Arkansas Business

Ted Parkhurst, manager of Butler Center Books, a division of the Central Arkansas Library System, was arrested by the Little Rock police Sunday and charged with burglary and assault on a family member.

Lt. Terry Hastings, a police spokesman, said Parkhurst was scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning in municipal court.

Parkhurst, the founder of August House Inc., a Little Rock book publisher sold to an Atlanta company in 2005, was arrested at the home of his former wife and business partner, Liz Parkhurst.

Ted Parkhurst broke into his ex-wife's house in the Foxcroft neighborhood on Sunday afternoon and grabbed his adult daughter, Lucy, around the neck, said Hastings, quoting from the police report.

Parkhurst could not be reached for comment.

Parkhurst brought former Arkansas Sen. David Pryor's memoir to the attention of Butler Center Books, which went on to publish the book. The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies later contracted with Parkhurst to head Butler Center Books, the center's publishing arm.

August House, founded in 1979, was an award-winning multimedia company that published folklore, children's books and other works, including a book by renowned Arkansas author Dee Brown. Ted was president and his then-wife, Liz, was vice president and publisher when the couple sold August House to Marsh Cove Productions of Atlanta.

The couple divorced after the sale. Liz rejoined August House last year.

In addition to his position at Butler Center Books, Ted Parkhurst is the president of Parkhurst Brothers Publishers Inc. of Little Rock, which he helped establish in 2008. Parkhurst said earlier this year that Parkhurst Brothers Publishers would focus on books on national and international policy as well as leadership in the workplace.