Small Press Distribution (SPD) is a non-profit literary arts organization located in Berkeley, California. They act as an umbrella distributor and marketer for hundreds of smaller literary publishers.

History

SPD was founded in 1969 by Peter Howard of Serendipity Books and Jack Shoemaker of Sand Dollar Press. The fledgling organization provided small-scale distribution services for only five publishers. Initially called Serendipity Books Distribution, 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.

By 1980, SPD was distributing the books of about 40 small publishers; by 1990, the number had grown to 330. Today, SPD distributes books for approximately 400 publishers, each of whom produces anywhere from one to twenty books a year.

SPD became an official 501c3 non-profit in 1996. Since that time, its sales and staff have grown despite the demise of many independent bookstores that previously operated as its most consistent customer base.

Publishers

Some publishers distributed by SPD include the following:[1]

Controversy

In December 2020, SPD was under fire after a former employee posted an anonymous article on Medium[2] with allegations of wage theft and discrimination based on race and gender,[3] leading to an open letter calling for the resignation of executive director Brent Cunningham. In March 2021, the organization announced the pending departure of Brent Cunningham after internal investigations commissioned by the board of directors.[4] The board of directors have not publicly responded to the allegations of wage theft.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Publisher List". Small Press Distribution. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  2. ↑ Worker, Damaged Book (2020-12-02). "I was terrorized out of my job by Small Press Distribution". Medium. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  3. ↑ "Allegations of Wage Theft, Discrimination at Small Press Distribution". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  4. ↑ "SPD Executive Director Stepping Down". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
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