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Disney Book Group Biography & Facts

Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints include Disney Editions, Disney Press, Kingswell, Freeform, and Hyperion Books for Children. It has creative centers in Glendale, California, and in Milan, Italy. History In 1990, Disney Consumer Products discontinued its license for Topolino, an Italian Mickey Mouse magazine. This led Michael Lynton, the Disney Consumer Products business development director, to start up its own Magazine Group with the similarly outlaid Disney Adventures. Through Walt Disney Publications, Inc., Disney Publishing launched Disney Comics in the United States. That same year, Disney began publishing Disney Adventures. In 1991, Disney Publishing purchased Discover magazine from Family Media, placing it within its Magazine Group and purchased the FamilyFun Magazine after its second issue from Jake Winebaum. Incorporated The Disney Publishing Group (DPG) was incorporated in January 1992, and included the already formed Hyperion Books, Hyperion Books for Children, Disney Press and its units.In 1994, DPG launched the Mouse Works and Fun Works divisions in February and November, respectively, in order to publish interactive children books. By April, the Magazine Group agreed with Ziff-Davis Publishing Company to a joint venture publication, Family PC, to be launched in September. In June, Lynton left his position as senior vice president of DPG to become president of Disney's Hollywood Pictures.In March 1995, with the market too crowded with Disney books, DPG merged Hyperion Books for Children with the Disney Press units. In August, Disney Magazine Publishing was reorganized into three divisions, each headed by a vice president/group publisher: Disney Family Magazines, Disney Kids Magazines, and Disney Special Interest Magazines. Family Magazines and Special Interest Magazines were expected to acquire additional publications beyond their single titles, Family Fun and Discover respectively. Special Interest Magazines' publisher was assigned responsibility for the Discovery Channel TV show, Discover Magazine. Kids Magazines included the newly developed Big Time weekly newspaper supplement to have a Fall 1996 launch. Magazine President Jake Winebaum was transferred to head up Disney Online. On May 11, 1998, Disney Publishing was renamed Buena Vista Publishing Group. Disney Publishing Worldwide In April 1999, Buena Vista Publishing Group changed its name to Disney Publishing Worldwide, Inc. (DPW) with Hyperion Books transferred to Disney's ABC Television Group.Disney Publishing launched its first original comic book, W.I.T.C.H., in 2001. It was successful, selling one million copies per month by August 2004, and was adapted into an animated series. In mid-2001, DPW and Baby Einstein (which Disney acquired later that year) agreed to publish a baby book line to introduce fine art, foreign languages, poetry, and classical music. Gemstone Publishing licensed the rights to publish Disney comics from DPW beginning in June 2003. Following its collapse in June 2004, the CrossGen trademark and properties were purchased by DPW's educational publishing division that November for its reading aids, with additional publications based on CrossGen books. The Disney Consumer Products' Disney Fairies franchise debuted in September 2005, when Disney Publishing unveiled the novel Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg paired with a virtual world. The first book in The Kingdom Keepers series, based on Disney Parks and Disney Villains, was released August 29, 2005.In 2005, Discover Magazine was sold to Bob Guccione Jr. and the Disney magazine was shut down. In February 2006, Wondertime magazine, which focused on mothers of children up to age six, was launched. DPW licensed out CrossGen to Checker Publishing Group to reprint comic book series as trade paperback editions starting in February 2007.In February 2007, Disney merged its kids and family focused television, online, radio, and publishing businesses' advertising sales and promotion teams into Disney Media Advertising Sales and Marketing Group, all of which were overseen by the presidents of Disney Channels Worldwide, Walt Disney Internet Group, and DPW. DPW canceled Disney Adventure with its November 2007 issue.By 2009, Disney Publishing Worldwide was organized into three divisions: Global Book Group, Disney English, and Global Magazines with four revenue areas: Global Magazines, Global Books, U.S. Magazines, and Disney English. Disney Publishing launched Disney Digital Books on September 29 with five hundred books online. In 2009, Disney Press released Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen, the first of the Villains book series written by Serena Valentino.Disney Publishing Worldwide (India), a division of Walt Disney Company (India), announced a licensing agreement in April 2009 with local publisher Junior Diamond to publish Disney comic books, in both English and Hindi. On December 8, 2010, DPW's India unit signed a multi-year contract with India Today Group to print and distribute Disney comics in India.With few books issued under the imprint, Marvel Worldwide and Disney Books Group relaunched the Marvel Press imprint in 2011 with the Marvel Origin Storybooks line. In November DPW announced a new publication, FamilyFun Kids, a bi-monthly magazine with kids' craft, games, puzzles, and recipes. In January 2012, DPW agreed to sell Family Fun Magazine to the Meredith Corporation.By September 2012, the White Plains, New York office was closed with staff being moved to Glendale after less than 5 years after moving from New York City. Fifty sales and marketing staff moved to New York City to join editors that remained there. In July 2012, Andrew Sugerman was promoted to EVP, Disney Publishing Worldwide and the headquarters for the business was relocated to Glendale, CA to sit within Disney Consumer Products. In January 2013, DPW launched the Never Girls book series, an extension of the Disney Fairies franchise, with publishing partner Random House. With the June 2013 announcement of the Hyperion Books division sale, Hyperion's adult trade book list was sold to Hachette Book Group. Books related to existing Disney–ABC Television Group properties, young adult titles, and Disney-Hyperion imprint and titles were transferred to DPW. By January 2014, the Kingswell name was selected as a placeholder imprint name for the Hyperion titles withheld from the Hyperion division sale; Kingwell Avenue was Disney's location before moving to Hyperion Avenue.In November 2013, Disney Publishing revived Disney Comics as an imprint in the US for sporadic publishing. The imprint's first publication was the Space Mountain graphic novel, its first original graphic novel, released on May 7, 2014.Disney Publishing Worldwide transferred the Disney Fa.... Discover the Disney Book Group popular books. 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