Screen Shot 2012 06 13 at 11 42 31 AM

From the press release:

HarperCollins Publishers today announced the creation of HarperCollins 360, a global publishing program for its authors. The goal of the initiative is to ensure that all books published by any division of HarperCollins around the world are available in print or digital format in all English-language markets. When the program is fully implemented, the HarperCollins global catalog — 50,000 print books and 40,000 e-books — will be available, limited only by the rights held, not by technology or geography. Authors published in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, India, and Canada will be listed, published, and available to booksellers and consumers in the U.S. through the HarperCollins global print and digital platforms that include regional warehousing with on-site printing machines.

The first phase of the program begins July 1, 2012, with HarperCollins U.K. titles moving to HarperCollins 360’s U.S. team. Jean Marie Kelly, who will be leading the team, will assume the role of Affiliate Publisher, HarperCollins 360. Kelly will manage the editorial pipeline and all marketing and publicity efforts, and will work closely with colleagues in the U.S., under Josh Marwell, President of Sales, and Chris Wold, Group International Publisher, who is driving the program from the U.K., to ensure each book is published to its fullest potential. By the end of the calendar year, Canadian and Australian authors’ books will also be available in the U.S.

“It is our responsibility to provide our authors with the broadest possible reach through our global print and digital publishing platforms, regardless of where their books originate,” said Brian Murray, President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers. “We are establishing new publishing roles, with marketing and publicity support, to maximize the global influence of our authors. Our vision is to have the entire HarperCollins book catalog available for customers in all major territories for which we have rights.

“Through our new POD partnerships and the technology co-located in our warehouses in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, we will be able to competitively offer the entire print and digital HarperCollins catalog; a win for customers as well as the environment as we cut long international freight miles,” continued Murray.

“We are thrilled to be able to more effectively publish HarperCollins U.K. titles into the U.S. market. We see this as a big growth opportunity for our authors and their work,” said Vicky Barnsley, CEO of HarperCollins
U.K. 

Thanks to Michael von Glahn for the link.

3 COMMENTS

  1. This is something that’s long overdue. Separate distribution in different countries might have made a small amount of sense in the old days, but those days are long past (even paper books may well be printed in China nowadays, and the idea of geography-based territories for ebooks borders on the absurd).

    Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey–Maturin series (a personal favorite) was almost unobtainable in the United States for a couple of decades because he had no U.S. publisher. It’s hard to see how that did anyone any good.

  2. This is a ‘first step’ in the right direction. (Some) of Harper Collins UK books will be made available in the US. Then, (some) Candian and Australian titles will be made available in the US. Eventually, all HC books will be available in all markets. The time for this to be achieved, however, is not defined.

    Notably, however, this announcement says _nothing_ about regional pricing. For reasons I do not understand, both paper books and ebooks generally cost one dollar more in Canada than in the USA. The price differential between the USA and Australia seems to be much higher than just one dollar.

    If it still costs more to buy ebooks in Canada and Australia, HC will have addressed only part of the problem that we end users have with the ebook distribution system.

  3. I notice the article says nothing about making U.S.-published ebooks available to the rest of the English-speaking world. It focusses on providing ebooks from that world to U.S. readers.

    However, this will, one hopes, make it possible for Australian customers to buy ebooks by Australian authors. Yep, geolims block us from buying ebooks by people living down the road. Go figure.

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