All over the world there are people doing their best to, and sometimes managing to, publish the next great novel. Not even the most shortsighted reader can truly indulge the thought that all enjoyable literature comes from their native or preferred language. Apparently Amazon.com(NASDAQ:AMZN) has come to the same conclusion and decided that this market will lend some uniqueness to their brand. AmazonCrossing, as it is to be called, will concentrate on bringing international authors to the English speaking audience. Their first publication, The King of Kahel by Tierno Monenembo, is the winner of the 2008 Renaudot Literary Prize and should be available on your Kindle, or even in paperback, on November 2nd.
This is Amazon’s second publishing endeavor, so it is safe to say they know something of the ins and outs of the process by now. According to what information we have regarding this move, titles chosen will be heavily influenced by the standing they have in terms of favorable reviews on the Amazon website, thus allowing readers to directly influence how well distributed their favorite authors become. This new imprint promises to be a positive move for authors, readers, and hopefully investors alike. There aren’t nearly enough international authors represented well in English just yet, much to many of our monolingual dismay.