Posted on 2013-Aug-19
Amazon’s New Imprint?
In the wild world of publishers that unstoppably release eBooks into the market, it seems Amazon cannot resist the charm of introducing genre-based books into the open market. Just when you thought Jeff Bezos must have established a solid brand to fill in every possible aspect about book publishing, the news broke today might come as a surprise for some. The motives behind a new series to release biographies will hopefully bring reader-favorite content of marvel to the table.
Busy Year for the Amazon Owner
Being shy from the media, it does not help Jeff Bezos to enjoy his private moments behind the camera when his announcement involves publishing the first series of “icons.” Not so long ago did he agree to buy The Washington Post, now the company’s press release published on Aug 14th from his much beloved international multibillion dollar electronic commerce company, Amazon, fans the flame of his fame when Amazon publishing is releasing their biography series at the end of 2013.
Icons’ Biographies to be Written About
The first series will include Jesus, Josef Stalin, Lucian Freud, J.D. Salinger, Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent Van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway, David Lynch, Alfred Hitchcock, and Hannah Arendt. If you have paid close attention to the list, you might wonder why only one woman has been included in the list. Amazon’s reason is that they chose the subjects based on what the authors feel passionate to write about.
Following the press release provided by Amazon Publishing, tipped by TeleRead, Jay Parini said, “It seems appropriate to launch a series of short, thought-provoking biographies with a figure who has dominated our collective imagination and cultural iconography for over twenty centuries.” Jay Parini is the author of Jesus who will debut his book in December this year. The first series of ten titles will be published bi-monthly.
The series will be co-edited by James Atlas and Ed Park who are veteran editors at Amazon Publishing while the former wears so many other hats being a publisher and author. According to James, he says that “biography has become one of the most prominent forms of narrative nonfiction.” Although reading habits have changed, he will bring the biographies back to the Kindle platform. James wrote a biography of Saul Bellow, literary awards winner who is regarded as one of the 20th century’s greatest authors, back in 2000.
Thought-Provoking Discussion
While it may be apparent that the first batch of icons will appeal the mass, seeing “Jesus” as the top of the list can signify an exclusive selection to invite thought-provoking discussion among literary scholars and passionate readers. The way the icons are selected will unavoidably generate a lot of interests and exponentially guarantee commercial success even at this preliminary stage of surmise. Nevertheless, Susan of TeleRead opinionates that the authors should offer something new when they write about these topics or it can just be considered as another moneymaking effort. Guess we can only wait and see.
Label: eBook Industry News
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