Publisher Peter Workman has died of cancer at the age of 74, his company has said.

He was the founder, president and CEO of one of the largest independent publishers of non-fiction trade books and calendars.

Workman Publishing was known for such best-sellers as What To Expect When You’re Expecting.

Its titles also include such favourites as the boxed Page-A-Day Calendar, The Official Preppy Handbook and The Silver Palate Cookbook.

The company’s spokeswoman Selina Meere said that Workman died yesterday at his New York City home.

Workman was a Long Island native, and a Yale University graduate.

After a job in the sales department of Dell Publishing, he founded Workman in 1967 as a book packager.

Within two years, its inaugural list led with Richard Hittleman’s Yoga 28-Day Exercise Plan, which is still in print.

He is survived by his widow, Carolan Raskin Workman, their two daughters and four grandchildren.