In another sign of the changing economics of distribution in the publishing industry, independent distributor National Book Network (NBN) will close next year, with its approximately 150 clients offered the chance to move to Simon & Schuster Distribution Services. Following the collapse of Small Press Distribution in March, the pending exit of NBN from the distribution business leaves Independent Publishers Group as the remaining independent distributor of significant size in the United States, although a number of smaller distributors, including Asterism Books and Itasca Books, have grown their client lists in the wake of the closure of SPD.
NBN was founded in 1986 by Jed Lyons to distribute books from another Lyons–run company, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, as well as titles from other independent presses. The academic division of Rowman & Littlefield was sold to Bloomsbury Publishing earlier this year, leaving the trade publisher, Globe Pequot, the sole publisher controlled by Lyons.
In a letter sent to clients by NBN president Jason Brockwell, the company explained that, with the sale of the academic business, “we have concluded that remaining a standalone distribution business is no longer viable.” As a result, Globe Pequot will become a client of S&S in the second half of 2025, and S&S will handle all of Globe’s North American sales through its Jackson, Tenn., facilities. Stressing that S&S is not buying NBN, the letter explained that the company’s current clients can move to S&S “under the same financial terms now in effect in your existing NBN contract. This applies to both print and digital sales.”
The letter noted that S&S has more resources than NBN has, including a large national field sales force, a gift sales team, and a special sales organization with a broad reach. As part of the agreement, NBN and S&S will cover the costs of packing and transferring client inventory to Jackson next year.
“NBN receivables balance will be honored as a new receivable is created at Simon & Schuster,” the letter continues. “Your existing fees for sales and distribution, returns processing, inventory storage, returns reserve and most ancillary fees will not change, but you will be asked to sign a new Simon & Schuster sales and distribution agreement. Should you decide to take your business elsewhere, the termination language in your NBN contract will apply.”
The letter added that S&S “has expressed a desire to hire all members of our NBN sales team. We anticipate that your primary points-of-contact will remain the same throughout the transition process.” In addition, NBN's warehouses in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa., and Hagerstown, Md., will remain open until at least the end of next year.
“I’ve long watched and admired what Jed Lyons has built, both with Globe Pequot and the family of client publishers at NBN. I’m honored and excited at the chance to partner with Globe Pequot and the stellar independent publishers under the NBN umbrella,” said S&S distribution head Michael Perlman.
Though the agreement with S&S to offer clients the chance to move distribution there is rather unique, NBN is just the latest in the long-running story of independents disappearing from the distribution business either by way of sale or bankruptcy. That segment of the industry is now ruled by the distribution arms of Penguin Random House, S&S, Hachette, and Macmillan, as well as the distribution division of Ingram Content Group, Ingram Publisher Services. Given the changing landscape, NBN, like other independent distributors, had found it difficult to match the economies of scale that the big players have because of their size.
"It is bittersweet to contemplate the closure of NBN, which we launched almost 40 years ago," Lyons told PW. "It has been a good run, and I will always be proud of our role in helping hundreds of scrappy entrepreneurs succeed—many of them becoming leaders in today’s independent publishers’ universe.”
