The Atlantic Magazine has partnered with independent publisher Zando to launch its own book imprint, Atlantic Editions, which will feature books by Atlantic writers past and present. The launch of the imprint will be accompanied by a significant expansion of the magazine’s books section. The new section will be inaugurated with a June cover story by staff writer Caitlin Flanagan on author Joan Didion.
Atlantic Editions will publish between six and 12 nonfiction titles per year, all trade paperbacks, sold for $12.85. Peter Mendelsund, creative director of the Atlantic, described each book as “a single-author collection of essays from the Atlantic’s pages, focused on a single topic.” Page counts will differ by book, Mendelsund added, “but we are aiming for ‘short and definitive.’”
The imprint’s first titles, set to publish in January 2023, are On Misdirection by staff writer Megan Garber; On Womanhood by staff writer Sophie Gilbert; and On BTS by senior editor Lenika Cruz. A joint collection by staff writer Kaitlyn Tiffany and contributing writer Lizzie Laugic is also in the works. All Atlantic Editions books will be designed by Atlantic art director Oliver Munday.
Since it was launched in October 2020 by former Crown publisher Molly Stern, Zando has announced publishing partnerships with Gillian Flynn, Lena Waithe, John Legend, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Both Stern and Mendelsund are excited to have the Atlantic join that roster. “When we first conceived of this imprint, we felt we wanted a partner who was nimbler, more flexible, a bit more daring and innovative,” said Mendelsund. “With Zando we’ve built what we feel is a fresh and exciting new model for publishing.”
“This partnership enables us to bring the Atlantic’s exceptional journalism to a world of readers beyond the paywall,” said Stern, noting that the books’ low price point will help make them accessible to a wider readership. She added that the concise, one-subject format of Atlantic Editions titles was inspired by Timothy Snyder’s 2017 bestseller On Tyranny, which was published by Crown during Stern’s tenure there.
The Atlantic will promote Atlantic Editions books to subscribers and audiences across its platforms. Stern also detailed plans for “national media and social media pushes at on-sale, co-branded event series in partnership with retailers, ongoing promotion pegged to seasonal and cultural moments, creative advertising, as well as retailing through special sales channels, [and] course adoption opportunities.”
“This new imprint will allow us to disseminate our journalism in a new form,” said Mendelsund, “one that can be sold in new contexts, offered as course adoptions, given as gifts, treasured, annotated, collected, et cetera.” He hopes that the imprint can ensure that the “work of our writers will be afforded a longer life.”
Mendelsund sees the launch of Atlantic Editions and the relaunch of the magazine’s Books section as not just complementary but interwoven. “This expansion means that the Atlantic is uniquely positioned to cover books in every conceivable manner,” he said, “and is now able to combine our journalistic channels with those of traditional book publishing.”
