The indie publishers are adapting to the pandemic
Three small book publishers talk about why they started, what impact the pandemic has had on their business, and how they have adapted
Book purchases have seen a boom during the pandemic, which is of course a good thing. Since the physical bookstores remain closed for at least a little longer and book fairs are canceled or digital formats adopted, the pandemic has not remained unaffected by publishing. As in most industries, the independents were hardest hit. Indie publishers have been working on smaller scales, budgets, and resources year-round to adjust the way they work or to temporarily stop production altogether.
Independent graphic design, illustration, and art publishing is critical to giving audiences access to obscure, unexpected, or unrecognized projects. Here we speak to three publishers – Four Corners Books, TXTBooks, and Nieves – who explain to us why they wanted to start their own publishers, and discuss the impact of the pandemic on their business and the way they have had to adapt.