Heights Press Launches With Exclusive Content for Schools and Libraries

Mar. 15, 2025

A stock image of a stack of books.Photo:Getty

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Heights Press, Leitman says, was created as a way to promote literacy to young readers.

Characters from the ‘Hickory Hollow’ series.Heights Press

Heights Press

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!“What makes us different is that we only serve library channels, so you’re only going to find this content at libraries. It’s great to have something exclusive," Leitmans says. “It’s another reason to get a card and support your library.”

The imprint’s debut series,Hickory Hollow, follows the young residents of a fictional town of the same name. Each book in the series will initially be available in an e-book format, and in five languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese, German and Korean.

The first title will be available for free for schools and libraries that already use OverDrive, and additional books will be available to buy in OverDrive Marketplace. SixHickory Hollowvideo shorts will also be available to stream on Kanopy Kids.“Each individual book has a very specific interesting character, and it’s a very diverse set of characters,” Leitman says of the series. “Each author is very linked to that character in terms of who they are, their perspective, how they grew up.”

Leitman also shares that there are plans to expand resources for different age ranges, including adults.“It’s been super exciting to be a part of the whole evolution,” Leitman says. “It is a big strategic change for us.”

The biggest hope Leitman has for the imprint, however, is that it all comes back to fostering a love of reading.“I think they’re good stories that entertain and encourage more kids to love reading. And for us, serving libraries with original content you can only find there is terrific. It’s a great next step,” Leitman says.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“It’s very competitive in the content space. It’s everywhere and libraries are a tremendous resource for so many reasons,” Leitman adds. “They’re accessible to everyone … We want to grow lifelong readers. That’s it. That is a big number one goal.”For more information about Heights Press, visitwww.heights-press.com.

source: people.com