Publications Distribution Cooperative

In Britain, the 1970s was a time of change in publishing and book selling[1] with “the development in a very short period of a new and substantial radical sector and of associated retail outlets”.

[3] The growth of new technologies in printing with offset litho, phototypesetting and more, offered cheaper, easier and more accessible ways to produce publications in a political climate eager for debate.

[8] Based in Clerkenwell Workshops in London, PDC was set up as a worker co-operative that operated as a collective..[8] Initially constituted as a partnership, it was registered as an Industrial & Provident Society on 20 October 1977.

[9] In 1977 offices were opened in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire and later in Edinburgh with a co-operative member based in Birmingham who serviced outlets in the Midlands.

This aggregation of magazine and book deliveries structured the work at PDC from the outset and included use of Red Star Parcels (rail) and alternative distributors like Suma Wholefoods as well as the Royal Mail.

PDC co-op members would deliver parcels, collect magazine returns and sell new titles to the bookshops on the fortnightly run.

[1] Regular collective meetings were held to discuss and decide upon new titles as a growing range of publishers applied for a distribution deal.

Previously there had been no organised means of distribution, but now publishing groups could focus on writing and production,[4] although not all magazines were impressed by the work of PDC.

PDC distributed a huge range of publications, supported an ever-growing market of outlets and had a significant impact on the political debates and culture of the time.

It has also been argued that PDC has had a long-lasting cultural and political effect in enabling the wider distribution of radical ideas and literature than would otherwise have been the case.

Magazines included:[26] Camerawork, Community Action, The Leveller, Musics, Radical Statistics, Red Rag, Release, Science for People, Spare Rib, Troops Out, Undercurrents, Women’s Voice and many more.