Larry Correia has made waves this year, breaking from Baen Books for his next releases with Ark Press and Aethon Books, diversifying away from a company that seems to be in trouble, and now he’s revealed he’s going to Kickstarter for his new book as well as revealing the name and cover.
While Larry Correia may have been one of the last traditional publishing authors in speculative fiction to make money, he’s now embraced the future of indie publishing in many ways. He’s moved his next releases to two different upstart presses who are making waves in modern fiction, and is now announcing he’s going to be Kickstarting his new book, as so many others have been doing to great success in recent years.
This comes soon after he announced he wouldn’t be working on new Monster Hunter International material anytime soon, the series that has kept both him and Baen Books afloat over the last several years. With Ark Press having poached several editors and Baen Books’ top talent in Larry Correia, it’s created a number of industry rumblings about the future of the company.
Now, Correia has fueled the flame, showing that independent releases and crowdfunding are the future of publishing, adopting the model that many have succeeded in.
He posted to X:
Today I can announce the name of the new series I'm doing for Ark Press. American Paladin.
This is my take on that whole lone vigilante genre, only it's also a contemporary fantasy with monsters and supernatural elements. It is set in the western US and the main story takes place in 2022.
What can I tell you about it so far? Well, imagine a country boy ends up as a Missing 411 case, survives, and decides to wage a one man war against the forces of extradimensional evil, except until he can find them again he might as well take out his anger on regular human bad guys who'd normally get away with. And when the monsters do show up again, we get to play cowboys vs. Aztecs.
That series name works on multiple levels. I can't wait for you guys to read this one.
Ark is doing something unique for the launch. There will be regular online and bookstore distribution when it comes out, but they are also doing a Kickstarter in September that's going to have a bunch of special stuff on it, including a graphic novel set in the same universe, written by me, and drawn by Alex Wisner (it looks incredible). There's a link below where you can sign up for Ark's mailing list to stay informed.
While Kickstarting books is pretty regular these days and it’s not exactly unique, especially since Brandon Sanderson blew the doors off of mainstream publishing by doing it himself during the pandemic for one of the most successful Kickstarters in history, it is a marked departure for Correia, who had maintained a stalwart traditional publishing strategy through Baen Books up until this year.
What do you think of Larry Correia announcing his new book will be Kickstarted through Ark Press? Leave a comment and let us know.
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Good for him! About time, too. I told him he should do it 10 years ago.
Sounds great, looking forward to see this. Good concept based on MHI and vigilante books.