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Nick Sturm

@nicksturm.bsky.social

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · Jan 8

it's official--my first book will be published by @columbiaup.bsky.social

Such a Thing as New York School: Print Culture, Publishing Communities, & American Poetry--an account of how publishing practices give material forms to American literary communities & the group labels that describe them.

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 15h

I have a student who has watched "Younger" (thank god--finally). They're starting a research project on the show's representation of the publishing industry.

Aside from this NYT piece & a 2022 Lit Hub article, do we know other writing looking at this phenomenon?

www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/b...

How Hollywood Gets the Publishing Industry Wrong (Published 2019)

www.nytimes.com

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The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 17h

“The NAFTA Novel remains the literary form of a diminutive bourgeois class: the lettered colonials tasked with mediating between the elites of Mexico and the United States. But the latter elite no longer has use for such cosmopolitan intermediaries.”

The NAFTA Novel | Nicolás Medina Mora

For all its utopianism, the NAFTA Novel remains the literary form of a diminutive bourgeois class.

thebaffler.com

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 17h

Virgos would collaborate on a public-facing data-driven look at the distribution ecosystem's mediating effects on literary production!

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 18h

Wow I can't believe that Baker & Taylor is going under. Fully agree that book distribution is a huge and often overlooked part of publishing and libraries.

We wrote a bit about B&T's history and relationship to public libraries in our recent FAccT paper: dl.acm.org/doi/full/10....

Sarah Weinman @sarahweinman.com · 21h

Distribution is THE under-reported story in book publishing (outside of the trade publications) and losing B&T is going to have untold ripple effects on the industry, small presses, and authors.

Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 22h

seems very bad www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 18h

We should talk more about this!

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Liam @libraryliam.bsky.social · 19h

I believe B&T probably produced and holds a vast amount of cataloging information for books? (MARC records, the data and details that allow books to be found / processed by libraries.) who knows what becomes of that work

Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 20h

With significant sums owned to publishers (including small presses), what happens to this physical inventory (recalling the logistics nightmare after the closure of SPD) and how will the digital infrastructure sold/managed by Baker & Taylor be maintained or transferred?

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 19h

Wilk becoming Lit director was an outgrowth of the Ford Foundation's $500k multi-year grant, admined by CCLM/CLMP beginning in 1975, to seed new distributors (Truck was one), research distribution problems, & build capacity. It was the biggest grant for book distribution, never seen again.

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 19h

The last great spark in reimagining the small press distribution landscape came under David Wilk's (first of Truck Distribution, later of distributor Inland Book Co.) tenure as Director of the Literature Program at the NEA from 1978-1981, when the NEA created a distribution grant category.

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 20h

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 20h

From a recent profile of Baker & Taylor CEO & owner Aman Kochar: The wholesaler "maintains a physical inventory of around 385,000 books. Additionally, Baker & Taylor boasts more than two million ebooks and audiobooks plus a vast assortment of digital magazines and newspapers through a partnership."

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 21h

See Laura Miller's 2009 "The Rise and Not-Quite Fall of the American Book Wholesaler"

Of the Big Three distributors described in Miller's article, only Ingram remains. (Advanced Marketing Services was acquired by Baker & Taylor in 2007.)

doi.org/10.1207/S153...

The Rise and Not-Quite Fall of the American Book Wholesaler

This article uses historical and interview data to examine the transformation of the wholesale sector in the American book industry. In contrast to the dominant pattern in other consumer goods indu...

doi.org

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 21h

This is a huge collapse in the book distribution business, especially following the closure of Small Press Distribution last year. Baker & Taylor--originally established in 1828--has been central to the library market for decades.

Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 22h

seems very bad www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Baker & Taylor Prepares Plan to Shut Down

At a town hall yesterday, B&T owner and CEO Aman Kochar announced that following the termination of the ReaderLink acquisition deal, he does not see a path to keep the library wholesaler in business.

www.publishersweekly.com

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Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · 22h

A depressing update we've seen coming for a long time, with numerous impacts. Namely, even less competition for library acquisitions and wholesale, publishers (including Hub City) left with unpaid bills, and small presses left high and dry, and vanishing distribution options.

"Baker & Taylor will be closing their business, after a planned acquisition of their assets by Readerlink fell through last month. Operations will cease by January 1, according to online posts from former employees. Employees were informed yesterday that their positions will be eliminated. A local newspaper in Illinois reports that 253 of the 318 staffers at the 379,000-square-foot distribution center in Momence were let go immediately, as 62 others will stay on to assist with "wind[ing] down" the business until late December, with the last three employees departing January 3.

A report from Illinois' Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act explained that the closure is due to the termination of the Readerlink sale, which "would have resulted in the continuing employment of all Baker & Taylor employees."

"Despite Baker & Taylor’s subsequent efforts, it was unsuccessful in seeking a path to continue its business operations," the report continues.

B&T was the largest supplier of materials to libraries, and B&T Publisher Services distributes books from more than 250 small presses. Small publishers are particularly in need of distribution services after the closure of Small Press Distribution.

B&T did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company is headquartered in Charlotte, NC."

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Luke Kennard @lukekennard.bsky.social · 1d

At the end George Internet would realise that there’s more to life than the internet.

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Luke Kennard @lukekennard.bsky.social · 1d

If Mary Poppins was set today the father would have been called George Internet

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 1d

ftw I’ll hold 7 next time

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Dan Sinykin @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social · 1d

Stephanie's essay on D. A. Miller on Jane Austen is, alone, worth the price of admission! It's how I'm closing out my grad seminar on close reading this semester, paired with her Norton Library edited edition of Sense and Sensibility.

All to say: buy the book! It's shipping!

Stephanie Insley Hershinow @sinsleyh.bsky.social · 1d

Truly think this volume is great, and I can’t wait for you to read it!

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Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 1d

recent paragraph factory productions by excellent people

Holding copies of two kickass books in front of more books.

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Small Publishers Fair @smallpublishers.bsky.social · 21d

Small Publishers Fair returns to London's Conway Hall
next month, with 66 UK & international publishers, a special exhibition, and readings & talks. More details soon.

Fri 24 & Sat 25 October (11am-7pm)
FREE, all welcome
Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL smallpublishersfair.co.uk

Promotional card for the 2025 Small Publishers Fair, with a full list of the 66 participating artists and publishers. Full details at https://smallpublishersfair.co.uk/publishers-2025/

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Philip Leventhal @philipleventhal.bsky.social · 2d

On 10/15, Jennifer Scappettone will be launching her timely new book, POETRY AFTER BARBARISM: THE INVENTION OF MOTHERLESS TONGUES & RESISTANCE TO FASCISM at the Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago. bit.ly/42WuVUa @xenoglossic.bsky.social @columbiaup.bsky.social #LiteratureNow