Grand Central Publishing is launching a romance digital imprint next month. Forever Yours will publish new works as well as backlist titles from its nine-year-old Forever imprint. The imprint will do two to four e-book titles a month and will kick off with Ember by Kristen Callihan, a gothic historical romance prequel to the author’s debut novel, Firelight; and Once Upon a Wicked Night by Jennifer Haymore, a historical romance novella set in the world of the author’s bestselling Donovan series.
Amy Pierpont, editorial director, Forever, will oversee and direct the imprint. “With the growth of the e-book market, and the success of romance e-books, which always top the e-book bestseller charts, this is a tremendous opportunity for authors and readers,” said Pierpont. Forever Yours will publish titles in all romance areas—contemporary, historical, and paranormal. Prices will start at 99 cents and move up. Popular e-books will later be done in print editions.
The imprint will accept submissions from both agented and unagented authors and publish short-form novellas (10,000 to 50,000 words) as well as longer length novels (up to 100,000 words). “Forever Yours titles will be given the full publishing package,” said Grand Central publisher Jamie Raab. “Competitive pricing, cover design, advertising, publicity, and promotion will round out dedicated editorial and sales support for each title."
The launch of Forever Yours will follow by one month the debut of Penguin’s InterMix digital imprint. That imprint published its first 11 Nora Roberts titles on Tuesday and like Forever Yours will publish backlist and new works as e-books in a number of genres, including romance. Both imprints are aimed at offsetting the steep decline in mass market paperback sales.
