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Sales agency Bounce has launched Bookshelf, a sales and marketing initiative aimed at supporting small, independent publishers entering the retail trade.
Bounce m.d. Robert Snuggs said while the company is already focused on supporting independent publishers, “brilliant” children’s books published by very small publishers “can struggle to achieve significant sales in the UK trade”.
The agency will present these “distinctive” titles to retailers three times a year via Bookshelf. Snuggs said: “We will be selective about the books we take on and the hope is that retailers will see Bookshelf as an original offer and will want to see more.”
Bounce has piloted the launch with graphic novels from Patrick George and series, The Chinese Calendar Tales, from Auspicious Times, a Hong Kong-based publisher. The next Bookshelf selection in May will include an animal conservation series, The Way Out Bunch. Most of the titles will be newly published.
Snuggs said: “This is also an opportunity to help establish international publishers in the UK market. I am currently talking to a publisher in the US whose books will, I believe, work in the UK and we are interested in talking to others from further afield.”
Bounce will work with each publisher for a year initially, which may be extended, and will offer its standard marketing and sales support. All the titles will be distributed by Grantham Book Services.