Skyhorse Publishing
| Company type | Independent book publisher |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder | Tony Lyons |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States, international (English-language rights for some titles) |
Key people | Tony Lyons (Founder and President) |
| Products | Books (narrative nonfiction, military history, sports, fly fishing, nature, historical subjects, science fiction, fantasy, children’s books, investigative works, promotional titles) |
Number of employees | 93 (2017) |
| Website | skyhorsepublishing |
Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. is a U.S.-based independent book publisher established in 2006, with its main office located in New York City and an additional branch in Brattleboro, Vermont.
History
Tony Lyons, the company's founder and current president, previously served as president and publisher at Lyons Press. He developed Skyhorse’s publishing approach by concentrating on narrative nonfiction, military history, sports, fly fishing, nature, and historical subjects. Lyons also prioritized bringing back "forgotten classics," which aligned with the firm’s market orientation.
Growth and expansion
Skyhorse’s growth was driven by targeted acquisitions and the creation of new imprints. In 2010, it purchased Arcade Publishing (adding 500 titles) along with Allworth Press (contributing 300 titles). The acquisition of Sports Publishing in 2011 brought in 800 titles and coincided with the launch of Sky Pony Press, a children’s imprint. By this stage, the company had expanded from a single imprint to five and had grown its workforce from eight employees to over 40. A licensing agreement with Sweden’s Norstedts extended Skyhorse’s international presence by securing English-language rights for books on crafts, health, fitness, and cooking. In 2011, it was recognized among the fastest-growing independent publishers.
The addition of Night Shade Books in 2013 enriched Skyhorse’s catalog with 250 science fiction and fantasy titles. That same year saw the debut of Carrel Books, an imprint focused on library markets featuring medicine/health, history, biography/memoir, and business/career topics. In 2014, Skyhorse collaborated with Perseus Books Group to acquire Good Books’ assets—excluding the Mayo Clinic health line—including the popular Fix-It and Forget-It series. New imprints introduced included Talos Press and Yucca Publishing (the latter in partnership with International Transactions literary agency).
In 2015, Skyhorse launched Hot Books in partnership with David Talbot, founder of Salon, emphasizing investigative works. Its inaugural publication was The Beastside: Living (and Dying) While Black in America by D. Watkins. Between 2015 and 2019, additional imprints were established such as Racehorse Publishing (focused on promotional titles and classics), Clydesdale Press (promotional books), Seahorse Press (specializing in boating and sailing), and Arcade CrimeWise (crime fiction).
To accommodate nearly 1,000 planned releases in 2016, staff numbers rose from 56 to 81 during 2015. That year Skyhorse reported revenues surpassing $43 million alongside a backlist comprising approximately 6,000 titles. By 2017, the company employed 93 individuals across 18 imprints and aimed to publish around 900 books annually. Practical titles achieved sales exceeding three million copies in 2015; adult coloring books surpassed four million copies sold since their introduction in May of that year.
In June 2017, employees initiated a union drive through United Auto Workers Local 2110 but narrowly missed securing sufficient votes by late 2018.
Confronted with a 19% drop in net sales during 2017 due to paper shortages and distribution issues, Skyhorse announced a significant restructuring in April 2018: eliminating 16 full-time positions and cutting new title releases by roughly one-quarter compared to the previous year’s total of 1,120 titles.
Beginning January 1, 2019, distribution responsibilities transitioned to Simon & Schuster for both U.S. and most international territories.
More recently, Skyhorse has continued its expansion through acquisitions: it purchased Regnery Publishing in 2023—adding over 1,500 conservative-themed titles under a new imprint—and acquired All Seasons Press in 2024 to further broaden its catalog.
Bestselling Publications and Distinguished Authors
In 2008, Skyhorse released the erotic travel memoir Around the World in 80 Lays by Joe Diamond, known for his work on Playboy TV's travel series Sexy Things to Do Before You Die. Among Skyhorse’s top sellers, the 41st title, Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe by Malcolm Nance, entered the New York Times e-book bestseller list at number nine in July 2016.
Alan Dershowitz’s The Case Against Impeaching Trump, published through Skyhorse’s Hot Books imprint, became a New York Times bestseller in July 2018. Dershowitz crafted this work as a rebuttal to books supporting impeachment.
On March 23, 2020, following the cancellation by its initial publisher due to staff protests, Skyhorse acquired and published Woody Allen’s memoir Apropos of Nothing under its Arcade imprint. The memoir appeared on the April 2020 edition of the New York Times Best Seller list. Later that year, on September 8, Skyhorse released Michael Cohen’s memoir Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump, which achieved the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller chart.
Skyhorse also issues official books tied to motion pictures, such as Philippe Petit’s The Walk (2015), inspired by Robert Zemeckis’s film, and the authorized companion for Oliver Stone’s Snowden (2016). Darryl Ponicsan’s novel Last Flag Flying, published in 2017 by Skyhorse, was adapted into a feature film.
The children’s imprint Sky Pony collaborates with Scholastic Corporation—holder of the official U.S. Minecraft license—to produce unofficial Minecraft-themed titles. Together, they command a significant share of the Minecraft children’s book market.
In May 2021, after W. W. Norton & Company withdrew due to allegations against Blake Bailey, Skyhorse announced it would publish Bailey’s biography of Philip Roth, titled Philip Roth: The Biography.
On November 16, 2021, Skyhorse brought out Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bestseller The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health. The publisher has continued to expand its roster of New York Times bestsellers with titles such as Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak (2023) and Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them) (2024). Additionally, on October 8, 2024, Skyhorse released Melania Trump’s memoir Melania, which attained the #1 position on the New York Times bestseller list.
Skyhorse has issued more than thirty-five works concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy, including numerous volumes advancing conspiracy theories. In 2013 alone, it invested around $1 million acquiring and promoting eight new titles on this topic and an additional $300,000–$400,000 on reissuing seventeen others. Prominent contributors include Richard Belzer, Gaeton Fonzi, Jim Garrison, Mark Lane, Peter Dale Scott, Roger Stone, Jesse Ventura, and Harold Weisberg.
Criticism
In 2013, the Southern Poverty Law Center condemned Skyhorse for distributing two books co-authored by Richard Belzer through the anti-Semitic publication American Free Press, which was managed by Holocaust denier Willis Carto.
By 2020, Vanity Fair drew attention to claims of a harmful work environment within Skyhorse, alongside its role in publishing conspiracy theory material. That same year, the Los Angeles Times characterized the company as being "almost comically agnostic on the truth."
In January 2022, The Guardian referred to Tony Lyons, the publisher, as "the US publisher who picks up books 'cancelled' by other presses." Lyons defended this approach as a way to promote exposure to a variety of perspectives and help bridge ideological gaps.
In June 2022, Simon & Schuster revealed plans to distribute Skyhorse's edition of the House Select Committee's report concerning the January 6 Capitol attack. This publication included an introduction by Darren Beattie, a former speechwriter for Trump known for endorsing conspiracy theories related to the investigation. The report was officially released in December 2022.
In 2023, the Associated Press disclosed that Skyhorse had entered a publishing agreement with Children's Health Defense, an organization led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is recognized for spreading vaccine misinformation.