Who ensures that our publications are available across the globe?
We work with a strong network of distribution partners – for both our print and digital titles, for books and journals.
For print distribution and marketing in North and South America, Australia and New Zealand, we are proud to work with Columbia University Press. Sam Jaffe Goldstein, Press Client Manager & Sales Representative at Columbia University Press, shares what exactly Columbia does, as well as the values and people behind it.
Please introduce yourself and Columbia University Press. Who are you, what is your role, and what does Columbia University Press do?
Hi, my name is Sam Jaffe Goldstein and I am the Client Press Manager & Sales Representative in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Columbia University Press is an academic publisher in a broad range of topics and we also work with presses around the world on distribution matters.
What sets Columbia University Press apart in its work?
Although I can only speak to my little corner of Columbia University Press (CUP as we like to call it) and the work I do with our client presses, I will say that we are proud to offer bottom to top support to all the presses we work with. Navigating distribution, publicity, and sales can be a daunting task and from guiding our partners through best practices for metadata, to how a book should be displayed in our seasonal catalogues, and selling those books to vendors; we are glad that each press is part of the CUP family.
What do collaborations with international publishing partners typically look like?
We have two goals integration with CUP and working towards reaching new audiences or markets that have not yet been available to them. The first goal is that while we want our international publishing partners to be distinct, we want people to see us as working towards the same goal of furthering knowledge of the world. We do this by showcasing all of our international publishing partners in the catalogue, on our website, in marketing emails, and on social media. The second goal is that even in our globalized world it is hard to find out about books from other countries. Only through teamwork whether by working on publicity campaigns or by showcasing our international publishing partners’ books to academic conferences can we make sure that each book finds a wider audience.
What has changed most in your areas of work over the past few years?
Shipping has become much harder, especially with the new tariff regime, and we work with our client presses to set up as many titles as Print on Demand as possible.
What role does sustainability play in the strategic and day-to-day operations of Columbia University Press?
Thanks to moving things to print on demand we are able to live by a less is more philosophy. No longer do we print because we can, but now we only print when we need to. We also have a climate list that we are very proud of.
About Sam Jaffe Goldstein
Sam Jaffe Goldstein has worked for Columbia University Press for four years, before that he was a bookseller for a decade and he occasionally writes at Dreams of Arcadia.
