The stories were available on the Kindle store in most territories except Earls’ native Australia and neighboring New Zealand, due to contractual issues regarding rights. Many of Earls’ other titles with Exciting Press–including his bestselling novel Perfect Skin and novellas like Grass Valley and The Magnificent Amberson–will remain restricted to other territories, but these 13 will be globally available for a limited time.

In addition to being available globally, the stories will also be enrolled in Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing Select program, which means they will be available for borrowing on Amazon’s Kindle platform. Further, due to the number of titles Exciting Press published in 2012, it will also offer one free title every day.

Earls originally signed with Exciting Press in late 2011, when they published his novel Monica Bloom, as well as several short stories. 2012 was a busy year that saw publication of 24 titles, including 18 short stories like fan-favorite “Problems With a Girl & a Unicorn” and the quietly devastating “All Those Ways of Leaving.” Over the year, his titles frequently made appearances among the top 20 literary fiction titles, and his novel Perfect Skin briefly broke into the top 100 paid rankings.

“It’s been a real pleasure working with Will Entrekin and Exciting Press in 2012,” Earls says. “I really value their ideas and what we do feels like genuine teamwork. It was great to see the year’s hard work culminate with a top 100 ranking for Perfect Skin in the Kindle Store. With 1,771,395 books available there, that felt like a big deal to me.”

“Working with Nick has really proven that my vision for Exciting Press can work,” says Exciting Press Creative Director Will Entrekin. “Nick is smart, funny, and canny, but most of all he keeps an eye to the future and is as quick to offer suggestions as he is to embrace them. Perfect Skin is one of my all-time favorite novels and really the book that started the discussion that grew into Exciting Press, so to see new readers finding it and loving it now, a dozen years after its initial publication, as much as I loved it when I first read it back in 2001, is one of the most gratifying aspects of my career so far.”

“I loved Lit Life when I read it when it first came out,” says Exciting Press Creative Director Will Entrekin, “So I’m thrilled to be bringing it to Kindle. It’s witty and fast-paced, but it’s also a glimpse at publishing’s distant recent past. Reading it, one gets a sense of how vastly things have changed, and how quickly.”

What drew Groth to Exciting Press, he says, was “First and foremost was the partnership established with Nick Earls. Nick has long been a literary hero of mine; his work, career path and industry knowledge set the standard for authors like myself seeking to follow in his footsteps. When Nick signed with Exciting, it immediately communicated to me quality and possibility. Those ideas were confirmed when I began to investigate Exciting’s vision, approach and execution of their digital publications – it seemed a very good fit for my own modest backlist, most of which possessed some unexplored potential from its time in print.”

Groth is certainly modest about that backlist, which includes, besides the two novels already mentioned, The Umbilical Word and The Procrastinator.

In addition to his writing, Groth has appeared at numerous literary events including the prestigious Byron Bay Writers’ Festival, the Brisbane Writers’ Festival and the National Young Writers’ Festival; been a guest speaker, workshop/masterclass facilitator and writer-in-residence for literary organizations, writing groups, schools and libraries. He has penned feature articles for publications including The Courier-Mail, Writing Queensland and international online magazine, Mamamia; and was previously a registered Mentor with the Australian Society of Authors.

“A lot of authors are lately claiming status as hybrid–that is, they publish both independently and with corporations,” says Exciting Press Creative Director Will Entrekin. “Signing Darren continues our development as a sort of hybrid publisher; we’re privately held, not a corporation, and we use the same methods to publish as when I was publishing only my own work, but we offer full support to authors, including editing, cover design, and marketing and promotion. We’re aiming to be the best of both worlds, but even more importantly, we’re aiming to be the best publisher possible for readers and authors alike.”

“I didn’t know what to expect when I signed on with Exciting Press,” Brown says, “But I can say without hesitation that I’ve been utterly impressed with the exceedingly high quality of their work, their professionalism, and the personal time and attention they’ve given me every step of the way, from cover design to finished book. Over the years I’ve worked with many major publishers and editors, and Will Entrekin is certainly among the best of them. I’m proud to be part of his team.”

The novels included in the deal were previously in print from such publishers as Sceptre and Harcourt and include Brown’s debut, Going Fast; his second, Hot Wire; the semi-autobiographical Final Performance; and finally his most recent novel Lucky Town. Publishers Weekly called Brown’s memoir “harrowing,” and the same adjective can be applied to his fiction, which depicts crime, drug use, and other mature themes concerning relationships and adulthood.

