F+W

F+W was named after two of its early publications: Farm Quarterly and Writer's Digest.^[2] The company grew though a series of acquisitions, including book publisher David & Charles, Krause Publications in 2002,^[3] Horticulture magazine, and Adams Media in 2003. The private equity firm ABRY Partners purchased F+W in 2005.^[4] In August 2012 F+W Media acquired Interweave, an arts and crafts media company based in Loveland, Colorado.^[5] In 2014, F+W Media acquired New Track Media,^[6] renamed itself F+W,^[7] and was acquired by the private equity company Tinicum.^[8] David Nussbaum, CEO, departed the company to become the CEO of America’s Test Kitchen, a year after the acquisition.

In 2008, the company began to focus more on e-commerce activities and offering products and services related to the content of its magazines.^[9] The e-commerce business grew from one store with $6 million in revenue in 2008 to 31 e-commerce stores with more than $65 million for 2015, when Tinicum purchased the company.^[9] In May 2017, some creditors received a 97% stake in the company in exchange for debt relief and a new line of credit.^[10][11]

In January 2018, with the CEO and two other top executives leaving the company,^[12] F+W slashed its workforce by 40%.^[11]

F+W filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 10, 2019.^[13] The book publishing assets of the company were won by Penguin Random House at a bankruptcy auction in June 2019.^[14] The grouping of the assets drew criticism.^[15] Several properties including Sky & Telescope were sold individually.^[16]

F+W Media was a special interest content provider and marketer of enthusiast magazines, books, conferences, trade shows, and interactive media properties.

F+W's special-interest categories included art, crafts, mixed media, writing, genealogy, antiques and collectibles, graphic design, hunting.^{[1][failed verification]} In 2011 the Company entered the fiction market with the acquisition of Tyrus Books.^[17] In 2012, the company launched imprints in romance (Crimson Romance)^[18] and young adult fiction (Merit Press).^[19]

Publications were organized around some 20 community-based units, each of which focuses on a particular special interest category. The company also published about 600 new book titles annually, and had a library of some 4000 titles.

Its brands were David & Charles, Impact Books, Krause Publications, North Light Books, Writer's Digest and Interweave Press.^[20]

In June 2019, the assets of F+W were sold at bankruptcy auctions.^[16]

Various assets of F+W were sold prior to the bankruptcy filing.^[32]