A distributed messaging method for publishing topical data messages in a communications network can include the steps of receiving in a first message router from a data consumer a request to subscribe to a message topic; responsive to receiving the subscription request, retrieving from a message topic server a location of a second message router communicatively linked to a data publisher able to provide data messages consonant with the requested message topic; establishing an interprocess communications connection between the first and second message routers; and, transmitting data messages from the data publisher over the established interprocess communications link to the data consumer.