Honoring the Big Impact from Small Publishers

Dear JLG extended family,

With much of our country sheltered at home and most businesses shuttered or vastly reduced, we as a nation are seeing, for the first time in many of our lifetimes, our friends and neighbors struggling with their economic stability. At Junior Library Guild, we are seeing that very concern is affecting a beloved portion of our literary community: emerging and small publishers.

We at JLG do our very best to help discover unique books from all types of publishers. It is in our DNA to seek out and find the best new and upcoming books and bring them forward for you and your readers. Many of those outstanding selections hail from emerging and small publishers that introduce new, relevant, and engaging voices, and which we are honored to help achieve wider library distribution.

Unfortunately, we have discovered that these boutique publishers, like many small businesses, are now at serious risk due to disruptions from COVID-19. While we are not a “big” company, we want to make a big impact. That is why we are pledging our wholehearted support for these publishers to keep their presses turning by issuing $1 million dollars in purchase orders for new books to be included in our fall boxes.

If you are a new or emerging publisher (or know of a great one) please reach out. We’ll get through this together.

Best,

Sean Lockwood