Our Story
Itasca Books and Bookmobile have been part of the book business since 1982. Bookmobile was founded as a design and later a digital print shop for university and literary presses. Since 2004, we have also been a distributor and direct-to-reader bookseller for independent, literary, and small presses across the country by way of our Itasca Books division. Every book on this site was written and published by real people who believed in it enough to produce it. When you buy here, more of what you spend reaches them.
Four decades in the book business
Itasca Books is the distribution and retail division of Bookmobile, a Minneapolis book design and printing company founded in 1982. Bookmobile got its start setting type for university and literary presses. We launched Itasca Books in 2004 to help the publishers we printed for get their books into stores and readers' hands. Today, the two companies operate out of a single building in Minneapolis, with a team of more than 40 dedicated team members who print, warehouse, ship, and sell books for a living.
Built for the presses the big guys overlook
We work with literary presses, university presses, regional publishers, and independent and hybrid authors - the kind of publishing that rarely gets algorithmic favor or a big marketing budget. Our client publishers include members of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP), and in 2024, when the sudden closure of Small Press Distribution left dozens of literary publishers without a distributor overnight, Itasca stepped in to take them on board. Supporting this part of the book world is what we do.
Not a warehouse. A book company.
Many of the books sold here were printed down the hall by the same company that stores, ships, and sells them. That matters. It means the people packing your order actually know the authors and publishers behind these books, many by name, instead of simply scanning a barcode from a bin. It's also why we inspect and restock returns by hand instead of writing them off, and why our fees are structured to match our publishers' interests: we only do well when their books actually sell, not when they simply pass through our warehouse.
Every purchase here goes further
Buying a book is a vote for the person who wrote it and the press that published it. When a copy sells through a major online retailer or a national wholesaler, a publisher's share shrinks with every layer in between. Buy here, and more of it goes directly to them. If you don't buy from Itasca Books, we encourage you to buy directly from the author or publisher, where possible, or from one of the hundreds of independent bookstores nationwide that Itasca Books supplies.
A new chapter, same mission
Earlier this year, Bookmobile and Itasca Books changed hands for the first time in more than four decades. Founder Don Leeper, who built the company from the ground up into a trusted partner for hundreds of publishers, retired after 44 years. Michael Shoemaker, a Minnesota-based business leader, took over as owner and CEO — committed to keeping both companies independent and focused on the same publishers Don spent his career serving. No mergers, no private equity, no algorithm. Just books, and the people who make them.
Shop with a purpose
Every order placed on this site supports an independent author and publisher more directly. Browse our collections, discover a small press you've never heard of, and help keep independent publishing independent.