“I’m thrilled to bring on another author whose work was previously with a corporation and who now wants to embrace a more independent approach to publishing and marketing,” says Entrekin, creative director of Exciting Press, an independent digital publishing company he founded with his wife in late 2011. “Jim’s style reminds me of the biggest hitters in fiction, most especially Raymond Carver.”

Exciting Press published Brown’s short fiction in late 2012; Brown’s novels are all forthcoming in 2013.

We’re also eager to continue breaking traditions; this is a deal for short fiction, and we don’t know of another publisher working this way. You can expect both short stories and a nano-collection of flash fiction.

Release below.

Novelist Martin Lastrapes, whose independent novel Inside the Outside climbed the Amazon horror bestseller lists with its tale of religious sects, cannibalism, and literary terror, has signed a deal with Exciting Press to bring six new stories spanning multiple topics and genres to the digital market. Lastrapes’ short stories and flash fiction will join titles by international bestseller Nick Earls, fantasy novelist Miya Kressin, and Press director Will Entrekin to broaden Exciting Press’ already diverse catalog.

Inside the Outside has been a reader favorite on Amazon, where it’s garnered dozens of four- and five-star reviews from enthusiastic readers, and has also received praise from the Bibliobabes website, as well as independent author and entrepreneur Joanna Penn. All praised Lastrapes’ calm, lucid prose for its ability to relate a sometimes gruesome subject matter with absolute literary finesse.

Lastrapes’ other writing has been published in literary journals and on websites including The Pacific Review and L.A. Voice. In 2004, his short fiction won awards from both the Cal Poly Writer’s Conference and the California Writer’s Club. His deal with Exciting Press includes some of that short fiction, including two short stories and several pieces of flash fiction; the latter will be released as a nano-collection. First up from Exciting Press will be a short story, “Footsteps,” that tangentially relates to Inside the Outside and Timber Marlow and should satisfy any readers hoping for another peek at Marlow’s world and her experiences in the Outside. Readers can expect it in late June.

“The thing that most drew me to Exiting Press was their passion and integrity,” Lastrapes said. “They don’t just want to sell a lot of books, they want to connect great writers with passionate readers. And, at the end of the day, that’s what publishing should be about, which is why I’m both honored and humbled to join their team.”

Lastrapes grew up in the Inland Empire of Southern California–where Inside the Outside is set–and his experiences paint a vivid golden world of forest-based sects, communal-living incest, violence, cannibalism, and pornography. At its heart, however, the novel is about its heroine Timber Marlow and her experiences both inside that communal sect as well as her survival beyond its destruction–an act in which she has a hand. With courage and integrity, Timber emerges as a unique literary character, a beautiful, cannibalistic lesbian full of honor, heart, determination, and love for the people in her life.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from California State University San Bernadino, Lastrapes earned a master’s degree in composition from the same institution. He now teaches at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga.

“I’m hugely pleased to be working with Martin,” Entrekin says. “I grew up reading Stephen King, which inspired in me a passion for storytelling and genre, and Martin’s got the same chops. His writing reminds me most of early King, when the master was at his finest, as in the Night Shift short story collection, but before he became focused on horror. Martin’s work has all the power and verve of genre fiction–that highly addictive quality that keeps you turning pages–but with the literary finesse like King reached for in ‘Strawberry Spring.’ Martin’s got the same ambition–and the talent to make it work.”

You can read the details after the break.

Fantasy author Miya Kressin, whose works so far include The Changeling’s Champion and The Island Trilogy of novellas, has signed a deal with Exciting Press to bring new versions of all four titles to Amazon’s Kindle platform starting this summer 2012. Kressin’s books will join titles by internationally bestselling Australian author Nick Earls and Exciting Press’ director Will Entrekin, whose The Prodigal Hour recently topped Amazon’s science fiction and action & adventure charts.

Kressin’s The Changeling’s Champion began life as a submission to The Writer’s Coffee Shop’s original fiction contest; after stumbling over initial ideas looking for a new angle on vampires, Kressin incorporated fairy tale elements and mythology to write her novel. The novel was originally published on October 28, 2010 as a Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House Judge’s Pick in Supernatural for the 2010 Original Fiction Contest.

