Author, former editor, and social media mainstay Jason Pinter has launched a new digital publishing venture called Polis Books. The company will be publishing e-book editions of new and backlist fiction in three genres: crime, under an imprint called Vice; science fiction/fantasy, under an imprint called Elysium; and romance/erotica/commercial women's fiction, under an the Crave imprint. The company's Web site is set to go live in roughly a month.
Pinter, who worked as an editor for St. Martin's Press and has written five adult novels and one YA novel, is currently a senior marketing manager at Grove/Atlantic. He will be leaving Grove on July 19.
Speaking to his new venture, Pinter said Polis will be focused on publishing previously unpublished works and that he will be "spearhading the company creatively and financially." He plans to add another staffer, an acquiring editor, and to offer advances that will be "modest to start, depending on the project." And, while Polis will begin as a digital-only house, Pinter said that he plans to add a print component "down the road." Pinter also said that "in the not too distant future" he would like to add imprints to Polis that focus on YA and nonfiction.
Polis's first list, planned for this fall, will feature new titles by a mix of veteran and debut authors. Pinter said the first list will also include some backlist titles that can "find an audience that may have previously eluded them and their publishers." As to his company's name, Pinter said it's a reference to the citizen-run, independent Greek city-state. He elaborated: "To me, Polis Books aspires to be a self-governing, independent publisher whose direction and vision are led by its employees and authors, with a love and appreciation for popular literature, where all voices are heard."
