McSweeney’s Out $130,000

Can you spot Dave $130,000?

Critically-acclaimed books about child soldiers aside, it’s a bad time to be Dave Eggers.

McSweeney’s, Eggers’ acclaimed quarterly, just announced that they have lost $130,000 since their distributor, Publishers Group West, filed for bankruptcy this past December. The publisher (McSweeney’s, The Believer) is in a tight spot and is currently selling their backlist for 50% off and auctioning off rare items (including a Dave Eggers portrait of George W. Bush as a double amputee) on eBay. Publishers Group West was America’s largest independent book distributor and McSweeneys is feeling the hurt:

As you may know, it’s been tough going for many independent publishers, McSweeney’s included, since our distributor filed for bankruptcy last December 29. We lost about $130,000 — actual earnings that were simply erased. Due to the intricacies of the settlement, the real hurt didn’t hit right away, but it’s hitting now. Like most small publishers, our business is basically a break-even proposition in the best of times, so there’s really no way to absorb a loss that big.

Even $130,000 hurts for true Believers.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.