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Amazon Publishing plans to grow its list of UK titles and authors “substantially” in 2015, Eoin Purcell, UK head of Amazon Publishing, has told The Bookseller.
The publisher is also “constantly looking to create new platforms to connect authors and readers”, Purcell said.
Amazon Publishing UK, which Purcell said offers “industry-leading royalties and payment terms” to authors, aims to release 500 titles in 2015, many from its US counterpart, with a number of books signed up from UK authors as well.
Speaking about future plans, Purcell said: “In addition to simultaneously releasing Amazon Publishing’s expanding US-acquired list, we plan to grow our list of UK titles and authors substantially in 2015, including new books from returning authors, releases from successful self-published and traditionally published authors who have joined Amazon Publishing, and exciting débuts.”
The publisher struck a number of deals for new titles with UK agents this year, but Purcell said it finds its authors from “diverse sources: both local and international agents and rights-holders; the remarkable pool of talented indie authors who use Kindle Direct Publishing to connect and engage with readers; and through referrals from our existing authors”.
The majority of Amazon Publishing UK’s books are only sold online, although some of the titles from its crime imprint Thomas & Mercer were stocked in W H Smith Travel shops this year.
Purcell said: “Our intention continues to be to make our books available to anyone who would like to buy them. Our titles are available to bookstores to carry in the UK and EU through Gardners, in the US through Brilliance Publishing, and in Canada through Monarch Books . . . and many physical bookstores carry Amazon Publishing titles.”
Purcell said the UK titles the publisher released in 2014 “performed well above our expectations, thanks to the brilliant writing and enthusiasm of our authors”.
The publisher’s author Mel Sherratt has been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award this year, and though Thomas & Mercer is its most high-profile imprint, Purcell said Lake Union, its contemporary and historical fiction, memoir and popular non-fiction list, was also doing well. It is actively building its romance, science fiction and fantasy programmes, too.
Purcell said many UK titles “are off to a good start in the US as well”, including The Magpies by Mark Edwards, which recently reached number two on the US Kindle bestseller list.
“Most importantly, we’ve built incredible relationships with our authors and we’re determined to do even better for them in 2015,” Purcell added.
This year Amazon Publishing UK said it hoped to become the “world’s most author-centric publishing house”. It offers authors the chance to publish via a number of outlets—including fan-fiction portal Kindle Worlds, serialised fiction list Serials and short-story imprint StoryFront—because of the company’s “willingness to experiment with new models”, Purcell said.
He added: “We believe our publishing model enables us to offer a number of benefits to the authors we work with, including a broad reach to the readers around the world who read on the Kindle platform; our ability to publish quickly while maintaining quality; our comprehensive editorial services; and the potential for translation into other languages.”