The acquisition gives Amazon the rights to publish 3,000 backlist books primarily in the romance, mystery and western genres, none of which are yet available as digital editions. Holly Jacobs, Carolyn Hughey and Carolyn Brown are among the imprint's better-known authors.
Amazon has been aggressively expanding its roster of original titles since Laurence Kirshbaum, previously the former CEO of Time Warner’s book division and founder of a small but well-known literary agency, was named publisher last year. He has, among other things, launched several imprints composed primarily of original works from established genre authors during his tenure.
Avalon Books is a 62-year-old, family-owned company.
“I’ve been running Avalon Books -- which was founded by my father -- since 1995, and it is time for me to explore the next chapter of my life,” publisher Ellen Bouregy Mickelsen said of her decision to sell the company.