What the Coronavirus Means for 2Leaf Press

The coronavirus pandemic has brought unprecedented changes to our lives. But what has not changed during this challenging time is my belief in the power of books to entertain and inform, and 2Leaf Press’ dedication to its many constituencies—poets, authors, students, professors, teachers, libraries, vendors, readers and bookstores—who share this publishing landscape with us.

Unfortunately, in these isolated times, businesses are witnessing a rapidly unfolding crisis, and the publishing industry is no exception, from the large publishing houses to small independent presses. Booksellers are reeling from lost income, literary festivals have been canceled, public libraries have closed, author tours, signings and bookstore appearances have been scrapped, and the disruption of printing, warehouse and distribution centers are affecting book sales everywhere. The cancellation of conferences has been a particularly powerful blow because distributors are unable to distribute ARCs and do all the handselling they do with hundreds of customers at each show. As the severity of the coronavirus outbreak continues to intensify, like all publishers, 2Leaf Press is struggling to limit financial fallout.

For 2Leaf Press, it means our distributor, University of Chicago Press/Chicago Distribution Center (UCP) has shut down temporarily by order of Governor Pritzker of Illinois out of concern for the health and well-being of the community. That order has been extended to April 30, 2020. [While going to press, University of Chicago Press is reopening on April 13, 2020. Everything still remains fluid as information changes from day-to-day.] What this means for 2Leaf Press is that the printing and distribution of our books have been considerably delayed. We are not the only ones: this pandemic has affected all printing and distribution channels across the board. This is also compounded by Amazon’s recent announcement that they are “prioritizing household and medical supplies” and placing books at the back of the queue. It does not help that their workers are under siege with the coronavirus due to the company’s morally questionable labor practices. But what it does mean is that this slow down is affecting all online vendors as well.

Many fear the worst is yet to come, but there are some advantages to being small and flexible. With millions sequestered at home, I was optimistic that we’d see a major uptick with our books, but since there is no guarantee of the delivery of print books (up to ten to fifteen day delays), it makes sense for us to focus on promoting our ebook inventory. UCP is offering a 30 percent discount on all ebooks (using the EBOOK30 code at checkout), which means an immediate download following the purchase of the book as opposed to a one to two week delivery date for a print book.

Some publishers have stated that ebook sales are selling better than usual. To be clear, book lovers have never quite embraced ebooks to the extent that was predicted when Amazon introduced the Kindle in 2007. Sales rose quickly and peaked several years ago and have been in a slow, steady decline, partly due to the fast-rising popularity of downloadable audiobooks (which we have not done as of yet). It is perhaps with a tinge of irony that this crisis has created a high ebook demand from readers stuck at home. So in order to facilitate this demand, we will be vigorously promoting our print books as well as the 30 percent discount on all ebooks available on UCP’s website. While 2Leaf Press’ sales numbers have not been overtly affected, our goal is to prevent that from happening. Our board members firmly believe that 2Leaf Press will survive this crisis as we continue to develop “2Leaf Press 2.0,” which will be revealed in the coming weeks ahead.

In the meantime, this is the status of 2Leaf Press: Our forthcoming title, AN UNINTENTIONAL ACCOMPLICE, which is scheduled to publish in June, is the only title directly affected by the coronavirus. We are working closely with the author, Carolyn Baker and her publicist to help push the book out virtually. We are releasing the ebook prior to the print publication date to help with publicity. Our forthcoming books for fall 2020, Carole Garrison’s THE WANDERER and Abiodun Oyewole’s NAKED have not yet been directly affected, although we are working on an overall action plan for both existing and forthcoming books to increase the amount of digital content we make available to prospective readers.

While these life challenges can be quite clarifying, I’ve never been more sure about the important role of our authors, and our bookselling partners. So to our 2Leaf Press poets and authors, our future remains sound. I am equally confident of UCP’s dedicated staff, who are working from their homes and are continuing to get the word out about our books and authors to every available channel to media and readers. With their support, 2Leaf Press will continue to grow and will hopefully remain at the heart of literary and intellectual life.

On a final and perhaps personal note, 2Leaf Press’ base of operations is in New York, which has become the epicenter of this global pandemic in the U.S. As I witness the empty streets in New York City give or take a lone masked individual, and listen to Governor Cuomo’s confidant performances in his daily press briefings; I think back to the shock and turmoil of 9/11 and its aftermath, and remain hopeful.  Just like in 2001, as I witness the enormous depth and scale of that crisis, I also see the power of the human spirit that has been punctuated by inspiring moments that include the sacrifice of medical personnel and public servants demonstrating leadership, resilience, and effectiveness. It’s when we get to the other side of this thing when the real challenge begins, namely tackling social reform that comes from an ethic that values care, life, and democracy. I hope to meet you on the other side as we come together to make things better for ourselves as well as for this country.

Stay well and be safe.

~Gabrielle David, Publisher