In a deal that brings together one of the oldest independent e-book publishers with one of the largest, Open Road Integrated Media has signed an agreement to acquire E-Reads, the digital publisher founded by Richard Curtis in 1999. The purchase, which is set to close April 1, will add more than 1,200 e-books to Open Road’s list and includes authors such as Dan Simmons, Harlan Ellison, Greg Bear, John Norman (in science fiction and fantasy), Aaron Elkins, Barbara Parker (mystery), Laura Kinsale (romance), and Ray Garton (horror). Following completion of the deal, Open Road will publish and distribute the titles through its own platform and the E-Reads site will be taken down.
Curtis said that as the e-book market has grown he was looking to add more marketing to support his authors and felt that Open Road, with its emphasis on marketing, was a perfect fit. Curtis started E-Reads as a separate division from his literary agency, which remains unaffected by the deal, as a way to bring back out-of-print books.
As for his literary agency, Curtis said it will be "business as usual."
This would explain the sudden influx of John Bellairs and Brad Strickland titles appearing in our inbox. Images (or "covers") of the Open Road editions are the same as the e-Reads editions released back in 2011 and 2012. The twelve Johnny Dixon titles, one Anthony Monday title, and The Face in the Frost feature the same artwork last seen at e-Reads but are now marked with the Open Road Media logotype at the bottom of the image.
Richard Curtis shares more on the change at his blog.`
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