Publisher Acquisitions

Prospective Publishers: Please read/view the information below as well as the Publisher Handbook and, if you feel you are a good fit with SPD, click the submission button below to begin your application.

Information about the SPD Fellowship Program can be found here. 

SPD—Small Press Distribution, Inc—is a non-profit distributor of literary small presses: publishers specializing in poetry, fiction and related critical and cultural writing. SPD was founded in 1969 in Berkeley, California, and today distributes books from over 400 active publishers. 

SPD is dedicated to distributing small publishers of high-quality literary writing, whose publications are well-produced, and supported by the publisher through promotional & marketing efforts, advertising, etc. Our emphasis is on contemporary poetry, non-mainstream fiction, literary translations and literary or arts-oriented criticism and literary nonfiction. (We don't carry genre publishers—thrillers, sci-fi, romance; self-help or "inspirational" books; technical or academic specialty publications; children's books; or monthly or weekly ad-driven glossy magazines.)

Ideally, presses distributed by SPD would publish two (or more) books per year by a variety of authors (though we will pick up a press on the basis of a good first publication). As a rule we do not carry self-published books or single author presses. 

We distribute an extremely limited number of literary magazines/journals published in perfectbound book format.  However, we don't carry staple-bound or newspaper format periodicals, and we no longer work with publishers whose sole publications are magazines and journals. 

Located in Berkeley, California, SPD warehouses limited quantities of over 13,000 titles from better than 400 publishers. SPD acts as wholesaler of books to bookstores and libraries, and we sell books directly to individuals via the Web. We provide a toll-free 800 number for orders, accepting and processing orders 40 hours per week. Currently our highly respected email newsletter SPD Recommends reaches over 15,000 bookstore buyers, librarians, and individual writers, teachers and readers. 

We provide marketing support via extensive electronic data updates and direct representation to the trade, to wholesalers, and to librarians. We regularly attend tradeshows, bookfairs & conventions (national & regional in scope), conduct sales contacts with select bookstores and bookstore chains, and supply new titles on standing order to select university library collections. 

SPD's mission is to nurture a cultural environment in which the literary arts are valued and sustained. SPD provides services to literary audiences, writers, and publishers via its book distribution activities, public programming, and advocacy efforts. 

Though acquisition policies are not based solely on commercial criteria, we need information about your marketing and editorial plans in order to determine whether SPD can help with your distribution needs.