At Aussie-con IV, the science fiction convention running in Melbourne, Australia, Sept. 2-6, HarperCollins announced that it was rebranding its U.S. science fiction/fantasy imprint, Eos Books, as HarperVoyager. The name change, which officially kicks in January 1, will give the U.S. imprint the same name as Harper’s sci/fi imprints in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. The goal of the rebranding is to create a more unified sci/fi program that will allow HC to acquire English-language rights. “This move enables us to offer authors a strong global publishing platform when signing with HarperCollins – whether the acquiring editor is in New York, Sydney, or London,” said HC CEO Brian Murray in a statement. Hachette has successfully run a similar English-language imprint under Orbit.
It wasn’t clear Friday if someone will be in charge of the worldwide Voyager. Currently, the U.S. imprint will be overseen by executive editor Diana Gill; Emma Coode is the editorial director in the U.K., and Stephanie Smith oversees the Australia program. The first two authors expected to be released under the new imprint are Karen Azinger and David Wellington (writing as David Chandler).
