{{Short description|Book publisher}} {{other uses|Peach pit (disambiguation){{!}}Peach pit}} {{notability|Companies|date=September 2015}} {{Infobox publisher | image = Image:Peachpit logo.jpg | parent = Pearson Education | status = | founded = 1986 | founder = Ted Nace and Michael Gardner | successor = | country = United States | headquarters = 50 California Street<br>San Francisco | distribution = | keypeople = | publications = Books, Ebooks, and video | topics = Technology | genre = | imprints = Peachpit Press, Adobe Press, Apple Certified, New Riders | revenue = | numemployees = | nasdaq = | url = {{URL|www.peachpit.com}} }}
'''Peachpit''' is a publisher of books focused on graphic design, web design, and development. Peachpit's parent company is Pearson Education,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/pearson-stays-top-worlds-largest-book-publisher|title=Pearson stays on top as world's largest book publisher|website=The Bookseller}}</ref> which owns additional educational media brands including Addison-Wesley, Prentice Hall, and New Riders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pearsoned.com/professional/our-customers/creative-professionals/|title=Resources for Creative Professionals".|url-status=dead|website=pearson.com|access-date=2015-05-20|archive-date=2015-06-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611051304/http://www.pearsoned.com/professional/our-customers/creative-professionals/}}</ref>
Founded in 1986, Peachpit publishes the ''Visual QuickStart Guide'', ''Visual QuickPro Guide'', and ''Classroom in a Book'' series, in addition to the design imprint New Riders and its ''Voices That Matter'' series. Peachpit is the official publishing partner for Adobe Systems, Lynda.com, Apple Certified at Apple Inc, and other tech corporations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.peachpit.com/about/|title=About | Peachpit|website=peachpit.com}}</ref>
==History== Peachpit Press was founded in 1986 by Ted Nace<ref name=twsNovS12>{{cite news |author=Monadnock Summer |title=Ted Nace: Confessions Of A Recovering Capitalist |publisher=New Hampshire Public Radio (nhpr) |date=August 8, 2004 |url=http://www.nhpr.org/node/6718 |access-date=2010-11-19 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210165515/http://www.nhpr.org/node/6718 |archive-date=February 10, 2010 }}</ref> and Michael Gardner, and the two co-authored the company's first book, ''LaserJet Unlimited.'' Gardner served on the board of the company from 1986 to 1994 but did not take an active role in the company. Nace and Gardner named the company Peachpit because at the time, Nace and several of his friends were "living and working in a peach colored house in Berkeley that was such a dump it was considered a 'pit.'"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jtchatter.blogspot.com/2008/01/another-bedtime-story-for-designers.html|title=jtChatter: Another bedtime story for designers|date=January 17, 2008}}</ref> Computer writer Elaine Weinmann described how Nace let authors typeset and illustrate their own books and described his publishing approach as user-friendly and innovative.<ref name=twsNovS23>{{cite news |author= Elaine Weinmann, Peter Lourekas |title= Photoshop CS for Windows and Macintosh |publisher= Peachpit Press |year= 2004 |isbn= 9780321213532 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pCCmjQ0vVMIC&q=%22ted+nace%22+peachpit&pg=PR3 |access-date= 2010-11-19 }}</ref> The company grew in size and sales, and had a publishing orientation towards books relating to Apple computers, and was described as a leader in books about digital graphics.<ref name=twsNovS24>{{cite magazine |title= Ted Nace |magazine= Orion Magazine |date= 2010-11-19 |url= http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/mag/contributor/507/ |access-date= 2010-11-19 |archive-date= 2011-01-02 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110102153831/http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/mag/contributor/507/ |url-status= dead }}</ref> Nace served as publisher from 1986 until 1996, when Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel assumed the publisher position.<ref name=twsNovS23/> In 1994, Nace sold Peachpit Press to London-based media conglomerate Pearson PLC. Peachpit continued to operate out of Berkeley until a move to San Francisco in 2012. thumb|The Peachpit offices in San Francisco
Although known as a Mac publisher Peachpit started out publishing Windows related books. Its first Macintosh books were ''The Little Mac Book'' and ''The Mac is not a typewriter,'' both by Robin Williams. In 1992, Peachpit purchased the ''Macintosh Bible'' series from Arthur Naiman's Goldstein and Blair (named after characters in the George Orwell novel 1984). In 1998, when Apple user share was down to 4% of the computer user market and Power Computing was making Mac clones, Peachpit was still publishing a large portion of Mac books.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.macgathering.com/2005exhibits/index.html#peachpit|title=Mac Gathering Computer Convention: Exhibitors|website=macgathering.com}}</ref> Peachpit published Visual QuickStart Guides for Mac.
==Notable authors== Some notable Peachpit authors include: David Blatner, Thom Hartmann, Deke McClelland, Ted Nace, Scott Kelby, Robin Williams, Don Rittner, Joe McNally, Larry Magid, Steve Krug, Jeffrey Zeldman, Jakob Nielsen, Bruce Schneier, Fred Davis, Seth Godin, Gary Wolf, Lynda Weinman, Ben Forta and Maria Langer.
==Publications== *''Zap!: How Your Computer Can Hurt You - and What You Can Do About It''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_n84/ai_15958316 |title=ZAP!: How Your Computer Can Hurt You - and What You Can Do About It |last=Gates |first=Jennifer |date=1994 |website=Find Articles |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919085603/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_n84/ai_15958316/ |archive-date=September 19, 2010}}</ref> by Don Sellers. *''Kid's Web Kit'' by Lisa Lopuck *''Ecolinking: Everyone's Guide to Online Environmental Information''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/12/science/personal-computers-learning-to-save-trees.html|title=PERSONAL COMPUTERS; Learning to Save Trees|first=Peter H.|last=Lewis|date=May 12, 1992|work=The New York Times}}</ref> by Don Rittner *''Computer Privacy Handbook''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.andrebacard.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515142345/http://www.andrebacard.com/press.html|url-status=dead|title=Bacard's Blog – my blog|archive-date=May 15, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.businessweek.com/1996/37/b3492110.htm |title=How To Practice Safe Surfing |date=September 9, 1996 |website=BusinessWeek |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725151605/http://www.businessweek.com/1996/37/b3492110.htm |archive-date=July 25, 2008}}</ref> by Andre Bacard *''Gay and Lesbian Online'' by Jeff Dawson *''Avatars! Exploring and Building Virtual Worlds on the Internet''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalspace.com/avatars/|title=DigitalSpace: Avatars Book Home Page and Teleport|website=digitalspace.com|access-date=2022-07-04|archive-date=2022-06-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609183905/https://www.digitalspace.com/avatars/|url-status=dead}}</ref> by Bruce Damer *''Inside PostScript'' by Frank Merritt Braswell, published originally in 1989 by Systems of Merritt later together by Systems of Merritt and Peachpit Press.
==Imprints== Peachpit Press also publishes or partners with Adobe Press, Apple Certified, lynda.com, and New Riders.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Pearson}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Online publishing companies of the United States Category:Educational publishing companies Category:Commercial digital libraries Category:Publishing companies established in 1988 Category:Companies based in Berkeley, California Category:Publishing companies of the United States Category:Pearson plc Category:Publishing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Category:American digital libraries