Like the subject line says, MangaBlog’s Brigid recently took some time to talk to Fanfare/Ponent Mon publisher Stephen Robson. Here, he explains the poor distribution his books have been getting in the U.S.:
Fanfare’s books are distributed to comics stores by Diamond, but Robson initially had trouble getting a bookstore distributor interested in his small catalog. “We didn’t have enough of a backlist, or a forward list, because we were taking a book at a time,” Robson said. “I had to get one book out so I would have enough to buy rights for the second book.” Last year, he signed with Biblio, but shipping costs remain a stumbling block. The books are printed in Spain, and because his print runs are small, Robson has to wait until he has two or three titles in print to make it economical to ship the books to the US.
… Robson starts small, with first printings of 1,500 to 2,000. “It’s difficult to make a pot of gold our of those sort of print runs,” he said, “but it needs that nurturing. To me it’s worth it.” And his efforts are starting to pay off: two of his early titles, Yukiko’s Spinach and Jiro Taniguchi’s The Walking Man, are going back for second printings, and he is beginning to think about increasing his initial runs.
He’s also putting the finishing touches on a sequel to “Japan As Viewed by 17 Creators,” this time focusing on Korea. I got a glimpse of the book at NYCC and it looks lovely.
I said it before, and I’ll say it again and again. This guy publishes fantastic books and if by the grace of whatever heavenly being you pray to you see them in your local store you should buy them then and there.
