Ark Press Announces $10K Prize For Book Contest As Vox Day Says Traditional Publishing "Not Tenable"

Ark Press editors DJ Butler and David Afsharirad took to a podcast last night to drop a bombshell on mainstream publishing by revealing a book contest with big money behind it for the eventual winner.

The last few weeks have been a maelstrom for the sci-fi and fantasy publishing industry as it was revealed that several Baen Books editors peeled off from the science fiction juggernaut to form their own press, Ark Press, with funding from Peter Thiel’s investment group. Most notable was Ark taking a new modern fantasy series from Baen Books’ top author, Larry Correia in the announcement.

While many fans and authors wonder what this means for the publishing industry and Baen Books long-term viability, Ark Press has chugged along with their plans, growing their social media following substantially from almost nothing with the buzz that Fandom Pulse generated the press because of our research into their founding.

Now, DJ Butler and David Afsharirad have taken to the interview circuit to talk about their upcoming plans, where they went on Daddy Warpig and Dorrinal’s Geek Gab, one of the best interview shows in sci-fi and fantasy, to reveal some upcoming plans.

During the discussion, the editors revealed there is a CIA mystery parody coming from a former CIA agent, as well as speaking on sci-fi writer Travis Cocoran’s book that Butler describes as being an allegory for the Texas War of Independence, though set on Mars with the Martian population set against China.

The press has been taking submissions for proposals from authors and will be setting up at the LTUE conference in Utah to speak about their plans in person. While they’ve been quiet about the business dealings surrounding the press, Fandom Pulse was able to determine they are extremely well funded by the same corporate group that owns conservative literature publisher, Passage Press.

Castalia House Publisher Vox Day recently spoke with Fandom Pulse regarding the start of the situation of peeling off from Baen Books, saying, “As we’ve seen from the recent collapse of Diamond Comics Distributor, the current environment is not tenable for traditional publishing. With the rise of e-books, Amazon, self-publishing, and crowdfunding, it’s increasingly difficult for traditional publishers to justify their existence. It’s not surprising that a traditional publisher like Baen would be affected. “

“This is why Castalia House publishes far fewer authors than we used to, because oftentimes, it’s better for authors to go off on their own. We certainly wish the authors the best of fortune in their endeavors.”

Meanwhile, on the Geek Gab program, DJ Butler revealed that they have deep coffers that would appeal to authors spinning out of traditional publishing houses. They announced a book contest, with details on a promised press release, which they then posted to X, saying, “Details of a new novel-writing contest, the Ark Prize, will also be revealed. The contest, which is open to all, will award the winner a $10,000 advance.”

The dollar amount of $10,000 is on the upper end of what established authors often get in science fiction and fantasy. One Star Trek author revealed that the amount is what he gets after working for decades with Simon & Schuster, and another established author at Baen Books told Fandom Pulse that’s the advance level he receives as well.

By offering an advance of such a sizable amount for an open submission like this, Ark Press is throwing its weight around as a heavy hitter in the industry right out of the gate. It will be interesting to see what they reveal at LTUE regarding the publisher’s future.

What do you think of Ark Press’s $10,000 advance offered in the contest? Leave a comment and let us know.

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