About Us

Stackpole Books is a trade book publisher with a proud, 90-year history of publishing titles in the categories of Outdoors, Crafts and Military History. Strong in Fly Fishing, Nature Guides, Civil War and World War II History, Military Reference and Specialty Crafts and Hobbies, we publish deep in our niche areas, releasing 60 new titles a year and maintaining a solid backlist of 1,500 titles. Stackpole has expanded into the world of eBooks while continuing to produce authoritative, high-quality hardcovers and trade paperbacks. Founded in the late 1920s by the Stackpole family, the company grew under the leadership of three generations of Stackpoles. From the early days, Stackpole published books for the military services, including the Army Officer’s Guide which is still in print in an updated edition. In the 1930s Stackpole published a variety of subjects including fiction by Damon Runyon and John Fante and autobiographies by Benny Goodman and Huey Long. In the 1950s Stackpole developed a strong emphasis in nonfiction, especially outdoor and history titles which continues to this day. Notable authors included Bradford Angier and E.J.Stackpole Jr. himself, both of whom continue to be published on the backlist. In the 1960s the company prospered under the leadership of Stackpole son-in-law Meade Detweiler with outdoor, military history and craft and hobby titles. The company acquired Samworth gun titles and expanded to distribute Arms & Armor Press and Outdoor Life Books. In 1980 Meade’s son, David Detweiler joined the company along with Judith Schnell and together they built upon Stackpole’s roots of publishing outdoor and how-to books. The company started two specialty magazines and developed books for this market, began the relationship with NOLS, and expanded the program to 100 new titles year. Well-known author and editor Jack Davis acquired Civil War titles, Chris Evans brought in WW II titles and Judith Schnell and Jay Nichols built Stackpole’s reputation as leading publisher of fly fishing and fly tying titles. In this period Stackpole published Ralph Peters, Don Troiani, Dave Hughes and Pete Dunne. Recently the company has expanded its craft and hobby line to include knitting, crochet, stained glass and cookbooks. With Detweiler’s death in 2014, the family-owned company was acquired by Rowman & Littlefield and now continues the long tradition of publishing outdoor, military history and craft and hobby titles under the Globe Pequot division.