Simon & Schuster is preparing to up its presence in the science fiction, fantasy and horror market with the launch of a new imprint dedicated to the category. The as yet unnamed imprint will be overseen by Jon Anderson, executive v-p and publisher of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, but will, S&S said, publish books “for readers of all ages.” Anderson told PW the audience for the new imprint is seen as “YA and above.”
Although S&S has published a range of science fiction and fantasy authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin and Anne McCaffrey, it doesn’t have a dedicated imprint for the genre in either its adult or children’s departments. “A lot of content comes our way that we find compelling, but which won’t work in teen sections [of bookstores],” Anderson said. “We don’t want to use that as an excuse to not publish books for a growing market.”
Anderson has appointed Justin Chanda, v-p and publisher of S&S Books for Young Readers, Atheneum, and Margaret K. McElderry, publisher of the imprint and has hired Joe Monti as executive editor. Monti has a varied industry background with stops at Barnes & Noble where he was the children’s fiction buyer, Houghton Mifflin where he worked in national account sales, and in editorial spots at Little, Brown. He is currently an agent at Barry Goldblatt Literary. During his career, he has worked with a number of authors in the sci fi/fantasy market. Also tabbed to work on the imprint is Navah Wolfe, who was appointed editor. She has been at S&S Books for Young Readers for six years.
Anderson expects to publish 12 to 15 hardcovers annually starting in spring 2015, although he said he hoped to be able to release a few titles by fall 2014. In addition to publishing in traditional print formats, the imprint will publish in a variety of digital formats, including e-only and serial publishing. A “handful” of titles from existing S&S authors will likely be moved under the imprint, Anderson said, and that “most” new sci fi/fantasy at S&S will be published under the imprint. Titles will be sold by both the adult and children’s sales forces.
