Publishers push back titles as shipping delays cause 'unprecedented' challenge

Shipping delays are hitting publication dates for a number of titles, with some publishers even going as far as sending books to print nine months in advance to ensure they are released on time.

Children's titles have been particularly affected by the disruption, especially those that are printed in China, with some books originally due to be published early next year seeing their release dates postponed. Affected publishers have been keen to stress the changes to schedules have been minimal so far but one said the logistical issues involved were "like nothing we’ve ever encountered".

Nosy Crow said freight delays, which include lack of containers, congestion and port closures, have more than doubled its freight lead-times and meant it was “forced” to move publication dates for some titles. 

Katrina Stevens, head of operations, told The Bookseller: “The ongoing freight crisis and ensuing supply chain issues are set to continue well into the new year, with freight prices predicted to remain at unprecedented inflated levels until 2023.” 

She added: “However, we have put measures in place wherever possible to mitigate this, which has meant the impact on Nosy Crow has been minimal to date. This is largely due both to the support and flexibility of suppliers and customers, as well as the agility and collaborative efforts of the staff at Nosy Crow." 

A spokesperson for Bonnier Books UK said shipping delays continue to affect it and are impacting publication dates on some titles shipping from China. “Delivery times from China to our UK warehouse have increased by at least two weeks,” they added.  

Tara Catogge, group chief operating officer at Quarto, also said the publisher was “monitoring shipping times closely and making necessary changes to publication dates where required”. She stressed: “Our aim is to keep pub date amendments to an absolute minimum." 

Other publishers have not yet needed to move publication dates, but said they had taken drastic measures to ensure books were available on time. Jenny Broom, co-publisher and managing director of Magic Cat, told The Bookseller it sent lead titles for spring “a full nine months prior to their pub date in the hopes of hitting our warehouse date". "The logistical issues we have faced in the last 12 months have been like nothing we’ve ever encountered,” she said.

Alice Curry, founder at c.e.o. at Lantana publishing, said she had also “seriously felt” the effects of shipping delays this year, adding: “A definite pain point for us has also been supply chain bottlenecks and rising consumer demand which have seen shipping lines significantly increase freight rates, with increases seen between 500% and 800%. It is definitely not an easy landscape to navigate at the moment.” 

However most large publishers appeared to be unaffected. A spokesperson for PRH Children’s said: “Our schedules are always subject to a bit of flux but currently we aren’t making any significant changes."  A spokesperson for HarperCollins Children’s Books added: “Our spring publishing remains on schedule, in no small part to the hard work of our production team. We continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the timely and smooth delivery of our forthcoming titles.” 

Rachel Denwood, managing director of Simon & Schuster Children’s Books also reported the publisher hasn’t yet had to move any of its titles but was continuing to take a “proactive and flexible approach to current challenges”.

Big upcoming titles that have seen their publication dates moved include Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Mole's Spectacles and M G Leonard and Sam Sedgman’s Sabotage on the Solar Express. Both will now publish on 17th February but were originally due to be published on 3rd February. Publisher Macmillan Children's Books did not comment on whether the changes were down to shipping problems. 

At Hachette UK, c.e.o. David Shelley addressed the general supply chain problems in his annual letter to authors this week, focusing on squeezes on printing, paper and warehouse space. He wrote: "Watch this space in 2022 and we will continue to do all we can to navigate these challenges that are, by a long way, the most extreme that I have seen in my 24 years in publishing.”