Simon and Schuster Announces Digital Imprint

Major publishing company Simon & Schuster has launched a digital-first publishing imprint aimed at reaching readers faster by focusing new works on eBook and audiobook platforms rather than just traditional print. 

The company’s UK and International branches announced Simon Stream last month. It markets the platform as “your new home for addictive fiction” and will pair its standard acquisition strategy with a new submission platform for aspiring authors to submit their own books. eBooks and audio will be at the center of its publishing strategy.

“Simon Stream is designed to reach readers wherever they discover, buy and read books,” the new platform’s FAQ section reads. “Your book will be available through major eBook retailers, subscription channels and reading apps where rights allow.…However, we want to reach readers no matter how they read, so all books will be available via Print on Demand at launch.”

One of its first acquisitions is a “five-book cosy crime series” by New York Times bestselling author Jack Gatland. 

The platform will be headed by Victoria Pepe, who joined the company in February of this year to start running it. 

“Legions of authors have carved out huge success in the indie space; appreciating the speed and reader-focus that self-publishing offers them,” Pepe said in a statement announcing the platform. 

Indie books and book-shopping experiences have grown increasingly popular in both the U.S. and the UK in recent years, and readers are increasingly enthusiastic to support indie authors. Simon & Schuster, Pepe said, is jumping into that market too. 

“[Authors] can also gain so much from the editorial partnership, digital marketing expertise and the global reach that a publisher like Simon & Schuster can offer them,” she said. “Simon Stream offers authors the best parts of both publishing models with industry-leading eBook royalties and simultaneous publication in all formats. We can’t wait to start publishing and help our authors reach more readers than ever before through our unique set up.”

The platform is not a self-publishing site, but it does have an open submission portal for authors to submit manuscripts. It’s interested in the fiction genres that self-publishing indie authors have come to dominate in recent years: “crime & thrillers, romance, historical fiction, science fiction & fantasy,” and especially, “police procedurals, dark romance, queer romance and romantasy.”