An afternoon in Melbourne’s southern-hemisphere winter at Federation Park. Image – Getty: lkonya
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
International Distribution Work
In an announcement from the Chicago-based Independent Publishers Group (IPG) has announced that Melbourne Books, an independent publishing house founded in Australia in 2000, has agreed to a distribution arrangement.
Melbourne Books is an independent Australian publishing house founded in 2000. They publish a wide range of books, including biographies, cookbooks, art, architecture, social histories, travel, academic work, and novels. The house is run by David Tenenbaum, its publisher, and his description of the house’s work says that each book Melbourne releases is “a considered cultural artefact.
IPG’s distribution work on Melbourne’s behalf is to start on January 1 and to encompass the United States and Canadian markets.
At the same time, IPG has announced several more new agreements.
In California, Whimspire Books is a publisher of books for children based in Sacramento, the state’s capital, with an emphasis on books the company says “foster imagination and fuel confidence in kids.”
The company’s output is in picture books, and IPG’s work with that inventory will being on February 1, distributing to Canada as well as in the States.
Also in California, WTAW Press is a nonprofit company set in Santa Rosa dedicated to publishing what it says are “exceptional, enduring literary books.” Operating with diversity as a priority, the company writes in its self-descriptive text, “We recognize that the publishing industry has historically excluded marginalized groups, and WTAW Press is dedicated to creating a more representative publishing industry for all people. A meaningful literary world is one that decentralizes, and honors the diversity of, the human experience. It is paramount that we listen to and elevate writers whom—due to race, class, gender, geography, disability, and more—the traditional publishing industry has ignored or excluded.”
IPG’s distribution for WTAW began in July, and is reported to an international account.
Another house based in the States, BLoved Publishing will have American, Canadian, and British distribution from IPG, starting on November 1.
BLoved specializes in translating and publishing popular Korean BL Manhwa and novels into English, as well as Chinese Danmei, Baihe, and BL Manhua in partnership with Monogatari Novels. BLoved says it “seeks to bring captivating stories and immersive worlds to life through meticulous translations for English readers to enjoy in physical print.”
These designations refer to “boys’ love” (BL), “girls’ love” (GL), and the Korean “manhwa” genre of fiction that features strong women, a form especially successful in South Korea. The house also produces Japanese work, particularly manga that includes BL and GL series.
And in a fifth deal, IPG has announced its agreement to start US and Canadian distribution on January 1 for Anderson Entertainment, which “creates, develops, produces, and nurtures intellectual property and content” books in a wide selection of formats—hardbacks, coffee table books, comic anthologies, series guides, and audiobooks.
The work is based on the company’s own properties, including the shows Thunderbirds and Space:1999.
More from Publishing Perspectives on international distribution is here, more on the work of IPG is here, and more on independent publishing is here.
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