On February 16, a Delaware bankruptcy court approved a proposal by Perseus Books to take over the distribution contracts of over one hundred independent presses formerly distributed by Publishers Group West (PGW). Hundreds of publishers, including Grove/Atlantic, McSweeney's Books, and Soft Skull Press, were left without warehousing, shipping, and billing services after the December 29 bankruptcy filing by PGW’s parent company, Advanced Marketing Services (AMS). At the time of the filing, PGW owed approximately twenty-five million dollars to its list of clients.
Perseus's agreement, which more than one hundred publishers have signed, promises to pay seventy cents of every dollar owed by PGW. Publishers who did not sign with Perseus will likely be released from their PGW contracts and will be able to sign deals with other distributors.
