Gemini Books and Two Windmills switch distributors in ANZ
The change takes effect Saturday 31 October 2026, with new return deadlines set at Harper Entertainment Distribution Services.
Effective Saturday 31 October 2026, Gemini Books and Two Windmills are no longer distributed by Simon & Schuster Australia, Books+Publishing reported.
All return authorisation requests must be received at Harper Entertainment Distribution Services (HEDS) by COB 31 December 2026, according to the report. Physical returns must then reach HEDS by COB 31 January 2027.
Books+Publishing reported that any returns received physically after that date, or received without an RA, will be rejected and sent back to customers at their expense.
Two deadlines, one window, and no room to dawdle: return authorisation requests are due at HEDS by COB 31 December 2026, physical stock by COB 31 January 2027. Miss either one and the article is plain about the cost — rejected returns sent back to customers at their expense. That's not a penalty on the publisher. That's a bill that lands on someone in the supply chain, and you don't want it to be you.
This is one of those notices that looks like admin until you read the last line. "Rejected and returned to customers at their expense" is the sting in the tail — it means the cost of getting this wrong doesn't disappear, it gets redirected to whoever is holding the stock.
So treat this as a two-step job with two separate clocks. First clock: get your return authorisation request in to HEDS by COB 31 December 2026. Second clock: the physical stock itself needs to be at HEDS by COB 31 January 2027. These are not the same deadline and they are not interchangeable — the article names both, separately, for a reason.
If you or your publisher handle Gemini Books or Two Windmills titles in Australia or New Zealand, this week is the week to check which warehouse your current returns paperwork points to. The distributor named on your existing documentation is about to be wrong. Simon & Schuster Australia is out as of 31 October 2026; HEDS is where the RA and the stock both need to go from here.
My advice: don't wait for a reminder email. Confirm with whoever manages your distribution — publisher, agent, or your own records — that any pending or planned returns are routed to HEDS, with the RA request filed well ahead of the 31 December cutoff. A five-minute check now against a rejected shipment and a bill for return postage later is not a close call.
From the Coral Wire edition of Wed, Nov 11 2026 · Coral Index 72/100 (Green light)