Andrews McMeel Publishing and Simon & Schuster announced Monday afternoon that S&S will handle the sales of AMP books to the trade in the U.S. and Canada, effective Jan. 1, 2010. AMP currently utilizes seven independent publishers rep groups to sell books to the trade, and has used S&S for the past 10 years to distribute those books. S&S UK currently sells AMP books to in the U.K. and Ireland, while S&S International sells AMP into the rest of Europe, Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Hugh Andrews, CEO and president of AMP, stated in a written statement that the Kansas City-based publisher has had a “long and fruitful relationship with our independent commissioned sales representatives,” and that “the transition reflects not only a changing bookselling environment, but also allows us to concentrate on a core strength for us: recognizing and celebrating remarkable creative talent, providing content, and delivering it to the public through a variety of distribution channels.”
AMP will continue to sell its products to the gift market, and will also continue to sell its calendar line, with the exception of sales to independent bookstores, with S&S handling calendar sales there.
