Simon & Schuster is starting a new adult trade science fiction imprint called Simon451. The imprint will release titles in both print and digital, but will focus on digital-firsts, and e-book originals. The first Simon451 titles will be brought to market in October 2014, with the imprint's inaugural release being A Vision of Fire, the first volume in a new trilogy called EarthEnd that is co-written by the actress Gillian Anderson.
Simon451 is being overseen by senior editor Sarah Knight and will publish titles in the sub genres of fantasy, dystopian, apocalyptic and the supernatural. Speaking to the thinking behind the new effort, Knight said: "Within the science fiction and fantasy genre, e-books and online communities are becoming the primary means of reading and discovery. With Simon451 we aim to give those readers what they want, when and how they want it."
The name of the imprint is inspired by Ray Bradbury's iconic SF novel Fahrenheit 451, which S&S happens to publish and which the house said "has influenced countless readers, writers and publishers." (S&S released Fahrenheit 451 in e-book, for the first time, in 2011.)
A Vision of Fire, which Anderson is writing with Jeff Rovin, is a full-length novel and will be released in both print and digital. Another title set for the inaugural Simon451 list is Ethan Reid's dystopian work, set in Paris, called The Undying.
