Barnes & Noble Reconfirms Interest in Independent Publishers

There was a bit of consternation over the last two weeks due to Barnes & Noble firing B&N’s longtime small press liaison Marcella Smith along with most of B&N’s regional buyers.

Marcella was instrumental in helping a multitude of independent presses get their books into B&N over the years—including my start-up, Quill Driver Books, more than 15 years ago.

With QDB, Marcella was also instrumental in getting our titles distributed by Ingram Book Company, the 600-pound canary of book wholesalers. At my request, Marcella asked Ingram to become B&N’s vendor of record for QDB titles. This, of course, required that Ingram stock our titles.

This was important because Ingram was the independent bookstores’ vendor of choice. Many bookstores wouldn’t even special order a book if Ingram didn’t stock it. Ingram had rebuffed my advances for more than a year when Marcella went to bat for us.

This may seem like a small thing, but it was a huge breakthrough for QDB and, for her help, I will always be grateful.

Independent Book Publishers Association Steps In

Florrie Binford Kichler, president of the Independent Book Publishers Association, contacted Joe Gonnella, vice president, Adult Trade for B&N with her concerns about this move. I’m including Gonnella’s response in its whole below:

Over the years, Barnes & Noble’s commitment to small, university and regional presses has been unwavering. Created in 1993, our small press department handles over 6,500 submissions a year, providing support and guidance to authors and publishers alike.

Through our network of retail stores and online at www.bn.com , books from over 50,000 small, regional and university presses are represented. It is the backbone of our business.

Recently there have been erroneous reports that organizational changes within Barnes & Noble’s buying group might impact the Company’s continued commitment to small presses. Nothing could be further from the truth.

To ensure the continued representation of your titles, please direct new title buy sheets or promotional information to the following individuals:

Eric Burger
Vendor Manager
(212) 633-3357
eburger@bn.com

Diane Simowski
Small Press Dept.
(212) 633-3549
dsimowski@bn.com

If you have any question, comments or concerns on how to work with Barnes & Noble, feel free to contact Eric, Diane or myself. We look forward to our continued partnership with you. We have always believed that one of the great strengths of the book business is its diversity as an ecosystem. The small and independent publishers are the facilitators of that diversity and will continue to be supported by our buyers and booksellers as they have been in the past.

Sincerely,

Joseph Gonnella
Vice President, Adult Trade, Barnes and Noble
jgonnella@bn.com

In addition, Gonnella asked that he and Binford Kichler speak on the phone once a month for the next few months.

I’m encouraged by Gonnella’s quick and encompassing response, but a start-up press’ experience with B&N will never be the same without Marcella’s friendly guidance.

 Just a write thought.