Tantor Media Launches New Print & E-Books Division

CT – September 13 – Tantor Media, one of the largest independent audiobook publishers in the nation, is venturing into the realm of print and e-books. The 12-year-old Connecticut-based publisher – after releasing over 2,700 audiobooks – is launching its new print line this fall with a combination of fiction and nonfiction. Tantor will serve consumers and authors by publishing in all formats: print, e-book, and audiobook, to all markets – capitalizing on the emerging marketplace for new content delivery methods.

CEO Kevin Colebank believes that expansion in an industry that is going through many dynamic changes is a good strategic move. “We now will provide a complete selection of content options for today’s consumer: audiobooks, e-books, and print. We will publish books that have been our strength over the last few years in audio – genre fiction like paranormal, romance, horror, and thrillers. We will also publish nonfiction titles, since we have earned a reputation for strong, quality nonfiction.”

“The attractive part of our print program is that all of our original print books will be published not only in print and e-book editions but as an audiobook as well,” says Ron Formica, the Director of Rights and Acquisitions for Tantor. “We will be as author-friendly as possible. We see it as a partnership. Authors who publish their books with us will not be among the hundreds – or thousands – published by a multinational publisher. These titles will be among a select few that will receive careful, devoted attention from us.”

Tantor’s first print title, releasing September 18, is the zombie horror story Flu by UK-based author Wayne Simmons (9780988349407, $14.95, trade paperback). It will be followed by the release of his sequel, Fever, on October 16 (9780988349414, $14.95, trade paperback). TOMY and the Planet of Lies by Erich von Daniken (9780988349438, $17.95, trade paperback) will be released October 30. Von Daniken, a bestselling author known for his nonfiction titles, including Chariots of the Gods, chose Tantor to be the publisher of his first novel to be published in the U.S.

The first Tantor nonfiction book, Sinatra and Me: The Very Good Years by Tony Consiglio as told to Franz Douskey (9780988349421, $19.95, trade paperback) will be released November 13. Also in November, Tantor will release print and e-book versions of The Murdoch Archipelago by Bruce Page (EAN tbd, $19.95, trade paperback), a bestseller originally published in the UK.

“This new print line will feature about one book per month and will be released simultaneously as an e-book and an audiobook,” says Ron Formica. “Of all the sectors of publishing, the two areas that have shown growth over the last few years have been downloadable audiobooks and e-books. For authors and readers who still want that physical book, we are happy to serve them with our new line.”

Colebank adds: “Tantor started to publish e-books in May 2011, and they have become very popular. As we approached agents about e-book rights,some asked if we were interested in original e-book only titles, and others asked if we would branch out into print. It made sense to offer the titles in allformats available to all markets. We chose to publish a select group of 12 to 15 titles per year, thus allowing us to focus the proper amount of editing,marketing, publicity, and sales support that each title needs to succeed.”

Tantor’s extensive unabridged audiobook catalog includes winners of the National Book Award, the Man Booker Prize, and the Pulitzer Prize, as well as numerous New York Times bestsellers, including Little Bee by Chris Cleave, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, A Dog’s Purpose, White Tiger, Stiff, and Chelsea Handler’s My Horizontal Life. Tantor’s audio narrators are among the industry’s best, including Audie winners Simon Vance, Scott Brick, Stephen Hoye, and Cassandra Campbell. Tantor has won numerous Audie Awards, most recently in 2012 for The King’s Speech and for The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby – both narrated by Simon Vance. Tantor will continue to release over 500 audiobooks annually.

Tantor, which has seen growth in every year of its existence, was founded by Kevin and Laura Colebank. Located in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, it has over 70 employees. The independent publisher distributes its books to all major retail outlets and all major platforms, including Kindle, Nook, Apple iBook, Google Android, Mobipocket,Amazon, OverDrive, Audible, iTunes, and CataList.

The company’s name is based on Tarzan’s elephant friend in Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first audiobook published by the company.