Hi Dave,

BLACK GATE is carried by two major distributors, Ingram and Source Interlink, who carry it to Borders, Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, and a few smaller outlets.

Sadly, that doesn't mean it's widely available.  Most of the B&N shops here in Chicago, for example, don't carry it.

From what I've been able to make out, both Borders & B&N use a pretty decent computer projection system for their magazine distribution.  Basically, BLACK GATE has been slotted as "equivalent" to some other magazine.. say, REALMS OF FANTASY, F&SF, or perhaps DRAGON.  BG is sent only to those stores where this equiavlent mag sells well.  So our initial distribution, in large part, was wholly dependent on whatever magazine the chain buyers thought we were equivalent to.

After about a year (or 12 issues), the computer system has enough data to decide where to put you all on its own.  Unfortuanately, BG has not yet published 12 issues.  So we're in something of a limbo.

Will things get better after we publish 12?  Not sure.  I do know out sell through in those few stores we are carried has been pretty good (hovering around 50%), which is higher than most.  So that bodes well.  But we really need a regular schedule for at least 6 issues to make a real dent in the national chains.

So that's our goal.  I don't realy expect to make headway in improving our bookstore distribution until then.

Cheers,

- John

John O'Neill

Editor

Black Gate