Kensington Publishing will launch a new cozy mystery imprint, Kensington Cozies, later this year. All Kensington editors will acquire for the imprint, which will be overseen by the publisher's communications manager Larissa Ackerman.
“Kensington has long been a leader in the genre, and it’s time the roughly 60 contemporary cozy mysteries we publish each year had their own imprint,” Kensington's president and CEO, Steve Zacharius, said in a statement.
As of December 28, contemporary mysteries fitting the cozy criteria across all print formats will be published under the Kensington Cozies banner, with backlist cozy titles getting folded into the imprint over time. Digital-first cozies will continue to be published by Kensington’s e-book originals imprint, Lyrical Underground.
Ackerman previously developed the publisher's Cozy Club Card loyalty program, through which readers can earn free advance reader copies of the publisher's cozies. In addition to overseeing Kensington Cozies, Ackerman will continue to build out cozy-focused programs at the publisher, including its annual Cozy Cons.
“We’re excited to continue building awareness of everything cozy mysteries have to offer, growing their presence on readers’ and retailers’ bookshelves, and bringing more diversity to the genre—both in the authors whose stories we publish and the readers who love them,” Ackerman said.
