Former staff of Mango Publishing Group have announced the launch of Key Lime Publishing, a Miami-based press focused on amplifying new and underrepresented voices, to be helmed by president and publisher Hugo Villabona. Key Lime's 17-person team plans to publish 60 titles per year, with global sales and distribution by Ingram Publisher Services and PGW.
“Our mission is to make publishing more inclusive, more responsive, and more human," said Villabona, who was most recently chief content officer at Mango, also based in Miami. "We’ve seen firsthand how powerful stories can shape culture and spark change, [and] Key Lime is here to make sure those stories don’t get lost in the noise."
Joining Villabona at Key Lime are at least eight other former Mango employees, including art director Elina Diaz, financial director Giulia Scarnecchia, and managing editor Naomi Shammash.
Key Lime's business model calls for working with agents to acquire titles and while it will offer no advances, similarly to Mango, it will offer high revenue shares for authors. The press's structure is "built to be agile, resilient, and forward-thinking," per the announcement, amid "seismic shifts in the industry—from AI disruption to global supply chain challenges."
Mango founder Chris McKenney told PW he is working with consultants to plan Mango’s next steps.
Founded in 2014, Mango saw a period of rapid growth in its early days but has entered a period of divestment in recent years, including the sale of three imprints to Turner Publishing in 2023 and the purchase of Mango's Becca Anderson titles by Andrews McMeel in 2024. In February, Mango joined the Publishers Cooperative.
