Barnes & Noble to Distribute Smashwords Titles

Online publishing platform Smashwords has signed a distribution deal with Barnes & Noble. The e-book publisher announced last Friday that titles from its new “Premium Catalog” would be made available through the Barnes & Noble eBookstore as well as through digital retailer Fictionwise, which was acquired by the bookseller in March.

“Until today, it was difficult if not impossible for independent authors and publishers to gain such mainstream digital distribution,” wrote Smashwords founder Mark Coker in an e-mail. “Now, virtually any author, anywhere in the world, can receive broad distribution for their e-book.” Coker said he expects Smashwords titles to begin appearing for sale in the Barnes & Noble network within the next thirty days.

Launched in the summer of 2008, Smashwords allows authors to set their own prices and pays them up to 85 percent of net proceeds. The site is home to about twenty-six hundred titles representing work from more than twelve hundred authors and small publishers.