Independent Publishers Group (IPG) is a worldwide

distributor A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...

for independent general, academic, and professional publishers, founded in 1971 to exclusively market titles from independent client publishers to the international book trade. As per other book wholesalers and distributors, IPG combines its client publishers’ books into a single list, comparable to the larger publishing houses. IPG’s distribution services to publishers include

warehousing A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

, bill collecting, and sales to the book trade. IPG currently represents about 1,000 publishers. They are based in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. IPG distributes publishers based in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and others.

Merger with Chicago Review Press

In 1987, IPG was acquired by Chicago Review Press (CRP) an independent publisher founded at about the same time as IPG.

Acquisition of other book distributors

IPG acquired Paul & Company, an 11-year-old distributor of university presses, in 2001. IPG now sells directly to universities. In 2006, IPG acquired Trafalgar Square Publishing, founded in 1973, which is the distributor of more than 100 publishers from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Germany, representing more than 20,000 titles. Its roster includes

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

Pan Macmillan Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. History Pan Books began as an indepe ...

, and

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

from the UK and

Allen and Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It became one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and established an Australian ...

and Penguin Random House from Australia; these publishers’ titles are not always issued in US editions. In 2018, IPG acquired International Specialized Book Services (ISBS), an academic book distributor. In August 2018, IPG acquired the book distributor, Midpoint Trade Books. Speaking to Publishers Weekly, IPG's CEO, Joe Matthews said that the publishing industry "is consolidating because distribution rewards scale, requires expensive technology, and demands high-level access to customers."

Bankruptcy in the UK

In October 2021 IPG acquired United Independent Distributors (UID), the UK's second largest book distributor which was facing financial and operational challenges. IPG invested millions in UID and its subsidiary companies Marston Book Services, Orca Book Services and Eurospan, but without Joe Matthews providing convincing targets for the acquisition and investment or guaranteeing a reliable service. On July 25, 2024, IPG announced that UID and its subsidiaries Marston, Orca and Eurospan had gone into administration, leaving publisher clients unpaid, struggling to access all their stock and with no communication from IPG.

Represented publishers

* '' John Blake Publishing Ltd'', founded in 1991

References

External links