Publishers Group West, a distributor of books for many small independent publishers, faced bankruptcy recently. New York-based Perseus Book Group offered 70 cents of each dollar owed to the small publishers left in the lurch, as well as continuation of service, while the National Book Network offered first 85 cents on the dollar, and later full value. The judge listened to the publishers themselves, 85% of which stated they were willing to take the lesser offer in order to continue service with staff who knew their products, which I take to mean people wouldn’t lose their jobs.

Washington Post – Lanham Firm Loses Book Deal

Perseus chief executive David Steinberger said that the decision showed that the independent publishing world is looking beyond tomorrow’s sales to ensure solid financial footing. (read article)

Independent publishing is on the rise, with a greater concern for quality, for the writer, and for the reader. I’m involved, as an aspiring writer, in one end of the publishing spectrum, and as a self-published writer I quickly came up against the immense and immovable boulder of distribution channels at the other end. I’m also unspeakably weary of everything in our world coming down to profit in the short term, and size and power meaning more than people and quality. So I felt great relief to read about this development in the past month’s scramble over the bankruptcy of one of indie publishing’s distributors. My hat’s off to the publishers who chose to sacrifice hard-earned money in order to keep some people in their current jobs and keep independent publishing focused on what matters — getting high quality books into readers’ hands.

I look forward to supporting more independent publishers with my book purchases.

More on today’s development:

San Francisco Chronicle —
Small presses will get money

The New York Times —
Perseus to Take Over Publishers’ Contracts

Some background:

Monday, January 22, 2007 — International Herald Tribune —
Deal announced for Perseus Books to acquire imperiled distributor

Saturday, January 27, 2007 — San Francisco Chronicle —
A financial thriller in the publishing world

Sunday, January 28, 2007— Market Day —
Bankruptcy hurts small publishers

Saturday, February 10, 2007 — Los Angeles Times CalendarLive.com —
The next chapter may be 13

Thursday, February 15, 2007 — The Book Standard —
The Battle Continues for PGW’s Clients

Friday, February 16, 2007 — The Daily Californian —
Book Distributor Waits On Ownership Decision