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Small Press Distribution
Book distributor for small literary presses

Small Press Distribution (SPD) was an "exclusively literary" nonprofit book distributor for the small press that operated from 1969 to 2024. It abruptly closed in March 2024.

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History

SPD was founded in 1969 in Berkeley, California, by Peter Howard of Serendipity Books and Jack Shoemaker of Sand Dollar Press.6 The fledgling organization provided small-scale distribution services for only eight publishers.7 Initially called Serendipity Books Distribution,8 it was renamed Small Press Distribution by the late 1970s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the organization periodically assembled the new titles of their publishers into printed catalogs, thus providing a link to underground literature for writers and readers around the US.

From 1977 to 1989, poet Jean Day was Acquisitions Manager, then Executive Director, of SPD, developing close associations with many San Francisco Bay Area writers and publishers, including Lyn Hejinian, Bob Perelman, Steve Benson, Johanna Drucker, Barrett Watten, Alan Bernheimer, Kit Robinson, Tom Mandel, and Laura Moriarty. (Moriarty herself served as Deputy Director of SPD from 1998 to 2018, remaining on the company board.)9

By 1980, SPD was distributing the books of about 40 small publishers; it also "operated a full-time retail store and sponsored an array of public programs and readings."10 By 1990, SPD's roster of small publishers had grown to 330. SPD became an official non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in 1991.11 By this time, however, "'though a focal point for literary life in the Bay Area, it was hard hit by reduced NEA funding. The closing of many small independent stores... also impacted sales. A decision was made to discontinue the store and the reading series and focus on distribution."12

By 1999, SPD served 572 small presses and occupied a 6,400-square-foot warehouse in Berkeley.13 It was awarded a Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund grant "for [its] role in providing a vital link in the life of independent publishing."14

In 2023, SPD, via GoFundMe, fundraised over $100,000 in order to implement new operations.1516 In February 2024, the company stated it had moved over 300,000 books from its Berkeley warehouse to Ingram in Tennessee in order to cut costs.17 It also stored books through Publishers Storage and Shipping, located in Michigan.18

A month later, SPD announced on social media and its website that it was shutting down effective immediately, citing:

...the challenges of a rapidly changing book industry and funding environment. Several years of declining sales and the loss of grant support from almost every institution that annually supported SPD have combined to squeeze our budget beyond the breaking point. SPD lost hundreds of thousands in grants in the past few years as funders moved away from supporting the arts. The tireless efforts of a world-class staff to raise new funds, find new sales channels for our presses, and exit our expensive Berkeley warehouse couldn’t compensate for these losses. SPD exhausted every avenue in seeking emergency funding and loans to avoid the shutdown.19

According to SPD's board president, "the company’s dissolution is being overseen by the Superior Court of California, which will decide how to distribute any of S.P.D.’s remaining assets to creditors."20

Controversies

In December 2020, SPD came under fire after a former employee posted an anonymous article on Medium21 with allegations of wage theft and discrimination based on race and gender,22 leading to an open letter calling for the resignation of executive director Brent Cunningham. By 2021, the majority of SPD staff, as well as multiple former staff members, attested to labor issues at SPD — including misconduct by multiple members of SPD leadership, wage violations, retaliation, and intimidation. Two of the former workers who attested to such labor issues had been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements.232425 In March 2021, the organization announced the pending departure of Brent Cunningham after internal investigations commissioned by the board of directors.26 SPD's Board President stated that in total five employees had been underpaid.27 The board of directors did not publicly respond to the allegations of wage theft.

In late March 2024, when Small Press Distribution closed, many publishers publicly stated that SPD hadn't provide them owed money from previous payment periods.282930313233

Notable publishers distributed by SPD (selected)

References

  1. R ther, Barbara (December 20, 1999). "Small Press Distribution Turns 30". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on Dec 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202062344/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19991220/20821-small-press-distribution-turns-30.html ↩

  2. "About SPD". Small Press Distribution. Archived from the original on Jan 3, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240103001027/https://www.spdbooks.org/pages/about/default.aspx ↩

  3. Milliot, Jim (Mar 28, 2024). "Small Press Distribution Shuts Down". Publishers Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/94690-small-press-distribution-shuts-down.html ↩

  4. Broussard, Drew (March 29, 2024). "What the closure of Small Press Distribution means for readers". LitHub. https://lithub.com/what-the-closure-of-small-press-distribution-means-for-readers ↩

  5. Harris, Elizabeth A. (April 17, 2024). "Hundreds of Small Presses Just Lost Their Distributor. Now What?". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/books/small-press-distribution-closure.html ↩

  6. R ther, Barbara (December 20, 1999). "Small Press Distribution Turns 30". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on Dec 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202062344/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19991220/20821-small-press-distribution-turns-30.html ↩

  7. Broussard, Drew (March 29, 2024). "What the closure of Small Press Distribution means for readers". LitHub. https://lithub.com/what-the-closure-of-small-press-distribution-means-for-readers ↩

  8. R ther, Barbara (December 20, 1999). "Small Press Distribution Turns 30". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on Dec 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202062344/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19991220/20821-small-press-distribution-turns-30.html ↩

  9. McLennan, Rob (October 4, 2019). "12 or 20 (second series) questions with Laura Moriarty". rob mclennan's blog. She retired last year from Small Press Distribution and now serves on the board. https://robmclennan.blogspot.com/2019/10/12-or-20-second-series-questions-with.html ↩

  10. R ther, Barbara (December 20, 1999). "Small Press Distribution Turns 30". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on Dec 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202062344/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19991220/20821-small-press-distribution-turns-30.html ↩

