New Kindle Singles Store includes never before released content from popular UK writers such as Susan Hill, Candia McWilliam and Len Deighton

Luxembourg - 21 December 2012 – Before the advent of digital reading, a writer’s work often had to be shortened to fit into a magazine article or drawn out to deliver the "heft" required for a print book.  Amazon EU today announced the launch of the Kindle Singles Store (www.amazon.co.uk/kindlesingles) at Amazon.co.uk, offering writers the opportunity to release their content with no artificial boundaries, and at the length they feel best expresses their ideas.

Described by The New York Times as “the best reason to buy an e-reader”, each Kindle Single is intended to allow a single compelling idea – well-researched, well-argued and well-illustrated – to be expressed at its natural length. Typically between 5,000 and 30,000 words, Kindle Singles are editorially curated and showcase writing from both new and established voices - from bestselling novelists and journalists to previously unpublished writers. Independent writers have the opportunity to earn 70% royalties on every Kindle Single they sell whilst retaining the rights to their work.

“Since we introduced Kindle Singles in the US last year the response from customers has been exceptional - over 4 million Kindle Singles have been sold to date. We think readers in the UK will enjoy the great range of content we have available so we’re excited to bring Kindle Singles to Amazon.co.uk customers,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President, Kindle EU. “Writers have responded with great enthusiasm and we’ve already got some very popular British writers onboard, with more to come in 2013.”

Kindle Singles are available to both Kindle device and app users, and are priced between £0.99 and £1.99. The first set of Kindle Singles available at Amazon.co.uk includes:

• "Crystal" by Susan Hill (£0.99): A young Irishman is steered by his mother into the seminary and then the priesthood, only to discover that he has made the wrong choice in life. The resulting decision has unforeseen consequences as momentous as his initial mistake. A poignant story of how yielding to impulse can be as devastating as leaving things alone.
• "Silently and Very Fast" by Candia McWilliam (£0.99): A new story from Candia McWilliam, her first published fiction in almost twenty years, and a haunting account of the way menace can infiltrate the mundane. As morning breaks over a cold Scottish city, a diverse ensemble of residents go about their daily business, unaware of events that will converge with lethal effect.
• "Broken Voices" by Andrew Taylor (£1.49): A master of suspense, Andrew Taylor takes us back to 1909 and a boy's school located in the gloomy Fens of East Anglia. Chilling, and masterfully composed, this is not a story to be read after dark.
• "James Bond: My Long and Eventful Search for his Father" by Len Deighton (£1.49): The James Bond we know and mostly love comes as much from the movies as from the books by Ian Fleming. Len Deighton, author of the classic spy thriller, The Ipcress File, was a friend of Ian Fleming, but he was also close to the man who was to become Fleming's legal nemesis - Kevin McClory, a veteran of the British film industry. The history of Bond's development becomes, in Deighton's expert hands, a tale of inflated egos and poisonous vendettas, which involves many household names. Candid, comical, always steely-eyed, this slice of cinematic memoir reads with all the high-powered pace of a Len Deighton thriller.
• "Going Nowhere: A Life in Six Videogames" by Sam Leith (£1.49): Sam Leith charts his own life through the addictive lens of a lifelong videogamer. From early childhood to schooldays as a King's Scholar at Eton; from Oxford undergraduate years to a hard-living apprenticeship in Fleet Street; and on to his present duties as a father of two, Sam Leith describes one lifelong constant: video gaming. This is an account of one man's passion, which will interest anyone who has ever found a little reality to be more than enough.

“Kindle Singles strikes me as a very exciting possibility for writers. There have been relatively few outlets in recent years for even established names to publish long essays or short stories in a stand-alone format at a price that makes sense. Now anyone can do so, with an immediacy that's very attractive,” said Sam Leith. “There's a huge range of things you can do in 5,000-30,000 words -- and as more people explore the possibilities of that length, the range will only expand."

Best-selling Kindle Singles from the Amazon.com Kindle Store will also be available including works by critically acclaimed writers Lee Child, Christopher Hitchens, Susan Orlean, Ann Patchett, Jodi Picoult and Jon Krakauer.

Kindle Singles have proved extremely popular with readers in the US. Lee Child’s “Second Son”, was released as a Kindle Single in August 2011 and went on to reach the #1 spot on the Amazon.com best sellers chart, selling in excess of 220,000 copies. Previously unpublished US writer and musician, Mishka Shubaly, has written four Singles, all true stories about drink, drugs, disasters, desire, deception and their aftermath. All have been best sellers and have earned Shubaly in excess of $148,000 in 18 months (over £90,000). For further information about Shubaly’s story see here.

Journalists, authors, thinkers, scientists, business leaders, historians, politicians and publishers are invited to contact the Amazon editors at kindle-singles@amazon.com if they have a compelling idea they would like to put forward for consideration. Full submission guidelines can be found at www.amazon.co.uk/singlessubmissions.

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Amazon.co.uk Ltd Press Office:

For more information please contact the Amazon.co.uk Ltd Press Office on 0208 636 9280 or email pressoffice@amazon.co.uk.

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