By Patrick Walsh
Even 20 years ago, it might have seemed ill-advised to start a company that prints books when people were already reading more and more on computer screens or handheld devices — if they read at all.
That trend didn’t deter Claiborne Hancock, the Richmond, Virginia, native who launched his publishing house, Pegasus Books, with 24 titles in fall 2006.
Today, as the press nears its 20th anniversary, Hancock can proudly point to $7 million in total annual sales.
“As we celebrate our 20 years in business,” he reflects, “we feel privileged to be able to pursue books and authors we feel passionate about, even as reading takes significant hits from social media and other distractions from the tech space.”
Those technology-driven changes to publishing and their attendant effects on reading were just underway when Hancock, an English major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduated in 1997.
He moved to New York City to chase his publishing dream, first at Applause Books and then soon afterward at Carroll & Graf. He wrote jacket copy and press releases. He wielded a blue pencil as an editorial assistant. He wasn’t afraid to ask his superiors big-picture questions. Eventually, he began to acquire new titles on his own — successful titles t hat all turned a profit.
It was then that he thought of starting his own publishing house. Hancock named it Pegasus to honor his father, who stoked his son’s nascent literary interest with bedtime readings about Greek gods and myths.
When Pegasus was just a foal, Hancock dreamed of bringing 50 books a year to market. Then his horse grew wings. With a satisfied nod of the head, he can now boast, “We publish about 90 new hardcovers each year.”
How that $7 million in annual sales shakes out presents a fascinating snapshot of the modern publishing market.
As Hancock breaks it down: “Roughly half of our sales occur on Amazon, which includes both print and e-books. Another quarter of our print sales is done through Ingram, a major wholesaler to libraries and independent bookstores. And Barnes & Noble accounts for the last 25% of our print sales.”
Hancock, who has called Princeton home since 2018, holds the title of managing director, but in the early days, he wore all the hats at once — publisher, editor in chief, publicist and director of marketing. With rapid growth came the need for help.
Jessica Case, who graduated from Princeton University with a degree in history and a minor in Russian, joined Pegasus Books as an editor in January 2007. Today, she is publisher and director of publicity.
Hiring has continued apace, with five additional publicity and editorial staff members currently working at the company.
The key to the growth and success of Pegasus Books has always been savvy acquisitions, whether that has meant bringing new titles to market or acquiring rights for republication.
Hancock points to some recent highlights: “On the fiction side, we have Irvine Welsh’s sequel to ‘Trainspotting,’ ‘Men in Love,’ and a great noir detective novel, ‘City on Fire’ by Simon Elegant, a taut murder mystery set in Hong Kong.”
Hancock is enthused about the nonfiction work “A Vast Horizon: Artists and Lovers, Freedom and War” by Anna Thomasson, which immerses the reader in a close-knit circle of Surrealist artists — Pablo Picasso; Man Ray and Adrienne Fidelin; Lee Miller and Roland Penrose; Dora Maar; Eileen Agar and Joseph Bard; and Paul and Nusch Éluard — over a tumultuous decade beginning in 1937, when they vacationed together in the south of France.
Despite fundamental changes in the publishing world, Hancock feels just as confident now as he did when he started Pegasus Books — maybe more so, given two decades of growing sales.
“As an indie press, we punch well above our weight in many ways and continue to find authors who become part of the critical dialogue.”
His faith in his company rests on his belief in the printed book itself.
“The book is a pretty resilient art form,” he says with a smiling nod, “and good books continue to be valued and enjoyed by so many different audiences.”
Pegasus Books, www.pegasusbooks.com. Instagram: @pegasus_books.
