Australian author T L Swan, whose Miles High Club romance series is a perennial BookTok favorite, will launch a new publishing venture, Keeperton, in August. Keeperton's inaugural imprint, Arndell, will focus on romance, with future plans to introduce imprints specializing in fantasy, general fiction, nonfiction, and crime and thriller. The company plans to publish 10 titles—four frontlist, six backlist—under Arndell in its first year, and will be distributed by Simon & Schuster.
According to a release, Keeperton aims to "close the gap between digital and traditional publishing" by offering "established digital-first authors a means to distribute their works into bookstores worldwide with favorable term lengths while also allowing them to maintain their digital rights."
Arndell's inaugural frontlist title will be Swan's new novel The Bonus, slated for August 13. The Bonus will be published in an exclusive print edition featuring bonus chapters unavailable in digital format. As for its inaugural backlist titles, Arndell will release Swan's self-published Mr. series comprising the novels Mr. Masters (2018), Mr. Spencer (2019), and Mr. Garcia (2021).
Keeperton will publish titles by authors other than Swan, to be announced at a later date, the company said. It plans to ramp up to publishing six to eight frontlist titles annually through Arndell and six to eight titles through other imprints. Keeperton expects all of its titles to be available in print, with all book deals to include print rights.
As for staff, Keeley Doherty and Kellie Clarke, who previously worked on Swan's team, have been named Keeperton's head of publishing operations and general manager, respectively. Christine Bendorf, who most recently served as an author manager at Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, has been named head of acquisitions and strategy. The company said it has also hired staff focusing on social media, marketing, and publishing operations, and it plans to further expand its team in the coming months.
"Keeperton’s mission is to empower authors and foster the creation of future bestsellers," said Swan in a statement. "We understand the needs and aspirations of authors because we are authors ourselves. Our ultimate goal is to equip our authors with the resources and support they need to achieve their publishing goals, reach bestseller lists, and beyond."
