Baker & Taylor Moves Toward Liquidation as Creditors Prepare to Vote

Creditors of Baker & Taylor, the book wholesaler, will soon be able to vote on plans to sell off what the company has left.

Law360 reported on 27 October 2026 that the company had been authorised to begin asking creditors for their votes on its Chapter 11 liquidation plan. Chapter 11 is a US bankruptcy process. A liquidation plan means turning a company's assets into cash to pay what it owes, rather than keeping the business running.

A wholesaler is a middleman. It buys books in bulk from publishers and resells them to bookshops, libraries and other buyers, which means its finances affect the whole chain above and below it. Publishers Weekly reported that Baker & Taylor closed after running out of funds following a failed sale. Publishers Marketplace reported that the company closed its doors last year.

The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in March 2026. Its case sits in the New Jersey bankruptcy court.

According to the company's court filing, as reported by Publishers Marketplace, Baker & Taylor listed about US$1.8 million in cash and various accounts. It reported debts of more than US$106 million. Its inventory, the books and stock it still held, was valued at about US$60,000. Substantially all of that stock is subject to claims from suppliers and from the companies that have bought its assets.

Those claims explain why the vote matters. Creditors are the people and businesses owed money, and the liquidation plan sets out how the remaining assets are handled. A confirmation hearing, the court session where a judge decides whether to approve a plan, is scheduled for December.

Until that hearing, the case has few public dates to watch. The next step is the vote itself, which will show how creditors respond to the plan before the judge is asked to sign off on it.