Avon Buys Top Authors' Contracts From Dorchester

Posted on January 14, 2010

Dorchester has sold the frontlist and backlist of a number of its top authors to Avon. The authors include Marjorie M. Liu, Christine Feehan and others.

Dearauthor quotes an Avon statement about the purchase:

HarperCollins has acquired several frontlist and backlist titles from Dorchester publishing and has also extended its distribution partnership. Authors include titles from Victoria Alexander, Nina Bangs, Christine Feehan, Sandra Hill, Marjorie M. Liu, Katie MacAlister, Lynsay Sands and CL Wilson. We are currently scheduling the Avon release of these books, and will sell, market and publish all acquired titles by these authors on a go-forward basis. We look forward to working with these talented authors to futher grow their brand recognition.

Marjorie Liu blogged about the surprise sale of her contract:

I am now writing for Avon, who will publish the entire Dirk & Steele series--the nine titles that have already been released, and two new books that are upcoming. I admit: I am very excited by this. When I first confirmed the news on Twitter, I think some folks were understandably confused by what it all means, and whether it's a good thing or not...but from my point of view, it's great. This is a new adventure and a fantastic opportunity, and I'm looking forward, very much, to writing my next two books with Avon.
Dirk & Steele has moved to a good home, and as an author who cares deeply about her books, that's a gift.

There have been rumors about Dorchester having financial troubles for some time and the closing of the Shomi line was not a good sign. We are glad that these authors (all of whom we read regularly) are landing at Avon. Does this mean we can read Marjorie's books on our Kindle soon? We certainly hope so.