Support Black Lawrence Press

On Thursday, March 28, Small Press Distribution (SPD) suddenly ceased operations . This is devastating news as SPD has been one of our most important partners and has been our primary distributor for the past 12 years. We had great faith in their mission and enjoyed over a decade of collegial collaboration and mutual support.

SPD’s closure leaves Black Lawrence Press and hundreds of other independent publishers in a dire situation. At present, it is unclear when and how we will be able to access the 18,289 Black Lawrence Press books that were in the SPD warehouse as of last week. Luckily, we do have modest quantities of most titles in our own warehouse so that we can continue fulfilling orders in the short-term.

The more immediate concern is that SPD owes us royalties for all of the sales that they managed over the course of the past six months. We, along with dozens of other presses, have tried repeatedly to contact SPD only to receive automated replies that refer back to the announcement on their website. We are given to understand that SPD’s dissolution will be overseen by the Superior Court of California which, in a mass email that we received on Thursday, “will determine the equitable disposition of SPD’s remaining assets to the extent all claims from creditors cannot be satisfied.” In short, we have no guarantee if or when we will receive the royalties that Small Press Distribution owes us and our authors. To make matters worse, we were expecting our royalty payment within the month of April.

Black Lawrence Press is a small business in the arts and simply cannot withstand a loss of this magnitude. The number that you see at the top of this page, a whopping $17,239, includes:

-The royalties that SPD owes us for 2023 Q4 according to their own reports

-The royalties that we believe SPD owes us for 2024 Q1 based on the sales reports that we’ve been able to access and historical averages

We acknowledge that there is a chance that, at some point in the future, we will receive all or part of the monies owed to us through the Superior Court of California. Should that come to pass, we plan to reinvest your donation into the literary community by expanding our scholarship program, offering additional services and financial support to Black Lawrence Press authors, and making donations to other literary organizations.

We understand that Black Lawrence Press is just one publisher in a large and vibrant constellation of small presses and that we’re not the only one in need of urgent support. For that reason, we are especially grateful for any contribution you can make.

Another way to support Black Lawrence Press through this difficult time is to make a purchase on our website . By doing so, you will add wonderful independent literature to your library while also directly supporting us and our authors.

If you are unable to make a donation or purchase a book at this time, there are two other impactful ways that you can provide support. One way is to share a link to this fundraiser with like-minded friends and family who believe in the importance of independent publishing. Another is to ask your local library to purchase Black Lawrence Press titles that you are interested in reading.

Yours most sincerely,