A decades-old New York City-based multimedia publishing company known for producing high-end illustrated books has filed for bankruptcy, revealing in court papers that it owes hundreds of thousands to music icon Bob Dylan.
Callaway Arts & Entertainment, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — a process that allows a company to restructure its debts under court supervision — in Manhattan federal bankruptcy court on Monday.
Court filings by Callaway show that the company owes its 20 largest unsecured creditors more than $4 million, including $450,000 to Dylan and nearly $1.7 million to Hachette Book Group, one of the biggest publishers in the United States.
Representatives for Callaway and its bankruptcy attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Business Insider. Representatives for Dylan and Hachette Book Group also did not immediately respond.
Callaway’s Chapter 11 petition does not specify the nature of the debts. In 2023, the company published the 608-page book “Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine” about the working life of the now-84-year-old Grammy-winning singer-songwriter.
That same year, Callaway and Hachette Book Group announced a partnership for the sales and distribution of Callaway’s book list, with the Dylan book leading the fall 2023 list.
“Callaway’s publications are beautiful, whether created for children, art enthusiasts, or pop culture fans,” Todd McGarity, a then-vice president at Hachette Book Group, said in a press release at the time.
The press release touted Callaway books as “must-have treasures that are made to hold, give, and receive,” and said, “They are highly collectible, and very often appreciate significantly in value.”
Callaway was founded more than 40 years ago by its CEO, Nicholas Callaway, described on the company’s website as an “internationally renowned publisher,” as well as a “writer, photographer and teacher.”
His company, founded as Callaway Editions, has published several high-profile projects, including Madonna’s 1992 book “Sex,” her children’s book series, and the 2021 book “The Beatles: Get Back,” an official account of the band’s last studio album, “Let It Be.”
In 2020, the company also published a limited edition trilogy on the Sistine Chapel, which retails on its website for $25,000. The company described the series as a “pioneering technological breakthrough” in a press release at the time.
To create the book, a team of photographers captured more than 270,000 digital images over 67 consecutive nights while the Sistine Chapel was closed to the public, the company said.
The 24×17 inch, 822-page, three-volume set was the result of a five-year collaboration between Callaway, the Vatican Museums, and the Italian art publisher Scripta Maneant, the press release said.
A total of 1,999 copies were printed, of which only 600 were in English. “The work will never be reprinted,” Callaway said.
Callaway, in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, said that it has between 1 and 49 creditors and estimated both its assets and liabilities to be between $1 million and $10 million.
In addition to coffee table-style printed books and e-books, Callway specializes in “computer-animated television series, mobile and tablet applications, and trend-forward, design-driven lifestyle brands,” according to its website.
“Across 40 years, Callaway has created and published some of the most distinguished and successful illustrated books of our time,” the website says, adding, “We have collaborated both with world-renowned figures – presidents, popes, princesses, photographers and pop stars – and we have discovered and nurtured emerging artists.”
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