Carina Press Digital-First Publishing House Launches

TORONTO, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Carina Press, a digital-first publishing house whose ebooks are sold direct to consumers through the Carina Press website and numerous third-party websites, officially launched today by publishing their first 10 titles.

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Carina Press is an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises Limited, the global leader in series romance and one of the world's leading publishers of books for women, but is distinguishable from the company's traditional publishing businesses.  

"As a digital-first publisher Carina Press is a natural extension to our business; it builds on our digital strength and leadership position. It gives us greater flexibility in the type of editorial we can accept from authors and offer to readers.  As such, we expect to discover new authors and unique voices," said Donna Hayes, CEO and Publisher of Harlequin.  "As well, we hope to reach a new group of readers with niche editorial."

Carina Press will begin by publishing 37 books in its first month—approximately 10 books a week—across a broad range of fiction with an emphasis on romance and its subgenres, including science fiction, fantasy, erotica, gay/lesbian, mystery, suspense and thriller.  Carina Press ebooks vary in price from $2.99 to $6.99 depending on the length of the work, which can range from 20,000 to more than 100,000 words.

"More and more readers are migrating to the digital world," said Angela James, Executive Editor of Carina Press.  "They're as interested in refreshingly original stories, told by authors with truly distinct perspectives, as they are compelled by the immediacy of digital publishing.  With a click they can have the book right in front of them on their computer or portable device.  There's no waiting for a book to arrive and it's never out of stock."

Carina Press ebooks are available on the Carina Press website (www.carinapress.com) and through third-party retailers such as Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.  Carina Press ebooks are published in the ePUB format and can be read on a variety of devices, including computer, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, nook, Kobo, BlackBerry and mobile phone.  Carina Press does not utilize digital rights management so readers are able to share stories between devices. Carina Press also offers digital review galleys through NetGalley.

Audible Inc. will produce unabridged audio versions of many Carina Press titles and make them available at Audible.com, iTunes and Amazon.com. Audible.com will launch the Carina Press audio titles in July 2010.

Carina Press is currently accepting submissions in all genres of commercial fiction.  Carina Press will consider shorter length stories, genre novels from 50,000 to more than 100,000 words and complex narratives of over 100,000 words.  Carina Press will also acquire books that have been previously released in print form, but for which the author has either retained digital rights or had digital rights revert to them.  All submissions should be sent to [email protected].

For full submission guidelines and more information on Carina Press please go to www.carinapress.com.

About Harlequin Enterprises

Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the global leader in series romance and one of the world's leading publishers of books for women, with titles issued worldwide in 32 languages and sold in 115 international markets. The company produces over 110 titles monthly and publishes more than 1,100 authors from around the world. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, a broadly based media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.B). Harlequin's website is located at www.eHarlequin.com. Harlequin has offices in 19 countries, including offices in Toronto, New York and London. For more information please visit www.eHarlequin.com or press.eHarlequin.com.

SOURCE Carina Press