Jann Robbins, the widow of commercial novelist Harold Robbins, who died in 1997 after writing more than 20 bestsellers, is re-releasing 12 of Robbins's novels through self-publishing company AuthorHouse. Robbins said she chose AuthorHouse because it gave her the opportunity to make the books available over a wide range of digital platforms. AuthorHouse will also re-release the books in paperback and hardcover formats.
Jann, who has worked as an ad executive and as a book editor (she was Harold's executive assistant for 10 years prior to their marriage), continued to edit Harold's unfinished manuscripts and develop his ideas into new novels after he died. She told PW, “I've been watching the market for the last three years, and hasn't publishing changed in those years. I just saw that the big five [houses]--or however many there are--are great, but they don't give the support that I think is needed, especially for a classic book to come out and be rediscovered.”
AuthorHouse unveiled the first three Robbins titles, Where Love Has Gone; The Lonely Lady; and Goodbye, Janette, at ALA in Washington, DC, last week. It will release nine more titles in the coming months. Release dates for the print and e-versions of the books will be announced later this month, and AuthorHouse is taking pre-orders now. The e-books will be sold on AuthorHouse's site, on Harold's Web site, and on Amazon, BN.com and elsewhere. Print books will be sold in brick and mortar stores.
Author Solutions president and CEO Kevin Weiss said, “Harold Robbins is an American icon, selling more than 750 million books, in 32 languages, to readers worldwide. We are pleased to bring his writing into the new digital age.”
