Its name notwithstanding, if there were any doubt that Trafalgar Square Publishing in North Pomfret, Vt., is not hip, the addition of brand-new London-based publisher Westzone (its name is an homage to Joseph Beuys) to its distribution list should lay that notion to rest. Westzone is the first art and photography publisher to join Trafalgar's list, which runs the gamut from horses to philosophy and travel.
"I discovered Westzone just by walking back to my booth at Frankfurt on set-up day," said Trafalgar managing director Paul Feldstein, who confessed to PW that his own booth suffered a long set-up delay when he spent at least an hour looking through Westzone's new releases. "I've been using the phrase 'cutting edge' to describe them," continued Feldstein. "Westzone is doing some unique and daring publishing in this day and age." Among the books he singled out among the 40 released to date are Zed Nelson's Gun Nation, Marco Lanza's Living Dead: Inside the Tombs of Palermo and Kapil Jariwala's Cultural Ties. "One of the things we've always tried to do as a distributor," said Feldstein, "is not take on all comers. Westzone saw in us a chance to have their list be the premier art and photography publisher we have, instead of the 10th publisher out of another distributor's bag." Although Westzone won't have the promotional advantage of having its own gallery here in the U.S.—in London it displays the art depicted in its books in Westzone gallery space—Trafalgar is planning an ad campaign to the trade to make the Westzone name better known to booksellers over here. In addition, it will mail a separate Westzone catalogue to booksellers to supplement the seasonal Trafalgar Square one.
