Baker & Taylor Announces Partnership with Author Solutions

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker & Taylor Inc., the world's largest distributor of physical and digital books and entertainment products, today announced it has signed an agreement for its TextStream Digital Print Service to print and fulfill orders for self-publishing leader Author Solutions' catalog of more than 125,000 titles. Author Solutions' wide variety of titles, published through its Author House, iUniverse, Xlibris and Trafford Publishing imprints, will also be available to Baker & Taylor's worldwide network of 44,000 retail and library customers.

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"Our partnership with Author Solutions illustrates the trust the publishing community places in Baker & Taylor's TextStream, which is well on its way to being a premier provider of print services for publishers," said Tom Morgan, CEO of Baker & Taylor. "TextStream empowers publishers to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively – by printing books as they are sold."

The collaboration with Author Solutions marks Baker & Taylor's latest step in expanding TextStream's reach in the publishing community. TextStream provides publishers with a full range of print-on-demand/print-to-order services with a wide variety of binding formats and trim sizes. Combined with Baker & Taylor's unparalleled reach into library and retail channels, TextStream is especially suited to serve Author Solutions' emerging authors, who are looking to get their books into readers' hands one or a few copies at a time.

"We chose to partner with Baker & Taylor because of its broad reach to customers around the globe and its wide range of marketing programs for publishers and because of TextStream's flexibility and wide options of printing formats," said Kevin Weiss, Author Solutions CEO and President. "Baker & Taylor's TextStream service will allow us to do more to support our talented authors."

About Baker & Taylor

Baker & Taylor Inc. (www.baker-taylor.com) is a global information and entertainment services company that offers print and digital books and entertainment products along with value-added services to libraries, educational institutions and retailers. Based in Charlotte, N.C., the company has been in existence for more than 180 years, developing long-term relationships with major suppliers, including book publishers, movie studios and music labels. Baker & Taylor maintains one of the largest combined in-stock book, video and music inventories in the United States, and services the broadest customer base in the industry. Baker & Taylor is majority owned by Castle Harlan Partners IV, L.P., an institutional private equity fund managed by Castle Harlan Inc., a leading private equity investment firm.

About Author Solutions, Inc.

Author Solutions, Inc. (ASI), an Inc. 5000 company, is owned by Bertram Capital and is the world leader in indie book publishing – the fastest-growing segment of publishing. ASI's self-publishing brands – AuthorHouse, AuthorHouse UK, iUniverse, Trafford, Xlibris, and Wordclay – have helped more than 85,000 authors self-publish, promote, and bring to market more than 120,000 new titles. Through strategic alliances with leading trade publishers, ASI is making it possible to develop new literary talent efficiently and provide emerging authors a platform for bringing their books to market. Headquartered in Bloomington, Ind., ASI also operates offices in Indianapolis and Milton Keynes, England. For more information, go to www.authorsolutions.com or call 1-888-519-5121 x5238.

SOURCE Baker & Taylor Inc.