  11. R ther, Barbara (December 20, 1999). "Small Press Distribution Turns 30". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on Dec 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202062344/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19991220/20821-small-press-distribution-turns-30.html ↩

  12. R ther, Barbara (December 20, 1999). "Small Press Distribution Turns 30". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on Dec 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202062344/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19991220/20821-small-press-distribution-turns-30.html ↩

  13. R ther, Barbara (December 20, 1999). "Small Press Distribution Turns 30". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on Dec 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202062344/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19991220/20821-small-press-distribution-turns-30.html ↩

  14. R ther, Barbara (December 20, 1999). "Small Press Distribution Turns 30". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on Dec 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202062344/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19991220/20821-small-press-distribution-turns-30.html ↩

  15. Milliot, Jim (Feb 28, 2023). "Small Press Distribution Launches GoFundMe to Support New Operating Model". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 30 January 2024. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/industry-deals/article/91648-spd-starts-fundraising-effort-to-support-new-operating-model.html ↩

  16. Milliot, Jim (Apr 5, 2023). "SPD Looks to Overhaul Operating Model via GoFundMe". Publishers Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/industry-deals/article/91913-spd-looks-to-overhaul-operating-model-via-gofundme.html ↩

  17. Milliot, Jim (Feb 26, 2024). "SPD to Roll Out New Services with Warehouse Transfer Completed". Publishers Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/94447-spd-to-roll-out-new-services-with-warehouse-transfer-completed.html ↩

  18. Milliot, Jim (Feb 28, 2023). "Small Press Distribution Launches GoFundMe to Support New Operating Model". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 30 January 2024. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/industry-deals/article/91648-spd-starts-fundraising-effort-to-support-new-operating-model.html ↩

  19. "Small Press Distribution: 1969 – 2024". Small Press Distribution. Retrieved 28 March 2024. https://www.spdbooks.org/ ↩

  20. Harris, Elizabeth A. (April 17, 2024). "Hundreds of Small Presses Just Lost Their Distributor. Now What?". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/books/small-press-distribution-closure.html ↩

  21. Damaged Book Worker (2020-12-02). "I was terrorized out of my job by Small Press Distribution". Medium. Retrieved 2021-03-12. https://damagedbookworker.medium.com/terrorized-by-spd-612014765e7c ↩

  22. Green, Alex (Jan 6, 2021). "Allegations of Wage Theft, Discrimination at Small Press Distribution". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2021-03-12. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/85229-allegations-of-wage-theft-discrimination-at-small-press-distribution.html ↩

  23. WE ARE SPD (2020-12-28). "Statement from SPD Staff". Medium. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://wearespd.medium.com/statement-from-spd-staff-21ce94bf25e0 ↩

  24. "Toxic: A Farewell to SPD & Hostile Workplaces". The Final Silence: Cancer Walks. 2021-02-15. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://thefinalsilence.com/2021/02/15/toxic-a-farewell-to-spd-hostile-workplaces/ ↩

  25. McDede, Holly (2021-08-10). "How Former Employees at a Berkeley Bastion for Literary Presses Ignited a Reckoning". www.kqed.org. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://www.kqed.org/news/11883845/how-former-employees-at-a-berkeley-bastion-for-literary-presses-ignited-a-reckoning ↩

  26. Green, Alex (Mar 9, 2021). "SPD Executive Director Stepping Down". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/85766-spd-executive-director-to-step-down-following-internal-report.html ↩

  27. Green, Alex (Jan 6, 2021). "Allegations of Wage Theft, Discrimination at Small Press Distribution". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2021-03-12. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/85229-allegations-of-wage-theft-discrimination-at-small-press-distribution.html ↩

  28. Broussard, Drew (March 29, 2024). "What the closure of Small Press Distribution means for readers". LitHub. https://lithub.com/what-the-closure-of-small-press-distribution-means-for-readers ↩

  29. White, Ross [@rosswhite] (March 28, 2024). "SPD shutting down and essentially telling us we won't get paid for books they sold and that we'll probably have to pay to have remaining stock returned from Ingram while shopping for a new distributor..." (Tweet) – via Twitter. https://x.com/rosswhite/status/1773435339215933759 ↩

  30. co•im•press [@coimpress] (March 30, 2024). "The truth is we never wanted to be distributed by SPD because co•im•press has always been about being truly indie—free from being beholden to monolithic, monopolistic organizations" (Tweet) – via Twitter. https://x.com/coimpress/status/1773893097069449226 ↩

  31. Garcia, Suzi F. [@SuziG] (March 28, 2024). "SPD closed owing many small presses thousands of dollars. For a big five or large press, this is a cost of business. For small presses, it may break some of us..." (Tweet) – via Twitter. https://x.com/SuziG/status/1773483843330163012 ↩

  32. Black Lawrence Press [@BlackLawrence] (March 30, 2024). "Like so many other small presses, Black Lawrence Press is devastated by the sudden closure of Small Press Distribution which leaves us and hundreds of other small presses to grapple with logistical nightmares and financial peril" (Tweet) – via Twitter. https://x.com/BlackLawrence/status/1774097945454948485 ↩

  33. Wessel, Liz Clark [@lizclarkwessel] (March 28, 2024). "Very sad to say that SPD went belly up before paying us the 3200 they owed us — gonna be pretty devastating for @ArgosBooks. A sad day for a lot of small presses" (Tweet) – via Twitter. https://x.com/lizclarkwessel/status/1773445789492060191 ↩