Urban Books Announces a New Acquisition and a New Initiative With Distributor Kensington Publishing

New York (PRWEB) October 19, 2005

Publisher and founder of Urban Books LLC, Carl Weber, announced today a new initiative with its distributor Kensington Publishing and the acquisition of United Brothers Books, a small independent publishing house specializing in urban fiction.

Urban Books, established just three years ago by Weber, himself a New York Times bestselling novelist, is recognized for its hugely successful and sometimes controversial "street lit’ fiction by authors such as La Jill Hunt, Chunichi and Nikki Turner. Now, Weber is creating a new imprint, Urban Soul, as a joint venture with its distributor, Kensington Publishing.

The new imprint allows Urban, presently the fastest growing African American-owned publishing house in the country, to expand in an entirely new direction, that of women’s fiction. Urban Soul books will begin in June with two mass market titles, Mile High Confession by T. Wendy Williams and Secret Lovers by Maxine Thompson, Michelle Mcgriff and Patricia Anne Phillips. Urban Books Associate Publisher Roy Glenn spearheads the new imprint and says it is not a brand new idea but that "we’ve been talking about women’s fiction for some time, and I fully expect Urban Soul to become a household name in African American homes across the country."

"To go into this venture with a partner like Kensington, which not only broke ground by establishing a home for African American writers and readers and showcasing the popularity and profitability of their books, but which has tremendous long term experience publishing women’s fiction and romance is an honor," says Weber. "I definitely see enormous opportunities for the future."

Additionally, Urban Books has just acquired United Brothers Books, a small, independent publishing house specializing in urban literature. Drawing upon United Brothers recently acquired titles, as well as their backlist, and focusing on key Urban Books titles previously available only in trade paperback, Weber is creating a second imprint, Urban Mass. Beginning in March 2006 with Mixed Messages by Latonya Williams and Is It a Crime by Roy Glenn, Urban Mass will present one new and one reprint mass market title per month.

"With the continued success of books such as Sister Souljah’s Coldest Winter Ever as a mass market title, we believe that those and other types of urban literature will also do extremely well in that format. With our acquisition of United Brothers Books’ list, we hope to fill a void in this area," says Weber.

Kensington Publishing Chief Executive Officer Steven Zacharius welcomes the growth of Urban Books saying, "Carl is an exception author, an exceptional publisher and an exceptional businessman. It’s a pleasure representing his company to the trade and we are delighted to be part of his continued expansion and success."

Contact:

Arvita Glenn, Marketing Director, Urban Books LLC

74 Andrews Avenue

Wheatley Heights, New York 11798

631-920-2273

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