Diamond Book Distributors announced the hiring of Doug White as a Sales Manager.  White comes to Diamond from Holtzbrinck Publishers, the company that markets Wizards of the Coast's role-playing games and books to the traditional bookstores (see 'WotC Distribution Channels Explained').  Prior to working for Holtzbrinck, White was a buyer for Baker & Taylor, and before that an assistant manager at Borders.

 

Not only does recruiting White bring more book channel expertise to Diamond, he can also help Diamond distribute RPGs into bookstores.  Many bookstores have found that today's preferred RPG format, the deluxe hardcover or trade paperback, is an excellent fit in their product lines, and appeals strongly to fantasy and science fiction fans who will pay a premium price to acquire the core materials for a role-playing game that can provide hours and hours of entertainment.  And although the big fish in RPGs is gone for now (Wizards of the Coast undoubtedly sells more RPGs in bookstores than the next several companies put together, and it shows no signs of leaving Holtzbrinck), just as Diamond Book Distributors has beefed up its graphic novel product lines by adding many smaller publishers, some with solid or growing titles, we wonder whether Diamond is about to pursue a similar strategy with RPGs.