Former BookWorld Clients Migrate to AtlasBooks

When the Sarasota, Florida, distributor BookWorld abruptly shut its doors on September 28, it left 104 small publishers looking for distribution arrangements. Now, many of those publishers are migrating over to AtlasBooks, according to David Wurster, AtlasBooks COO and co-owner of BookMasters, both based in Ashland, Ohio.

As of press time, AtlasBooks had signed distribution agreements with more than 50 former BookWorld publisher clients, including Quilt in a Day, Nutrition Times Press, Spiritual Arts Institute Publishing, and Tapestry Press, and Wurster fully expects to sign more. "The majority of publishers have committed to come over to us," Wurster told BTW. "There are a handful of publishers we haven't had a chance to contact yet."

In the months prior to BookWorld's closing, AtlasBooks had been exploring the possibility of purchasing the Florida distributor. Discussions about a possible purchase "had been on and off for over the past five years, but in the last six months it started to get serious," Wurster reported. "But we couldn't come together due to the financial performance of the company."

Two weeks before BookWorld's closing, Wurster met with BookWorld President Ron Smith to discuss several options; however, the two were unable to come to an agreement.

According to Florida's Herald Tribune, the 18-year-old BookWorld's finish was brought about by a "perfect storm" of monetary problems: sales declined, collections became an issue, and the company was dealing with two expensive lawsuits. Smith told the Tribune that over the past two years his company had spent almost $90,000 just defending itself. The company has not filed for bankruptcy and won't "unless we are severely threatened," Smith said, as reported by the Tribune.

On October 1, AtlasBooks sent out e-mails to BookWorld's clients to notify them that they would be "assisting with the transfer of inventory," Wurster said, and to offer them the option of signing on with AtlasBooks. He noted that the e-mail "was the first notice that their publishers got. BookWorld did not notify their publishers or book buyers that they were closed." AtlasBooks is still currently moving inventory from BookWorld's warehouse to its Ashland facility. "We're sending truckloads out by the day." --David Grogan