With support from the California Arts Council, SPD’s book distribution activities will serve CA-based literary presses, their authors, and their many readers. Through professional development, distribution, marketing, and advocacy, our work ensures that books from CA authors and publishers can make their way into readers’ hands. SPD allows literature from California to be nurtured, celebrated and valued as a vital and evolving art form that gives voice to and connects multiple communities.
SPD’s central program of literary book distribution allows thousands of works of literary excellence featuring the voices of multiple underrepresented communities to reach as many readers as possible. Our distribution activities include the careful curation of publishers, the creation of an online presence for each title, the creation and maintenance of crucial bibliographic data feeds, the design and implementation of a wide roster of marketing efforts, the physical warehousing of books, and the professional fulfillment of orders. SPD provides customized advice and care to each of the publishers in the SPD family to help them navigate the ever-changing complexities of the book industry. Our distribution and related outreach programs—including public literary events, educational programming, and attendance at festivals and trade shows—target underserved audiences: readers who haven’t been reached or don’t see themselves represented by what is on offer in the mainstream marketplace.

