Any writer can soon publish stories inspired by the writing of Kurt
Vonnegut
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2013--
(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Today, Amazon Publishing announced that it has secured a
new Kindle Worlds license from RosettaBooks for the books of Kurt
Vonnegut. Writers will soon be able to create and sell stories inspired
by the iconic books of Kurt Vonnegut with Kindle Worlds’ self-service
submission platform. The submission platform for works under this
license is expected to open in August. Kindle Worlds is the first
commercial publishing platform that enables any writer to write stories
based on a range of original works and characters and earn royalties for
doing so.
Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1922. He studied at
the universities of Chicago and Tennessee and later began to write short
stories for magazines. Considered one of the most influential American
novelists of the twentieth century, Vonnegut’s first novel, Player
Piano, was published in 1951 and was followed by numerous works,
among them Cat’s Cradle (1963), Welcome to the Monkey House;
and Breakfast of Champions (1973). During the Second World War he
was held prisoner in Germany and was present at the bombing of Dresden,
an experience which provided the setting for his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five
(1969). The Modern Library included Slaughterhouse-Five on its
list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th
century, and it also appeared in “Time” magazine’s list of the 100 best
English-language novels written since 1923. In 2012, Amazon Publishing’s
Kindle Serials released Sucker’s Portfolio, an exclusive
serialized collection of seven previously unpublished works by Vonnegut.
“Since the launch of Kindle Worlds a month ago, we’ve published over 120
stories and the customer response has been overwhelmingly positive,”
said Philip Patrick, Director, Business Development and Publisher of
Kindle Worlds. “To include the work of an American literary icon in
Kindle Worlds is a thrill for us and a golden opportunity for Vonnegut
fans everywhere.”
“We have been very pleased with the success of the Kurt Vonnegut
backlist on Kindle,” said Donald C. Farber, trustee of the Kurt Vonnegut
Trust. “With Kindle Worlds we have an opportunity to further his reach
with today’s readers. This is a natural extension of his legacy and a
testament to the enduring popularity of his characters and stories.
Billy Pilgrim, unstuck in time, is going to quickly become a Kindle
Worlds favorite.”
Kindle Worlds is a new publishing model that allows any writer to
publish authorized stories inspired by popular Worlds and make them
available for readers to purchase in the Kindle Store, and earn up to a
35% royalty while doing so. Kindle Worlds stories are typically priced
between $0.99 and $3.99 and are exclusive to Kindle. To learn more and
get started writing, visit kindleworlds.amazon.com.
Amazon Publishing pays royalties to both the rights holders of the
Worlds and the author. The standard author’s royalty rate (for works of
at least 10,000 words) is 35% of net revenue. Amazon Publishing also
piloted an experimental new program for particularly short works—between
5,000 and 10,000 words. For these short stories—typically priced under
one dollar—Amazon pays the royalties for the World’s rights holder and
pay authors a digital royalty of 20%.
In addition to the license for the works of Vonnegut, Amazon Publishing
already launched properties from:
-
Warner Bros. Television Group’s Alloy Entertainment division for its
New York Times best-selling book series Gossip Girl, by Cecily
von Ziegesar; Pretty Little Liars, by Sara Shepard; and The
Vampire Diaries, by L.J. Smith
-
Valiant Entertainment for Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Archer &
Armstrong, Harbinger and Shadowman
-
Best-selling authors Hugh Howey for Silo Saga, Barry Eisler for
his John Rain novels, Blake Crouch for his Wayward Pines Series,
and the Foreworld Saga by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark
Teppo and more
Amazon Publishing is engaged with additional rights holders from
different areas of entertainment—books, games, TV, movies and music—and
looks forward to announcing future deals soon. To get started writing
works in licensed properties and to view the submission guidelines and
instructions, visit the Self-Service Submission Platform at kindleworlds.amazon.com.
For updates on licensed properties and to buy Kindle Worlds works, visit www.amazon.com/kindleworlds.
For regular updates on Kindle Worlds, follow @KindleWorlds on Twitter.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com,
Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on
the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest
Selection. Amazon.com,
Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers
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LTE data package. The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster
processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery
life.
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Source: Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc.
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