Publisher Profile: The Creative Company
The CBC asks Ali Bryniarski, Marketing Coordinator, questions about the publisher.
How did your publishing house start out?
The Creative Company was founded by George Peterson Sr. in 1932. It originally produced literacy-based educational supplies, including “Creative Picture Printers,” which were amazing rubber stamp kits comprised of letters, images, and words. Kids could create their own illustrated stories with the stamps, and you can still occasionally find one of the original sets on online auction houses. By the end of the Second World War, it had transitioned primarily to print materials, but we still maintain a focus on using creativity and imagination to foster children’s literacy.
Today, the company is led by the third and fourth generations of George Peterson Sr.’s family, and has grown to encompass other independent publishing entities, including Amicus and Black Rabbit Books.
What is your publishing house most known for?
The Creative Company is most known for internationally sought-after picture books and superb core-material nonfiction. We work with authors and illustrators from around the world to bring creative and innovative books that give readers a window into the world and opportunities around them.
Where in the country is your house based? What do you love about being based there?
We are based in southern Minnesota in the river town of Mankato, which was immortalized by author Maud Hart Lovelace as “Deep Valley” in her classic Betsy Tacy books.
What conventions and conferences does your publishing house usually attend?
We attend the Bologna Book Fair, Frankfurt Book Fair, AASL, TLA, ARSL, and PLA.
How many books does your house aim to publish per season/year?
The Creative Company publishes between 160 and 200 series nonfiction titles, along with 4-5 picture and board books each season. Amicus and Black Rabbit Books publish a slightly smaller number of titles.
Which formats does your house prefer to publish?
The Creative Company, Amicus, and Black Rabbit Books publish nonfiction series in reinforced library binding, paperback, and eBook formats. Creative Editions and Amicus Ink publish picture books and board books for the retail market.
Which of your frontlist titles would be great for a school or public library?
Marie Curie in the Land of Science is an outstanding illustrated biography of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist.
Which of your frontlist titles would be great for a classroom? Which grade?
Amicus Illustrated’s Incredible Migrations series takes second-grade readers deep into the journeys of six different wild creatures.
Name a few of your favorite backlist titles that people should check out.
What to Do with a Box by Jane Yolen, If by Rudyard Kipling, and Harlem Hellfighters by J. Patrick Lewis.
Thank you, The Creative Company!
