F&W Publications, Inc. - Introduction

Introduction

4700 E. Galbraith Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45236
U.S.A.
Telephone: (513) 531-2690
Fax: (513) 531-0798
Web site: http://www.fwpublications.com

Private Company
Founded: 1913
Employees: 800
Sales: $300 million (2004 est.)
NAIC: 511120 Periodical Publishers; 511130 Book Publishers

F&W Publications, Inc. is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based publisher of about 60 special interest magazines and books, 3,000 of which are in print, focusing on hobbies and other "consumer enthusiast" categories. The private company also runs a dozen niche book clubs, maintains about 30 free and fee-based web sites and produces conferences, trade shows, contests, and education programs. F&W's oldest periodical and flagship publication is Writer's Digest, offering instruction and other information to aspiring writers. Other major F&W subject areas include antiques and collectibles, art, automobiles, crafts, gardening, genealogy, outdoors and hunting, sports, toy collecting, and woodworking. The key to the company's success has been the ability to combine magazine and book publishing with clubs in its various niches, with the business of all three supporting one another. For most of its history the company has been run by the Rosenthal family, but since its sale to outsiders in 1999 F&W has enjoyed dramatic growth.