Baker & Taylor employees learned during a town hall this week that the company, which distributes primarily to libraries, will wind down operations by the end of this year. More than 500 people have already been laid off; until recently, B&T employed about 1,500 people. Shelf Awareness reports that B&T is rumored to owe creditors, mostly publishers, as much as $26 million. Learn more in Publishers Weekly.
In addition to publishers whose invoices haven’t been paid, about 250 small presses who use B&T’s distribution services will be directly affected. Last year, the nonprofit Small Press Distribution shuttered, which also left small presses in the lurch. Some of the distribution alternatives at that time included Itasca and Asterism. Stable Distribution is another, newer option.
Book wholesaling and distribution operates on razor-thin margins, and consolidation has been happening for years now; Ingram is the biggest player in the US and has acquired numerous smaller companies. In 2018, Ingram attempted to buy Baker & Taylor, but the deal fell through. It’s possible that some aspects of B&T’s business may yet be purchased. Publishers Lunch reports (sub required) that Ingram has added 40 to 50 new staff on the library side to handle new business.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
