Altadena, CA (PRWEB) July 31, 2013 -- There were no e-readers in 1994. The Web was in its infancy. Yet somehow, Nancy and David McAllister decided that reading books on-line was the wave of the future. Their publishing house, Boson Books, grew slowly as the rest of the world caught on, and then more rapidly as new technology, new software, and changing consumer habits brought electronic reading to computers and devices worldwide. By 2012, Boson had released over 140 titles representing fiction of all genres, narrative non-fiction, and scholarly works.
In August 2012, Boson merged with Bitingduck Press, a Los Angeles-area publisher run by two PhD physicists with a passion for good books, the environment, and local businesses. "We wanted to use e-books in a way that would support and promote local commerce," says Vice President Chris Lindensmith. This philosophy led him to invent WebBytez, a QR-code-based way of selling e-books through any retailer without set-up costs or inventory. Bitingduck Press has several retail WebBytez partners in place in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas, and hopes to open the technology to other publishers and self-published authors by the end of 2013.
The merged press continues to release books by established Boson Books authors as well as new authors selected from submissions. Books by signed authors receive a full package including editing, copyediting, typesetting, e-formatting, and publicity. The press also offers editorial and typsetting services to independent clients on an hourly or per-project basis.
The first book by the new collaboration was Somebody Wants Somebody Dead (by Phillip Gardner), a collection of suspenseful, darkly humorous short stories released in May 2012. Other highlights for the year include two books by Canadian author Bill Bunn (Duck Boy, a young adult fantasy adventure and Hymns of Home, a collection of essays); a satirical academic mystery set in Pasadena, A Slow Cold Death (Susy Gage); and Nicole Wolverton's critically acclaimed psychologically thriller, The Trajectory of Dreams. The most recent release, War 1812: Remember the Raisin (July 2013), is the first in a series by long-time Boson author and maritime historian Michael Aye. All books are available through major distributors as well as through the press's webstore, which offers DRM-free versions of the books in all e-reader formats. Print versions of selected titles may also be found in independent bookstores in the LA area.
"Bitingduck has grown fast, with no sign of slowing down," says founder and editor-in-chief Jay Nadeau. The 2014 and 2015 catalogs will feature edgy young adult fiction and hard sci-fi, respectively. Bitingduck will have a presence at several major book fairs in the coming months, with the next event scheduled being the West Hollywood Book Fair on September 29. Two authors, Brad Eastland and Susy Gage, will be signing at the Fair.
Bitingduck Press welcomes un-agented submissions; authors looking to publish with the press are encouraged to visit the submissions page. Of particular interest are nonfiction biographies of scientists and hard science fiction for both teens and adults. Potential WebBytez partners should contact Chris Lindensmith directly at chris (at) bitingduck press (dot) com.
Jay Nadeau, Bitingduck Press, LLC, http://www.bitingduckpress.com, 626-507-8033, [email protected]
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