Tor Launches Online Bookstore

The science fiction/fantasy house is inviting all publishers to participate

By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 6/17/2009 2:50:00 PM

Science fiction/fantasy publisher Tor, a division of Macmillan, has launched an online bookstore, selling Tor books as well as books published by other houses. In keeping with the "publisher-agnostic" attitude of Tor.com, which was created last July, the Tor.com Store offers science fiction and fantasy media from most major publishers, the only requirement being that books relate to the genre.

Producer Pablo Defendini, who is running the store, said that since Tor.com launched, visitors have been asking for an online store. “We didn’t want to do another direct to consumer retail outlet from a publisher,” he said. “We wanted to do it in Tor.com’s publisher-agnostic attitude.” For now, the store—officially an initiative from the Macmillan digital marketing department—carries about 45,000 titles, in hardcover and paperback. It will begin selling e-books from all science fiction/fantasy publishers in three to four months, Defendini said. The store sells books published by “pretty much all of the major publishing houses and a lot of small presses as well,” in addition to some DVDs and paperback comics.

Other publishers can plug their books on the site; Defendini asked editors at a range of houses to set up their own “special picks” list where they can showcase their own titles. He said those lists will form the store's heart. “There’s definitely a lot of interest,” he said. “We’re trying to make Tor.com a one-stop shop for the science fiction and fantasy reader crowd, and publishers are responding to that. For the most part they’re very eager to participate and be involved.”

Ingram is handling checkout and fulfillment.