Self-Publishing platform and e-book distributor Smashwords has agreed a deal with the largest wholesaler in the United Kingdom, Gardners Books. Gardners powers the online ebook store operations of over 400 small and medium-sized booksellers throughout the world. This service is part of its white label ecommerce and fulfillment services.
Smashwords announced the agreement in a blog post earlier this week.
On October 22 Smashwords will begin delivering 230,000 ebooks sourced from the over 100,000 indie authors and small independent presses to 400 ebook stores powered by Gardners operating in 32 countries and serving customers in 138 countries; 2,000 public libraries in the U.K.; and 400 academic libraries in the UK, Europe and Middle East. The agreement excludes Smashwords erotica titles.
Gardners clients and their customers will gain access to many of the world’s bestselling indie authors, including numerous New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. The Smashwords catalog features a diverse range of fiction and non-fiction titles, and is especially strong in popular genre fiction including romance, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy and science fiction.
Users of Smashwords’ distribution platform will be happy to know that e-books already included in its premium catalogue will automatically ‘flow to them’ from next week.