BookWorld Companies, the distributor of some 105 small publishers, with
headquarters in Sarasota, Fla., and distribution facilities in
LaVergne, Tenn., closed its doors at the end of last week. The company
did not file for bankruptcy.
AtlasBooks, the book distribution division of BookMasters,
Ashland, Ohio, is talking with BookWorld's publishers and is taking on
"a majority" of them, according to BookMasters COO David Wurster. "All
of them can have a new home with us if they want," he told Shelf
Awareness.
Within two weeks, AtlasBooks hopes to begin selling former BookWorld
publishers to the trade. "It's mostly a paperwork issue," involving
vendor of record agreements and other business, Wurster said, since
most inventory has been transferred. Even if the publishers don't sign
on with AtlasBooks, "we will help them out," he added. Still, some
smaller BookWorld publishers have decided already to close.
The shift of publishers to AtlasBooks has been aided by the coincidence
that AtlasBooks's v-p of sales Randall McKenzie was until this spring
v-p of sales at BookWorld and thus is familiar with the defunct company
and its clients and customers. Booksellers and librarians with
questions may reach him at RMcKenzie@bookmasters.com or 419-281-5100,
ext. 1114.
Wurster noted that BookWorld's main secured creditor is the bank on
which the company had a line of credit that has about $1 million
outstanding. The difficulty for BookWorld publishers will be "making it
through financially despite lost BookWorld receivables and the negative cash flow
that will occur when they start with us," he said. He stressed that the
company will do everything it can to aid them and is taking on "a lot
of return liability" and working with major wholesalers and retailers
to make a "peaceful" transition.
"It's another tragedy in the book distribution world," Wurster
commented. "There's only a shrinking handful of us still standing."
AtlasBooks represents some 800 publishers to the trade and provides
full distributor services for them; it offers limited fulfillment
services
to another 700 publishers. BookMasters also has divisions that handle a
range of book services, including composition and design, offset and
digital printing, binding and storage.
Headed by Ron "Ted" Smith, BookWorld had expanded in recent years,
adding Spanish-language sales staff, more sales reps and Small Press
Central, a website that listed small press titles and linked to
BookWorld.--John Mutter