Pan Macmillan buys Kingfisher from Houghton Mifflin

Houghton Mifflin sold children's publisher Kingfisher to the UK's Pan Macmillan for an undisclosed sum. In the US, Roaring Brook Press publisher Simon Boughton will run the line for Holtzbrinck, and in the UK, it will be part of the Macmillan Children's division, under managing director Emma Hopkin.

Kingfisher is "an award-winning publisher of non-fiction and fiction for children of all ages. Known around the world for its informative and engaging reference and early learning books, Kingfisher also receives widespread acclaim for its classic anthologies for five- to fourteen-year-olds and original picture books for very young children."

Hopkin said "We are extremely pleased to be teaming up with Kingfisher. It gives us a wealth of publishing in the non-fiction market, and a range of mass market fiction titles—with a very strong team of staff. It strengthens our strategic links with our US colleagues and we look forward to working closely with them and the Kingfisher team to enhance Kingfisher's publishing program and to increase its sales worldwide."

Kingfisher had been integrated into Houghton Mifflin at the end of 2002 when Vivendi Universal Publishing was broken up.

Among Kingfisher's recent genre publications are Terry Deary's Fire Thief trilogy.