After the original surge of growth from the online retailer and digital publisher, Amazon shook the publishing world to its core in 2010 when it announced the creation of its traditional publishing model, Amazon Publishing, headed up by industry leader Larry Kirschbaum. Already known–and somewhat reviled–at that time for its rumored free-for-all into self-publishing through Kindle Direct Publishing and POD provider CreateSpace, Amazon at the time seemed to be bent on cornering every possible aspect of book development.
While critics mocked Amazon for its “too big to fail” approach to bookselling, Amazon Publishing has flourished, luring some well-known authors to its five distinctly genre-specific imprints, while still leaving the door open for the occasional debut author with a high-quality work.
Now, Amazon has announced the launch of two new imprints under its Amazon Publishing model, and both are meeting a tremendous need in the industry. While Little A, its new literary fiction imprint, will provide a home for works that have previously just been considered Amazon Publishing titles, the real news is from the creation of its second new imprint, digital-only Day One.
Not only will Day One provide a launchpad for debut authors to publish, but will also host a much-needed home for short story authors. While long form journalism and e-novellas have taken off thanks in large part to digital publishing, short story authors are still feeling the frustration of being relegated to anthologies or trying to swim their titles in the sea of other 99cent-ebooks without a platform for discovery.
Little A and Day One will join the other Amazon Publishing imprints: Montlake for romance, Thomas & Mercer for mysteries, Encore for reintroduced out-of-print titles, Crossing for internationally translated works, and 47 North for science fiction, fantasy, and horror titles.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.