Amazon Publishing's "The Hangman's Daughter" Series Reaches 1 Million Copies Sold

SEATTLE (June 17, 2013)—Amazon Publishing today announced that Oliver Pötzsch, whose Hangman's Daughter series includes "The Hangman's Daughter" (2010), "The Dark Monk" (2012), and "The Beggar King" (2013), has become the first Amazon Publishing author to sell 1 million copies in combined print, audio, and Kindle English language editions worldwide. The fourth book in the series, "The Poisoned Pilgrim," will release on July 16th.

Originally published by Ullstein in Pötzsch's native German, the Hangman's Daughter series is acquired, translated into English, and published in digital editions by AmazonCrossing, Amazon Publishing's imprint focused on acquiring exceptional works of world literature for translation. "The Hangman's Daughter," Pötzsch's debut novel, became a #1 bestselling Kindle book. Trade paperback editions of the books are published by Mariner Books, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, in a licensing agreement with Amazon Publishing.

"We congratulate Oliver on this great achievement," said Jeff Belle, Vice President, Amazon Publishing. "So few books from around the world are translated into English. Our goal with AmazonCrossing is to bring more of the world's great authors to a global audience. Oliver's novels deserve the broadest possible readership, and we're proud to be able to bring them to the attention of the English-speaking world."

Inspired by the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan from which he is descended, German television screenwriter Pötzsch set the series in 17th century Bavaria. Hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate nefarious doings, often aided by his daughter Magdalena and other family members. Translated into English by Lee Chadeayne, the first three books in the series have become international bestsellers and fan favorites.

"If somebody had told me a few years ago that I would sell a million copies of a story about a Bavarian hangman, I would have called him completely nuts!" said Pötzsch. "I am thankful for the great cooperation and creative energy of the great colleagues at AmazonCrossing for helping to make this possible."