Tony Rose, Publisher and CEO of ACGI and Marcella Smith, Director, Small Press and Vendor Department of Barnes & Noble, firmed up a historic agreement between the ACGI and Barnes & Noble after Rose addressed the issue of racism in bookselling" during the 2003 Book Expo America.
(PRWEB) April 5, 2004--AMBER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC. (ACGI) imprints (Amber, Busta, Colossus,Ambrosia and Amber/Wiley Books) has recently finalized an unprecedented pact as the first African-American book publisher to sell its titles directly to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore chain.
Tony Rose, Publisher and CEO of ACGI and Marcella Smith, Director, Small Press and Vendor Department of Barnes & Noble, firmed up this historic agreement between the two companies after Rose addressed the issue of racism in bookselling" during the 2003 Book Expo America.
Following a series of phone meetings and emails between Rose and Smith, the two agreed to market and distribute the ACGI book titles directly to the two hundred Barnes & Noble stores located in every United States city and town closest to the African-American communities.
Tony Rose stated, "Usually African-American publishers have to go through distributors, such as: Publishers Group West, BookWorld, Levy's and Anderson's in order to supply national chain stores, including Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Target and Borders".
Rose continued, "This would mean that along with, and including wholesalers, such as Ingram and Baker & Taylor, the revenues would be split in four different situations with the publisher receiving their share last because of the returns that may, or may not be incurred; and usually the publisher's percentage is on the low end of the monies received. Most, if not all, of the major publishing houses do business with Barnes & Noble the way we are doing it now".
Rose launched Amber Books Publishing in January 1998 with Is Modeling for You? The Handbook and Guide for the Young Aspiring Black Model" written by Yvonne Rose and Tony Rose.
Having won numerous publisher and press awards including: The Chicago Black Book Fair and Conference Independent Press/Publisher of the Year Award, The 2003 Blackboard Bestsellers African-American Publisher of the Year Award, the 2003 American Library Association "Reluctant Reader Award", and an award winning website WWW.AMBERBOOKS.COM, it seems that what was intended to be a one-book self-publishing project has evolved into the Nations Largest African-American Self-Help and Career Guide Book Publishing House.
According to Rose, "Our focus is on self-help books written for and by African-Americans offering knowledge and information relating to every day living and career choices".
ACGIs best-selling titles specifically selected by Barnes & Noble include: THE AFROCENTRIC BRIDE – A Styling Guide by Therez Fleetwood (ISBN#: 0-9727519-1-2); BEAUTIFUL BLACK HAIR - Real Solutions to Real Problems by Shamboosie (ISBN# 0-9702224-6-7); THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT- A True Rags to Riches Story by Hal Jackson (ISBN# 0-9727519-4-7); THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMANS GUIDE TO GREAT SEX, HAPPINESS AND MARITAL BLISS by Jel D. Lewis (Jones) (ISBN#: 0-9727519-2-0); AALIYAH: AN R & B PRINCESS - in Words and Pictures by Kelly Kenyatta (ISBN#:0-9702224-3-2); THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN TEENAGERS GUIDE TO PERSONAL GROWTH, HEALTH, SAFETY, SEX AND SURVIVAL – Living and Learning in the 21st Century by Debrah Harris Johnson (ISBN# 0-9655064-4-4) and CHRISTINA AGUILERA: A STAR IS MADE – The Unauthorized Biography by Pier Dominguez (ISBN#: 0-9702224-5-9).
For further information, contact ACGI at 480-460-1660, write to: 1334 East Chandler Boulevard, Suite 5-D67, email: amberbk@aol.com or visit: WWW.AMBERBOOKS.COM.
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