Pan Mac acquires self-publishing star Hocking

The Bookseller - 24.05.11 | Graeme Neill

Pan Macmillan has bought UK and Commonwealth rights (including e-books) to seven books by self-published US sensation Amanda Hocking.

Julie Crisp, editorial director at Tor, bought the rights from St Martin's Press in the United States. Hocking was subject to an intense auction in the US for her novels, with Amazon emerging as a shock underbidder.
She self-published her first novel to Amazon's Kindle in April 2010 and has since sold more than one million books.

The deal is for the Trylle Trilogy and a new four-book series called Watersong. The Trylle trilogy will be published in spring 2012 and the first book in the Watersong series will be released in autumn 2012 in paperback and e-book format.
It is described as a romantic coming-of-age tale about two sisters and their struggle to do right by each other and the men they love.

Crisp said: "We're thrilled to have Amanda Hocking on the Tor UK list. She’s been incredibly successful at self-publishing her Trylle series already and we’re thrilled to be able to work with her in publishing these, and her new Watersong series, and helping her to reach a much bigger readership.
"She’s a wonderfully imaginative, original and accomplished writer and I’m sure she’ll be a worldwide sensation."