Oni Ditches Diamond for Bookstore Distribution

Over the years, several mid-size graphic novel publishers have selected Diamond Book Distributors, in existence since 2001, for their bookstore market distribution. I suspect the thinking might have been that Diamond was already handling their publications for the comic shop direct market, so why not consolidate to avoid additional shipping, storage, and other costs? However, as more business is done in the general bookstore market, particularly for publishers of diverse works and/or those targeted at audiences beyond the young adult male comic shop customer, many of these publishers have moved to distributors with more experience with bookstores (and perhaps more focus on that business segment).

The latest to announce a change is Oni Press. As of March 1, 2018, they will be using Simon & Schuster for sales and worldwide distribution to the book trade. That should particularly aid their licensed titles, Rick and Morty and Invader Zim, which are of interest to a mass market. Simon & Schuster also distributes, among comic-related publishers, Boom!, Viz Media, and Andrews McMeel, which is huge with comic strip reprints.

This statement, demonstrating that it’s all about outreach, was released as part of the press release announcement, from James Lucas Jones, Oni Press Publisher:

“When I first joined Joe Nozemack at Oni Press, it was clear we were doing something different. We have long known that our catalog appeals to a broader audience, so we have always worked to push the comic book medium beyond the direct market. Working with Simon & Schuster’s incredible team, we are elated to bring our books to new readers, retailers, and libraries.”

That leaves Diamond Book Distributors with Image as its biggest client. They also still carry Dynamite, Udon, and Zenescope, as well as some publishers that made me think, “Hunh. Wonder what happened to them?”