Dec. 5—CHAMPAIGN — A local trade and academic publishing company that specializes in titles on physical activity, health and sports has purchased a publishing business based in the United Kingdom.
Human Kinetics has acquired Lotus Publishing, a small business based in West Sussex, England.
"The Lotus titles align perfectly with the HK list, furthering our mission to help improve the health and fitness of people around the world, and we are thrilled to add them to our product line as the start of a new imprint," said Human Kinetics CEO Skip Maier. "The additions will expand our reach in important health fields including manual therapy, yoga, and physical therapy."
Human Kinetics officials said that Lotus Publishing's list of approximately 50 titles will be added to Human Kinetics' portfolio as a new imprint known as Lotus Books, and Lotus Founder Jon Hutchings will continue to work with authors and develop new titles for the line in 2025 to ensure a seamless transition.
"Having used the classic Human Kinetics title 'Physiology of Sport and Exercise' as a student almost 40 years ago, it seems fitting that the company I created with Chris Jarmey should be passed into their capable hands," Hutchings said. "I am thrilled with this acquisition, ensuring the continuing success of existing titles and the development of an exciting range of new titles to fit into their beautifully curated list."
Maier told The News-Gazette that the staff at Lotus is solely comprised of Hutchings, who will consult with them for about nine months and then retire.
"There were no other direct staff in the UK; he used a lot of contractors and those sorts of things for his work," he said. "So a lot of the work will just be incorporated with HK's current staff."
Lotus already has a presence in North America through co-publishing agreements with United States-based North Atlantic Books and Inner Traditions, in addition to Human Kinetics.
These agreements will remain in place for "many of the legacy books in the list," while newly acquired titles will be distributed solely by Human Kinetics as part of the Lotus Books imprint, company officials said.