Four More Years

According to Hushion House Publishing Inc. v-p Jules Beauregard, the Toronto publisher and North American distributor specializing in micro-sized presses, is "the second largest exporter of Canadian-authored books in the U.S." Earlier this year, the company, which represents 400 titles in the U.S., signed with Stackpole Distribution in Harrisburg, Pa., for fulfillment. It has its own force of commission reps in the U.S. market. With the change, said Beauregard, "We are increasing sales in the U.S. Stackpole is small, but they're very, very efficient at getting the books out."

Four years ago, shortly after Hushion began its U.S. distribution operation, the company's prospects weren't nearly so rosy. "We were distributed by APG," said Beauregard, "and when Van Hill ran into trouble, we went from a pot of boiling water into the flames with Access Publishers Network in Michigan [which declared bankruptcy in July 2000]. We thought, let's ship out of Canada, and we went with General Distribution Services and lost a lot of money."

Despite the shifts in fulfillment, Hushion's commitment to self-published authors continues strong. "We have several hundred self-published authors," Beauregard said. "In any given year, our Canadian catalogue would have 34 a season." In the States, Hushion represents fewer self-published authors and close to 20 small presses, including Eckankar and Knowledge House. Among Hushion's bestselling self-published authors in both the U.S. and Canada is John Kehoe, author of the Mind Power series, which includes Mind Power for Children and Mind Power for the 21st Century.