National Children's Bureau has sold its book publishing arm to commercial publisher Jessica Kingsley Publishers and a formal partnership will continue between the two.

The enterprise publishes textbooks and reports for practitioners and professionals working in the children's sector.

Enver Solomon, director of evidence and impact at NCB told Civil Society News: “NCB has been running a publishing arm for over 20 years. The market has changed due to financial constraints that local authorities and professional organisations are facing and we thought that working with a reputable publisher would enable us to continue to retain a profile to reach into the audiences that are so important to us.”

Neither organsiation would reveal how much the deal was worth but Solomon insistd that the revenues going back to NCB will remain unchanged following the partnership.

“Under the agreement with Jessica Kingsley, a percentage of income from sales goes to the copyright owner in royalties and where NCB retains the copyright, we receive the royalty income, so that will come to us as a charity,” said Solomon.

A varying percentage of book sales will go back to the charity – with the average figure standing at around 10 per cent.

A spokeswoman for JKP said the arrangement is a win-win for both sides:

“JKP gains some strong titles for our list and the NCB gains the experience and infrastructure of a professional publisher,” the spokeswoman told Civil Society News. “NCB will publish its books exclusively through Jessica Kingsley Publishers in future and will continue to receive a share of the profits from the sale of the NCB imprint books.

“The NCB publishing programme spans education, early years, social work and child welfare, making it a great fit for JKP, both organisations being committed to bringing about positive change in these areas.”

The National Children's Bureau works to improve the lives of children by influencing government policy and providing solutions on a range of social issues.