The Books Council of Wales’s Distribution Centre operates distribution and wholesaling services for the book trade in Wales, UK and internationally. It is run on a not-for-profit model, so that income is reinvested to provide and subsidise services to the publishing industry in Wales.
We have a strong focus on Welsh-interest titles, in both Welsh and English, and are interested in long-term business relationships with publishers who can offer industry standard wholesale terms.
Supporting publishers – getting your books to readers
We aim to get your books delivered by the next day to bookshops who order before midday Monday to Friday (though we can’t guarantee this at busy times). We have links with other distributors and platforms in the UK and internationally to ensure your books are available worldwide.
If you’d like to discuss the distribution and sales of your books, you can contact us at sales@books.wales (opens email) or phone us on 01970 624455.
Services offered by the distribution centre
- Warehousing and stock management
- Processing and order fulfilment
- Online sales platform: ffolio.wales
- Data and reporting
- International orders
Grants and financial support for publishers
We also offer grants and financial support for publishers based in Wales.
Supporting shops – keeping your promises
Your customers are as important to us as they are to you. We aim to offer a next-day delivery service to bookshops who order before midday Monday-Friday (though we can’t guarantee this at busy times). There is no delivery charge for orders worth more than £83.33 (net invoice value).
You can find information about every title we hold in stock and check availability at Gwales Shop (Opens in new tab).
Services offered for bookshops
- Next day delivery, where applicable
- Home delivery
- Promotional and sales materials
- Sales advice and information
If you would like to register to receive regular updates by e-mail, please contact us at sales@books.wales (opens email).
Opening a Trade Account
If you would like to open a Trade Account with our Distribution Centre, just fill out the form below. Once your account has been opened you can place orders through our Trade Website (Opens in new tab).
Open a Trade Account Form (Opens in new tab)
If you’d like to discuss placing an order or have questions about opening an account, you can contact us at distribution.centre@books.wales (opens email) or phone us on 01970 624455.
Other ways we support bookshops
Learn more about how we support bookshops at the Books Council of Wales.
Supporting self-published authors – distributing your book
If you are self-published, we can distribute your book to shops through our Distribution Centre, as long as the book has an ISBN and has the price and barcode printed on the book.
Here’s a summary of the standard terms and conditions:
Bookshops typically receive a minimum of 35% off the book’s retail price. To cover costs of listing, storage, picking, packing and postage, the Distribution Centre requires 20% off the retail price. This means that the total cost for self-published authors for using our distribution services is 55% of the retail price of every copy.
Books must have an ISBN and barcode, and the price printed on the book (we can’t accept books without barcode or ISBN).
The first step is to send a copy of your book, and your email address, to us at the Distribution Centre, Unit 16 Glanyrafon Enterprise Park, Llanbadarn Fawr, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3AQ.
If we agree to stock your book, we will send you two contracts and let you how much initial stock we can take.
As with all the books that we distribute, books are distributed to shops on a full sale or return basis.
If we do not agree to stock your book, or if you do not accept these terms, we can still list your book for free online on Gwales.com so that customers can buy from you direct. (You would need to provide contact details).
If you’d like to discuss your book, you can contact us at sales@books.wales (opens email) or phone us on 01970 624455.