Humble Bundle, the online venture that distributes bundles of content for a price decided by the consumer, is teaming with a new partner, digital publisher Open Road Integrated Media, to launch its latest bundle. The Humble Sci-Fi e-book Bundle launched July 10 offering digital editions of 11 science fiction titles by such authors as Greg Bear, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough and Barbara Hambly. And to mark the 45th anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing, the Sci-Fi e-book bundle includes astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s 1996 novel Encounter with Tiber.
Humble Bundles’ digital offers lets the public decide individually what to pay for them and divides the revenue between the artist, the publisher, Humble Bundle and a charity selected by the consumer buying the bundle. Humble Bundle campaigns last two weeks, all titles are DRM-free, an important feature, and consumers can choose between PDF, mobi, and epub formats.
Originally launched to promote videogames, Humble Bundle attracts millions of visitors every week to a regular schedule of pay-what-you-wish digital deals. The revenue these bundles raise is impressive. The Humble Sci-Fi e-book Bundle will provide charitable support to the Science Fiction Writers of the America Medical Fund and to First Book, a nonprofit that organizes the distribution of books to school programs for children in low income families. The launch of the Sci-fi e-book bundle offer will last until July 23.
Kelley Allen, director of e-books at Humble Bundle, said Humble Bundle’s expansion into e-books this year is working. With the most recent Dynamite Comics bundle, there have been five digital e-book/graphic novel bundles beginning in March of this year. The five e-book bundles generated 175,557 sales at an average price of about $11 and raised more than $2 million, of which a big chunk will go to charities.
Allen said that Humble Bundle plans to release two e-book bundles when the San Diego Comic-Con International opens the week of July 21.
