HarperCollins’ William Morrow imprint has unveiled a “digital-original mystery, suspense and thriller line” called Witness Impulse. The imprint will release its first digital titles in October, already stocked with 100 books acquired by editors.
William Morrow executive editor Dan Mallory will lead the new line. The launch will include classic Agatha Christie short stories, releasing digital singles of the Hercule Poirot stories and an omnibus edition. Here’s more about the imprint:
Witness will feature the same royalty structure as William Morrow/Avon’s other digital-first imprints: authors receive a 50% royalty once their book sells 10,000 copies (initial royalties start at 25%). They will not receive an advance … Even though these books are digital-first, the HarperCollins sales group is always seeking out opportunities in print, working with key retail accounts to execute tailored promotions in physical stores. To date, more than 60 percent of Impulse titles have a print format, with thousands of printed copies sold for each of those books.
The publisher also revealed that royalty payments will be issued on a monthly basis at the imprint, a rare step for one of the Big Six publishers. They also revealed a few authors from the initial list:
Darkness First by James Hayman
Black Dog by internationally bestselling author Stephen Booth
Prince by CWA Dagger-winning author Rory Clements
An Illustrated Death by bestselling author Judi Culbertson
Hunted by Sunday Times “Top 10” bestselling author Emlyn Reese
Blind Date by CWA Dagger-winning Frances Fyfield
The Drop by Howard Linskey