Bantam’s Loveswept imprint was one of the most popular romance imprints in the 1980s and 1990s and now Random House is reviving Loveswept as an e-book only line that will release its first titles in August. The new imprint will be a collaboration between Random U.S. and Random House Group’s Transworld Publishers division which will let the company release e-books simultaneously in North America, the U.K., and the British Commonwealth.
In the U.S., each title will include bonus content, and previously released titles will be reintroduced with new packaging. Random is promising an “aggressive marketing campaign” the will feature the original Loveswept tagline: “Love stories you’ll never forget by authors you’ll always remember.” Random will support the program with retailer promotions at major e-book accounts, national print advertising, digital and social network advertising, and online marketing. Prices will range from $2.99 to $4.99.
“Ballantine Bantam Dell has a treasure trove of romance classics we want to share with a new generation of readers,” said Scott Shannon, senior v-p, publisher, Digital Content, Random House Publishing Group. The Loveswept U.S. publishing effort will be overseen by Gina Wachtel, v-associate publisher, Mass Market, Del Rey/Spectra and Digital, along with the Ballantine Bantam Dell editorial team and Sue Grimshaw, category specialist and editor-at-large who will host a new Web site, RomanceAtRandom.com, that launches June 23. The site will serve as a place where authors, agents, editors, bloggers, book clubs, and readers can gather to discuss all things romance, including books published by Random House, other publishers, and self-published authors, while promoting Loveswept and Ballantine Bantam Dell titles which will be available for sale through the site.
After the August debut of Loveswept the imprint will release one title per month, but could move that to two relatively soon. The launch list will be comprised of titles from the Bantam catalogue with the first e-original set for October, Shannon said, adding the Loveswept will likely do six to 12 e-originals annually. The first list includes e-books from bestselling author Iris Johansen, This Fierce Splendor, and will also include Remember The Time by Annette Reynolds, Dream Lover by Adrienne Staff, The Vow by Julianna Garnett, The Baron by Sally Goldenbaum, Lighting That Lingers by Sharon and Tom Curtis, Talk, Dark and Lonesome by Debra Dixon, and Legends by Deb Smith