Quickly, however, Kressin’s entrepreneurial spirit and the new publishing landscape made her realize she could succeed on her own terms, independently. She published a second edition of The Changeling’s Champion in late 2011, then released her Island Trilogy of novellas: “What Once Was,” “What May Be,” and “What Will Be.” Exciting Press offered her the best of both worlds: the control, speed, and financial reward of independence combined with editorial, marketing, and promotional support.

“Having been on the traditional side of publishing as one of the first authors published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House, leaving them to self-publish, and spending more than a year as an independent author, I am happy to say that my stories have found a home with a team I am ecstatic to now be a part of,” Kressin says of her new partnership with Exciting Press.

Kressin is the second author Exciting Press has signed, after the independent publisher signed bestseller Nick Earls to a 12-book deal late last year; so far, the press has already produced eight titles, including the novels Tumble Turns (originally published as The Thompson Gunner) and Monica Bloom, for the US, Canadian, and international markets (with the exception of Australia and New Zealand, where Random House Australia has the honor).

“I’m excited to be working with Miya. Her writing, while keeping true to rich fantasy traditions, adds her own powerful and unique voice,” said Hannah Blum, executive editor of Exciting Press.

Newly revised editions of The Island Trilogy novellas will begin appearing over the summer, and a new edition of The Changeling’s Champion is scheduled for mid-2013.

Read the press release after the jump.

–For Immediate Release–

Bestselling Author Nick Earls Signs Major 12-Book Digital Publishing Deal

Australian author Nick Earls, whose bestselling novels include Zigzag Street, Bachelor Kisses, Perfect Skin, and 48 Shades of Brown, has signed an exclusive digital distribution deal for 12 books with independent publisher Exciting Press. The deal includes several novels and novellas, a collection of short fiction, and individual short stories, most of which were originally published by corporate publishers including Penguin and Random House, but which have never been available in digital form.

While the majority of the work will be published during the spring and summer of 2012, readers will get some of the books in time for the holidays. This includes two short stories, “The Italian Job” and “The Secret Life of Veal,” and a novel, Monica Bloom, of which The Age wrote “Nick Earls is on a literary road trodden by J.D. Salinger.” The new publication will include a never-before published novella, Grass Valley, as bonus content. The novella will later be published individually.

“E-books present the greatest opportunity readers have ever had to find each other,” Earls says. “It’s a chance for stories written for paper to find new life, and a chance for new stories to appear, freed from the constraints of paper publishing. Novels that have previously appeared in only one country – Australia in my case – can now more readily become widely available. Novellas and short stories can finally have lives of their own. I want to be part of all that.”

About the Author

Earls, whose work includes twelve novels and two collections of short stories, is the winner of a Betty Trask Award (UK) and Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award. His Perfect Skin was the only novel to be a finalist in the Australian Comedy Awards in 2003, and was adapted into a feature film in Italy (Solo un Padre, Warner Brothers/Cattleya). His novel 48 Shades of Brown was a Kirkus Reviews (US) book of the year selection. His most recent novels are The True Story of Butterfish and The Fix.

About Exciting Press

Signing Earls–whose work has been published by Penguin, St. Martin’s, and Random House–is a coup for Exciting Press, a Pittsburgh-based start-up publisher focusing on digital distribution and redefining the publishing business model. Director and CEO Will Entrekin founded Exciting Press after studying writing at USC and strategic marketing at Regis University.

“Calling Exciting Press a micro-press is probably a degree of magnitude too big,” he says. We’re a nano-press, and our main goal is to return power and control to authors. We want authors to have a degree of participation in publishing they haven’t had since the days of Poe and Twain. We also want to keep rights with authors, and make sure authors get the highest percentage of any sale.”

If that sounds friendly to authors, it may be because Entrekin is one himself and has two novels and several short stories available on Kindle. “Amazon has been terrific about giving authors access to the Kindle platform. It may have up-ended the corporate publishing model, with its returns and retail distribution, but it’s created an entirely new relationship between readers and writers. It offers writers a way to reach readers without needing a corporate publisher.”

Earls notes, “I’m very glad to be working with Will Entrekin and Exciting Press to bring my work into the world’s biggest digital marketplace. After this festive season, more readers than ever will have devices in their hands and they’ll be on the lookout for stories. Any writer with stories to offer needs to have them ready and waiting.”