkward geographical location. We've cracked that problem at last with this merger.

"BeWrite will employ the effective print technology we have in place in the UK and USA for the JB titles we adopt because the current Jacobyte Australian press facility can't meet the exacting handling, shipping and general international distribution requirements of the new house."

Meredith Whitford in Adelaide said: "Every JB author approached has been delighted by the new deal. It's a relief to know that titles and authors will be rescued from possible obscurity and for the Jacobyte team to rest assured that all our hard work here will be recognised in the future."

When Jacobyte officially closes its doors and its active web presence, the new BeWrite Books entity will become known as 'BeWrite Books (Incorporating Jacobyte Books)'.

BB Editor in Chief, Neil Marr in France, said: "A lot of authors who were recently worried by the danger of a Jacobyte closure are now happy that they will not be consigned to a black hole. Their work has found a good new home – and without the heartache a change of address usually entails."

BeWrite's other regular editors, Hugh McCracken (Canada) and Carole Spencer (Canada), Poetry Editor Heather Bryant (USA), and specialist consultant editors Paul Barnett [John Grant] USA, and Anne Morgellyn (UK), also welcome the move – in spite of the suddenly increased workload.

For the time being, BeWrite Books is sticking with its no-nonsense website at www.bewrite.net and Jacobyte can still be found at www.jacobyte.com. But changes are in the pipeline as BeWrite's and Jacobyte's technical directors and designers get their heads together.

As BeWrite Books now shifts up a gear, BeWrite also promises that its hugely popular and non-commercial, editorially backed, BeWrite.net online Community of developing writers spread over six continents – authors on their way to success – will continue to grow in tandem.

Ends

Additional info: This is a press release, from www.bewrite.net, and not writen by me. Also, please be adviced that the symbol (at) no longer works in AD. So please know that if you want to contact the addresses above listed, you'll have to ad it to each address on your own. -- Carmen Ruggero

***NOTE: Questions to Neil Marr (neilmar.bewrite.net). Cait Myers (caitmyers.bewrite.net. Meredith Whitford (editor.jacobytebooks.com).