You Gotta Have Art

Trucatriche in Chula Vista, Calif, is one of the few small distributors that's not just hanging on, but thriving. As its name, which is Italian for "female make-up artists," implies, the 10-year-old distributor seeks out books with strong visual content—photography, fine arts, graphic novels and literature—in English and Spanish. Many of the 40 publishers Trucatriche represents are new, trendy presses, such as Freshjive in Los Angeles, better known for its apparel but which recently began publishing a twice-yearly journal, Propagandist; and Los Angeles-based Arenas Street, which published its first book in November, a photography collection by Michael Rababy called American Bachelor. One of the company's biggest books to date is Gregory Dechant's translation of selected letters and notes by Frida Kahlo, Frida by Frida (Editorial RM, Mexico) edited by Raquel Tibol.

"Basically, I started the business in college," Trucatriche founder Pedro Alonzo told PW, "I went to school in Mexico. On my drives home, I'd sell books along the way. Originally we just sold to museum stores and art stores." To keep up with its expanding client base, Trucatriche is adding more sales representatives. Melanie York, formerly with D.A.P., was just hired to sell the New York/Philadelphia area. In addition, Alonzo noted, the company is about to redo its Web site (www.tracatriche.com) and in January will publish its first catalogue.

If Trucatriche is having a good year, art book distributor Distributed Art Publishers, which added both the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim in the past year and a half and represents 600 titles a year, has been having an even better one. "We're enjoying MoMA and Guggenheim," said president Sharon Gallagher. "It's been terrific to have that kind of backlist. It balances the great European publishers, so we have a more American cast. Our sales are strong this year and we're up with all our big accounts." Although, she said, "it's been a lot of work" this year to get sales, she added, "I still believe there's a role for the really deluxe art book and architecture book." One of the ways D.A.P. has been promoting its titles is through other fashion-oriented stores. For example, it held a publication party/benefit for Prince Felix Youssoupoff's Lost Splendor: The Amazing Memoirs of the Man Who Killed Rasputin at Bergdorf Goodman this fall.

And D.A.P. has been equally busy signing up new clients. Starting in January, it will again represent literary press Exact Change to the trade. One of its first books under the new distribution agreement with be the first English translation of a volume of Picasso's poetry.