Westward, Ho!

Out West business is booming for midsize SCB Distributors in Gardena, Calif. "We had our best year ever in 2002. We were up 30%, and our returns were down. They were 18%," said owner Aaron Silverman, adding that the company's profits are up 15% so far this year. SCB represents between 60 and 70 publishers, although only about 20 to 30 are active at any one time, including Tallfellow Tales, founded by former PSS owners Larry Sloan and Leonard Price, and Silman-James Press, specializing in books for independent filmmakers.

Although SCB does well with books like Dapper Press's The Men's Clothing Guide (Aug.) by Steve Brinkman, it is also feeling the Harry Potter effect. Its Wizarding World Press look at the first four books, Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter has 65,000 copies in print and is part of Amazon's top 500 titles. The sequel, New Clues to Harry Potter: Book 5 (Oct.), has a projected print run of 40,000 copies.

In other news, SCB announced two new hires. Former PGW marketing director Lance Tilford is filling the same position at SCB. Gabriel Wilmoth was named trade sales coordinator. He held a similar job at Hill Street Press in Athens, Ga.

Finally, SCB has also added four new clients: Channel Photographics LLC, a new publishing venture in Santa Fe, N.Mex., from James Crump, former president and publisher of Arena Editions, which will launch with Desert Diaries: Photojournalists on the War in Iraq (Oct.); Tokyo-based DH Publishing Inc. which specializes in books on Japanese culture; Baby Tattoo Books, a Los Angeles startup that will specialize in pop culture and illustrated books; and Heian International Inc. in Southern California, which publishes a broad selection of Asian books for children and adults.