Catapult Books sold, shutting down within days
The sale transfers only assets, and the roughly 20-person staff union was told their jobs will not carry over to the buyer.
Catapult Books, the independent publisher launched by Elizabeth Koch and Andy Hunter more than a decade ago, has been sold and will shutter operations in just over a week, Publishers Marketplace reported, citing members of the publisher's union. The Catapult Workers Collective said the sale covered only the company's assets, and that the roughly 20-member staff union was told their employment would not transfer to the buyer.
According to union representatives, Catapult announced the sale while staff were in the midst of a union election seeking better pay, job stability and clearer communication from executives, which had been filed earlier in the year. The union is now negotiating a severance package, and it remains unclear what will happen to the 16 upcoming titles scheduled through spring 2027.
Authors connected to Catapult and its imprint Counterpoint Press reacted to the news. Gina Frangello, published by Counterpoint, called it "a huge loss for L.A." and "a huge loss for the West Coast." Susan Straight and Meredith Maran separately sent The Times notes praising editorial director Dan Smetanka and the Counterpoint experience. Since its 2015 debut, Catapult and its authors have won honors including the American Academy of Arts and Letters' E. M. Forster Award in Literature, a PEN/Faulkner Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Maine Literary Award, the Costa Novel Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Here's the part that should stick with you: Catapult's union was mid-vote on pay and job stability when the sale news dropped. However that timing came about, it's the authors and the 16 books still in the pipeline through spring 2027 who are left waiting without answers. If you've got a book with a small press, this is the kind of week that makes you pay attention to who owns your publisher and whether anyone's told you anything lately.
From the Coral Wire edition of Sun, Oct 25 2026 · Coral Index 38/100 (Headwinds)