C&T author Shelley Cavanna, author of *Barn Star Sampler*, shares what made working with C&T special and her hopes for the publisher’s future under new ownership.

The Relationship Between the Two Companies

Globe Pequot is headquartered in Essex, Connecticut, and is owned by CEO and Chairman Jed Lyons, who has worked in publishing for more than 50 years. Globe Pequot publisher Judith Schnell, who started as an editorial assistant at Stackpole in 1980, says C&T was well known to Globe Pequot as a distribution partner. “We’ve known Amy [Barrett-Daffin], their staff and books, and their commitment to quality and innovation,” Schnell said.

The acquisition includes C&T’s full backlist of more than 1,800 titles. “We’re a backlist publisher,” Schnell says. “We don’t invest in a book for the first two years and then let it go.” According to Schnell, Creative Spark courses and live virtual events will also continue.

C&T offers more than books, and Globe Pequot is especially interested in those other products and events, according to Schnell. “We’re eager to learn more about the creative strategies they’ve used to adapt over time, such as courses, non-book products, and events. We haven’t done those before.” Schnell said she hopes these strategies can eventually be adapted for the knitting and crochet titles under the Stackpole imprint.

Amy Barrett-Daffin, C&T Publisher, Retires

Amy Barrett-Daffin, who served as publisher at C&T for the past two and a half decades, retired on September 30 as the acquisition closed. Barrett-Daffin says she’d planned to retire in 2028. “I was surprised when Todd said he’d put the company up for sale,” she said. “I had run it for 25 years. I just didn’t feel comfortable being somewhere where I couldn’t still be running it. It would be too hard.” Instead, she chose to move up her plans.

Looking back, Barrett-Daffin says she’s incredibly proud of what she and her team accomplished at C&T during her tenure. Highlights include launching Stash Books, FanPowered Press, and Fun Stitch Studio; getting through the 2008 recession; acquiring Kansas City Star Quilts; and putting together a successful plan to navigate the pandemic.

In late spring 2020, Barrett-Daffin called an author meeting and heard C&T authors express concern about income lost to canceled teaching contracts. She saw an opportunity to create an online learning platform. Starting with eight authors who were confident they could film course videos at home, C&T launched the Creative Spark online learning platform in November 2020, a remarkably fast pivot. Live virtual events followed in 2022, bringing thousands of crafters to the platform.

Beyond online learning and live events, C&T has developed a broad range of products that complement its books. The effort has been led by Betsy La Honta, C&T’s product developer and manufacturing manager, and creative director Gailen Runge, who together created a large line of color tools, card decks, and sewing notions. Together, these offerings extend the reach of each book. “We have a publishing matrix,” Barrett-Daffin explained. “We look at a potential book and then consider if we could do an ebook, a product such as a pocket guide, a course, and a live event based on it.”

Barrett-Daffin is also proud of the culture she fostered at C&T. “C&T was my own sociological experiment,” she says. “If you treat people right, with love and tenderness, you can create a unique and unusual business environment.” When it was time to finalize the sale to Globe Pequot, she and Runge created a “super power” sheet for each employee, describing the skills and traits that made them extra special.

Not all employees moved to the new owners, but 12 did, including two in editorial, Roxane Cerda and Runge, with the rest in production and marketing. Schnell says Globe Pequot had hoped Barrett-Daffin would come along with the acquisition and share her marketing knowledge, but that wasn’t to be.

Runge says the new owners are handling the change carefully. “It’s a big transition both for Globe Pequot and for us,” she says. “What’s nice is that they are taking it slowly. They aren’t breaking things by shoehorning us into their processes and software immediately.” She adds that Globe Pequot also wants to see how C&T does things. “While they are the larger company, there are still processes and programs they might learn from us. … C&T has always been very efficient and tech-savvy. Hopefully, we can share some of our cool tools.”

What the Future Holds

For current and prospective authors, Schnell says things will continue as usual. The two companies use similar book contracts, she says, so authors can expect consistency there.

Runge is optimistic about C&T’s future under its new owner. “Globe has proven to be a great home for imprints that they have purchased in the past,” she says. “I hope that we’re able to continue to support our current authors and provide a successful home for the next generation of C&T talent, growing our list of books and products.” She would also like to see Creative Spark expand to draw on talent from Globe Pequot’s other imprints.

C&T author Becky Goldsmith, author of The Quilter’s Practical Guide to Color, reflects on her positive experience with the publisher and hopes its new owners will continue to grow the business.

Quilt artist Becky Goldsmith has been a C&T author for many years. “The company did all the things I wanted, and expected, a publisher to do, leaving me free to write and design books and patterns. It has been a wonderful arrangement,” Goldsmith says. “I was surprised that Todd and Tony decided to sell the company, but life is full of unexpected events… I am hopeful that the new owners maintain and grow the businesses, C&T and Creative Spark, as we move forward.”

“I found that my new C&T family was just such a rare group of kindred spirits,” says quilt artist Shelley Cavanna, whose book was picked up by C&T after her original publisher went out of business. “With their team, book writing became such a collaborative and creative process. Rather than sending off a manuscript and waiting for the final book proof to arrive, I have hands-on involvement—from the book design and layout to the photography, styling, and illustrations—from start to finish.”

C&T will continue to publish new titles under its own imprints, and forthcoming books will proceed as planned. Both companies’ books have been sold and distributed through Simon & Schuster’s warehouse in Tennessee, and existing accounts should continue to order C&T titles through Simon & Schuster.

Abby Glassenberg

Co-founder and President