In late September, Amazon confirmed that a crowdsourced publishing platform was "in the works." Today, the company sent an email to authors officially announcing the program, called Kindle Scout.

In the email, the e-tailer said that Kindle Scout is now accepting submissions for English-language books in romance, mystery and thriller, and science fiction and fantasy genres.

The company reiterated previous reports that selected books will be published by Kindle Press and receive five-year renewable terms, a $1,500 advance, and a 50% e-book royalty rate.