Diffusion & distribution of books

Founded in 1981 at the request of the French Ministry of National Education, FMSH Diffusion-Distribution works to enhance the visibility and availability of French and Francophone research in the humanities and social sciences (HSS).

FMSH Diffusion-Distribution manages a catalog of over 30,000 titles, published by university presses, institutional publishers, and private publishers specializing in HSS. Each year, the service promotes around 700 new releases, including both books and journal issues.

FMSH Diffusion-Distribution serves both individual readers and professional resellers.

For professionals — including general and specialist bookstores, cultural retail chains, online booksellers, and libraries — it offers two dedicated services:

• CID, which handles distribution and promotion for around sixty publishers.
• SLU (University Book Service), which exclusively distributes long-tail titles from academic publishers whose newer or more prominent titles are distributed elsewhere.

→ Information for booksellers

• For the general public, FMSH Diffusion-Distribution operates an online bookstore, Le Comptoir des Presses d’Université (lcdpu.fr). The platform offers access to the catalogs of all publishers served by CID and SLU, as well as several others — nearly 80 publishers in total. Orders can be shipped worldwide. The online store is complemented by a physical bookstore located at 54 Boulevard Raspail in Paris’s 6th arrondissement, open to all.

For publishers in the humanities and social sciences, FMSH Diffusion-Distribution provides a range of tailored services, designed to meet their specific needs and those of their readers. These services include digital book sales, subscription management, and representation at book fairs and academic conferences. The service is open to all French-speaking publishers — public or private — whose publications primarily focus on the humanities and social sciences.

FMSH Diffusion-Distribution offers a unique commercial model and wide-reaching visibility.