Gollanz to launch world's biggest SFF library

[Crusader]

Gollancz to launch the world's largest digital SFF library

Gollancz, the SF and Fantasy imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, announces the launch of the world’s largest digital SFF library, the SF Gateway, which will make thousands of out-of-print titles by classic genre authors available as eBooks.

Building on the remarkable success of Gollancz’s Masterworks series, the SF Gateway will launch this Autumn with more than a thousand titles by close to a hundred authors.

It will build to 3,000 titles by the end of 2012, and 5,000 or more by 2014. Gollancz’s Digital Publisher Darren Nash, who joined the company in September 2010 to spearhead the project said, “The Masterworks series has been extraordinarily successful in republishing one or two key titles by a wide range of authors, but most of those authors had long careers in which they wrote dozens of novels which had fallen out of print. It seemed to us that eBooks would offer the ideal way to make them available again. This realization was the starting point for the SF Gateway.” Wherever possible, the SF Gateway will offer the complete backlist of the authors included.

The SF Gateway will be closely integrated with the recently announced new online edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, which provides an independent and definitive reference source of information on the authors and books included. Direct links between the Encyclopedia and the Gateway will provide easy access to eBook editions, for sale through all major online retailers.

The Gateway site will also act as a major community hub and social network for SF readers across the world, allowing them to interact with each other and recommend titles and authors. The site is planned to include forums, blogs, regular promotions, and is envisaged to become the natural home on the net for anyone with an interest in classic SFF.

Authors featured in the launch include such names as Marion Zimmer Bradley, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert, Alice B. Sheldon (James Tiptree, Jr), Robert Silverberg, Kate Wilhelm and Connie Willis.

The SF Gateway was conceived by Orion Deputy CEO and Publisher Malcolm Edwards,who commented: “It’s clear that publishers need to show that they can respond to the challenges and opportunities of the digital revolution imaginatively, particularly when it comes to backlist. The SF Gateway is just such a response, creating what we hope will ecome a destination website which will promote the books and authors it features in an active way. We hope it will not only be a success in its own right, but that it will provide a model for future developments in backlist publishing.”

The project has been praised by authors for connecting new generations of readers with classic stories they may not, until now, have been able to enjoy. British Science Fiction Award-winner Alastair Reynolds said: “When I first started reading SF seriously, as a teenager growing up in Wales, one of the first walls I hit was the realisation that many classic and influential works of the field were either out of print or so hard to obtain that they may as well have been. SF is a forward-looking genre but its past has always been as fascinating as its future, and for that reason the SF Gateway is an exciting and groundbreaking venture, which should prove an enormous asset to the field.”

Double Arthur C. Clarke Award-winner Pat Cadigan added: “This is exactly what I've been hoping for now that the digital book is becoming more widespread. I have always said that the eBook will not be the death of the physical book – the eBook will save so many wonderful books from being lost. We have to remember that what we read is the book – what we read it on, whether ink and paper or pixels on a screen, is just the interface. I'm honestly thrilled about this new project and delighted to be on the list.”
The SF Gateway will be officially launched by Gollancz in September as part of the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of its SF list.

For more information, please go to www.sfgateway.com, where updates on the project will also appear.

Original announcement

Great stuff for science fiction and fantasy fans!

[Graham]

This is really excellent news.

Graham

[graycyn]

Hubby and I are happy to see this news! One of the first ebooks I went looking for was an old sci-fi book I loved and naturally, it wasn't available as ebook.

[DiapDealer]

I. love. this.

[5thWiggle]

[Phogg]

Please let it get old Alexander Key books.

[Arrghus]

Let's hope that these releases aren't just OCR scans of old paperbacks. I'd take one hundred good, proof-read, well-formatted books over thousands of cheap texts littered with typos.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by Arrghus

Let's hope that these releases aren't just OCR scans of old paperbacks. I'd take one hundred good, proof-read, well-formatted books over thousands of cheap texts littered with typos.

Unlikely since Gollancz was primarily a Hardback publisher and, in recent years, some B-format books and Orion is a hardback/B-format first and paperback second publisher. Malcolm Edwards usually knows what he's doing and knows enough of the SF community to get good advice...

[Ravensknight]

Now this is a good way to end my day. I like news like this

[bgalbrecht]

Unless I missed it, the press release doesn't say whether the collection with be for sale internationally or just georestricted to the UK.

[ChristopherTD]

Originally Posted by Arrghus

Let's hope that these releases aren't just OCR scans of old paperbacks. I'd take one hundred good, proof-read, well-formatted books over thousands of cheap texts littered with typos.

So far the Gollancz ebooks I have bought have had very good production values. Hopefully the same will apply to the SFF Library. There are lots of authors already listed, including Gene Wolfe (Shadow of the Torturer anyone?)

[Crusader]

From what they said on Twitter they will respect geographic rights. They apparently have Aus rights as well, so hopefully they'll have SA rights too.

[carpetmojo]

In my far distant youth, a friend of my Dad used to get "first run" samples from someone who worked for Gollancz in some capacity, can't remember what, and I can remember the thrill of one of these "yellow jackets" coming my way every few weeks....later circulated around very impressed friends.......

Wish I'd kept them now, though !

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Crusader

From what they said on Twitter they will respect geographic rights.

It's not as if they have any choice in the matter; they have to obey the law.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

In my far distant youth, a friend of my Dad used to get "first run" samples from someone who worked for Gollancz in some capacity, can't remember what, and I can remember the thrill of one of these "yellow jackets" coming my way every few weeks....later circulated around very impressed friends.......

Wish I'd kept them now, though !

Sounds like you might be talking about a reviewer's copy. I came across one once in a used book store. Not something you will see just anywhere.