Premier Digital Publishing’s High-Quality Content Further Strengthens Open Road’s Catalog
Bestselling Authors Alan Jacobson, Piers Anthony, Greg Dinallo, and Andre Norton Lead the List
(New York, NY—June 3rd, 2014)—Open Road Integrated Media, the largest independent ebook publisher, announced today that it has acquired the book list of 300+ titles of Premier Digital Publishing, a leading independent ebook publisher. Premier Digital’s titles, a majority of which are in the mystery, science fiction, and fantasy categories, will now be published by Open Road and marketed through the company’s proprietary platform beginning in July of this year. Earlier in 2014, Open Road acquired E-Reads, the first ebook publisher, and has seamlessly incorporated E-Reads’ more than 1,200 titles into the Open Road publishing program.
Premier Digital’s emphasis on empowering authors and creators of content parallels Open Road’s publishing philosophy and strategy. Premier Digital’s roster of authors will be strengthened by the marketing and distribution reach of Open Road. Open Road Integrated Media, cofounded by Jane Friedman in 2009, published its first ebook in 2010 and has since grown to become the largest independent ebook publisher, with more than 6,000 titles.
“We are very pleased by the acquisition of the Premier Digital Publishing book list by Open Road,” says Premier Digital Publishing CEO Thomas N. Ellsworth. “The industry has changed and Open Road is a proven leader in the new world order of digital publishing. This transaction enables us to focus on distribution technologies.”
“We are confident that the works of wonderful authors including Piers Anthony, Alan Jacobson, Andre Norton, and Stephen Ambrose will continue to thrive in the exceptionally capable hands of Open Road,” says Premier Digital Publishing President and General Manager Hutch Morton.
“The missions of Premier and Open Road are uniquely aligned,” says Open Road Cofounder and CEO Jane Friedman. “The addition of Premier to the Open Road family will enhance the value we provide to both creators and consumers of high-quality digital literary content.”
Open Road launched as a literary publisher (Sherman Alexie, Michael Chabon, Mary McCarthy, William Styron) and has since expanded into genres including science fiction and fantasy (Octavia E. Butler, Theodore Sturgeon), mystery (Ellery Queen, Dorothy L. Sayers), and romance (Heather Graham, Amanda Scott), among many others.
