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THE SKY’S NO LIMIT FOR SCIENCE FICTION PUBLISHERBaen celebrates 20 years of excellent adventures! New York, New York—-June 2003 In the current era of publishing mega mergers and consolidation, Jim Baen, president and publisher of BAEN BOOKS celebrates his independence and twenty years of “excellent adventures.” As one of the few truly independent book publishers left in the industry, Baen is master of his niche, with over fifty million copies in print and a dozen New York Times best sellers. “Twenty years ago I opened the place, and humbly named it after myself,” says Baen. “I figured that if I got it off the ground, I had only myself to praise, and if I failed, well, I could always get the heck out of Dodge.” Baen started his career, appropriately enough, in the complaint department of Ace Books. He became editor of science fiction magazines Galaxy and If in 1974, where he published many of genre’s greats. He returned to Ace to head their science fiction line, left to go to Tor Books, where he founded the SF line, and then, in 1983, had the opportunity to start his own independent company. Tough-minded Authenticity and Top-notch Action Baen contributes much of his success to his “small shop, where people come to play.” At baen.com, the publisher’s web site, a down-to-earth atmosphere prevails. Fans, aspiring writers, and several of Baen’s “big guns” authors are all regulars at “Baen’s Bar,” one of the best science fiction and fantasy oriented chat rooms on the Internet. While Baen’s Bar creates a sense of community for the publisher, it has also served as a talent pool for Baen. New York Post columnist John Ringo (also a former member of the U.S. Army Airborne and a commentator on Fox News) added science fiction novels to his body of work after joining in the discussion with Baen and the other “Bar Flies” on-line. Ringo’s current release, Hell’s Faire is Baen’s most recent New York Times best seller. “Baen’s formula is simple, but it contains a pinch of magic that’s not so easy to duplicate,” says Corinda Carford, the head of Sales and Marketing at Baen. “The simple part is our multiple long-running series. The pinch of magic at Baen is the stable of writers.” Another “big gun” in Baen’s line-up is David Weber, the author of the hugely successful Honor Harrington series of military space opera – which currently totals nearly three and a half million books in print. Other Baen authors include Mercedes Lackey, David Drake, Elizabeth Moon, all with more than a million copies in print. “Our authors stay both prolific and fresh,” Carford continues, “but they also all share a similar tough-minded outlook, and are uncompromising when it comes to military authenticity and action.” A Summer of Massive Value Ringo’s Hell’s Faire, along with several other Baen hardcover issues, will include a free “massive value” CD-ROM, an added feature Baen has pioneered. The CD-ROM contains full, un-encrypted texts of over forty other Baen books, short stories by Baen authors, a professional-grade role- playing game, and high quality art and illustrations. "We’re not providing this material out of the goodness of our heart,” says publisher Jim Baen. “We expect readers to start in on the first-rate novels provided on the CD-ROM, but discover that they really don’t want to continue reading on a computer screen. And, since the artwork is very memorable and can be found on the cover of the accompanying novel, it is likely that readers will notice it the next time they are in a bookstore and buy the book itself. Could there be a more nefarious scheme for increasing profits?” The summer will also see paperback releases of Baen New York Times hardcover bestsellers Diplomatic Immunity, The Shiva Option, and Man-Kzin IX, the latest book in Larry Niven’s celebrated Man-Kzin Wars series. To further mark the twentieth anniversary, Baen will offer a full slate of special backlist discounts and promotions. Fall and Winter Break-outs and Bestsellers In September, Baen kicks off the fall season with the launch of BAEN MEGA BOOKS, a new imprint designed to highlight the backlist and embody Jim Baen’s “massive value” philosophy in print form. Each month BAEN will publish a colossal MEGA BOOK that contains two or more previously published titles that share a similar theme or a common universe. War of Honor, the tenth book in David Weber’s extremely popular Honor Harrington series, will come out in paperback in November. War of Honor reached the number eight on the New York Times Bestseller List in hardcover. Baen also expects a break-out this fall from stalwart David Drake. Drake’s The Far Side of the Stars, will be the latest book set in his Lt. Leary universe, inspired by the novels of Patrick O’Brien. Baen will wrap up the holidays with John Ringo’s There Will Be Dragons, the beginning of a new post-nanotech-future series by the rising Baen author. All three books will both contain the “massive value” Baen CD-ROM.A Brand Apart The Baen brand is based on a guiding philosophy that informs all the titles of the line, according to publisher Jim Baen. “Baen books are geared to problem-solvers, armchair philosophers, and readers who like to enjoy a rousing good adventure that keeps them thinking,” says Baen. “We deliver consistent quality and vision. We’re an old-fashioned publishing house with an old-fashioned mission: to entertain readers, change the world, and earn a rock solid position in the marketplace.” With a stellar line-line up for this fall, including two blockbuster releases from John Ringo and David Drake, BAEN should prove once again that when it comes to entertainment in the science fiction galaxy, BAEN RULES!
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