The Stable Book Group--a collective of independent publishers that was launched in February--has formed Stable Distribution, a new distribution company designed to provide indie publishers with "a powerful and innovative new path to books and logistics in North America."
Stable Distribution is being formed in partnership with Hachette Book Group US Distribution, which will provide warehousing, logistics, and fulfillment services in the U.S. and Canada. The company will operate from Hachette's Lebanon, Ind., warehouse. The Stable Book Group will lead sales and operations for client publishers. All publishers joining Stable Distribution will be integrated via Perfect Bound, the Stable Book Group's publishing management platform that includes title management, real-time sales and inventory tracking, automated royalty accounting, and a global print-on-demand and offset printing marketplace.
Chris Gruener, CEO of the Stable Book Group, said, "Our goal is to open a new avenue for indie publishers looking to grow their businesses and reach through distribution. The recent consolidation across client distribution has made it significantly harder for independent voices to reach the market. Stable Distribution is our response--an operation built to create more opportunities, more discoverability, and more support for publishers who want to thrive on their own terms."
The other leaders of Stable Distribution include Keith Riegert, president, The Stable Book Group; Brooke Warner, COO, The Stable Book Group; and Chitra Bopardikar, CEO, Global Publishers Group.
Most of the Stable Book Group--including Ulysses Press, Trafalgar Square Books, VeloPress Books, Skybox Press, Montague Books, and Mountain Gazette Books--are moving distribution to Stable Distribution from Simon & Schuster, in January. She Writes Press, the Stable Book Group's hybrid publisher run by Brooke Warner, will continue to be distributed by Simon & Schuster. The Stable Group also includes Galpón Press, founded earlier this year by Michael Jacobs and Sheridan Hay as part of Filmore Projects.
Stable Book Group president Keith Riegert, who is also CEO of Ulysses Press, VeloPress, and Perfect Bound, said, "We are deeply grateful for Simon & Schuster's partnership over the past five years. Their extraordinary team helped us grow into the company we are today. While it's bittersweet to leave such an incredible organization, Stable Distribution is the next step on the roadmap we envisioned when we founded the Stable Book Group--an opportunity to build a distribution ecosystem truly tailored to the needs of independent publishers."
For Hachette, the partnership is an expansion of an approach that has worked well in the U.K. Russell Evans, business development director, Hachette UK Distribution and HBG US Distribution, said, "At Hachette we understand and recognize what best-in-class distribution services mean to publishers. Under this model we are not just providing our services to one independent publisher, but to a group. We successfully delivered this solution in the U.K., so to now offer this in the U.S., and in partnership with the amazingly talented team at Stable Distribution, is equally pleasing and exciting to be part of. We are all delighted about this new partnership and look forward to them joining our distribution family."
Todd McGarity, v-p, U.S. business development, Hachette Book Group, added, "We have been looking for a partner that will allow us to scale and deliver services to more publishers, while maintaining our market strategy of focusing services on medium to large clients. This partnership with Stable Distribution will allow Hachette to continue to differentiate itself in the U.S. distribution market, while providing services to independent presses who need support now more than ever."