Stephen Williamson, long-time commission sales representative in New England, has retired, effective August 1.
Julie Schaper, v-p, IPS-Consortium, publisher services administration, wrote to Consortium's publishers: "It is with regret that we announce the immediate retirement of Stephen Williamson of New England Book Reps. Stephen was foundational to Consortium joining just one year after we opened our doors in 1985.
"In the early years he was Consortium's sales manager, commuting from his Boston area home to the Twin Cities, and handling all retail and wholesale accounts for the company. He was also on Consortium's board of directors until the board was dissolved in 2005.
"In the early 1990s, he founded the rep group Wilson/Williamson Associates with Stephen Wilson, covering sales from Massachusetts to Maine. After Stephen Wilson retired, he continued repping under the New England Book Reps banner, later partnering with the Rovers Group until those principals retired and he continued as a sole proprietor.
"Throughout that entire time Stephen has been a steady presence and a quiet yet relentless champion for Consortium, our publishers and colleagues.
"We will miss his wry sense of humor, his passion for transgressive literature and his pithy commentary on the state of the publishing industry. Please join me in thanking Stephen for all he has contributed to Consortium over the last 37 years and wishing him all the best as he enters into retirement."
Williamson was also a long-time officer of BPRNE, Book Publishers Representatives of New England.
With his retirement, Parson Weems Publisher Services is now representing Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, the University of Minnesota Press, and the State University of New York Press, in New England.