Open Road Integrated Media or ORIM (stylized as OR/M and also called Open Road
[) is a digital media company in New York City that was created by ]Jane Friedman
Jane Friedman is the Co-Founder of Open Road Integrated Media, which sells and markets ebooks. She was the President and Chief Executive Officer of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide, one of the world's leading English-language publishers, from 19 ...
and Jeffrey Sharp
Jeffrey Sharp is an American feature film and TV producer and Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute (formerly Independent Filmmaker Project).
Sharp has produced a series of Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning and nominated ...
in 2009 with a focus on publishing ebook editions of older works of literature and nonfiction. In addition to its ebook publishing business, Open Road Integrated Media is the parent company of book publisher Open Road Media and content brands Early Bird Books, The Lineup, The Archive, Murder & Mayhem, A Love So True, and The Portalist.
Media veteran Paul Slavin joined the company as president in 2015 and was named CEO in 2016.
History
Former HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman
Jane Friedman is the Co-Founder of Open Road Integrated Media, which sells and markets ebooks. She was the President and Chief Executive Officer of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide, one of the world's leading English-language publishers, from 19 ...
and film producer Jeffrey Sharp
Jeffrey Sharp is an American feature film and TV producer and Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute (formerly Independent Filmmaker Project).
Sharp has produced a series of Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning and nominated ...
launched Open Road Integrated Media with the goal of bringing backlist
A backlist is a list of older books available from a publisher. This is opposed to newly-published titles, which is sometimes known as the frontlist.
Business
Building a strong backlist has traditionally been considered the best method to produ ...
books back to life in digital formats and partnering with writers of contemporary and classic works. The Open Road Media catalog includes authors such as William Styron
William Clark Styron Jr. (June 11, 1925 – November 1, 2006) was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work.
Styron was best known for his novels, including:
* '' Lie Down in Darkness'' (1951), his acclaimed fi ...
, Pat Conroy
Donald Patrick Conroy (October 26, 1945 – March 4, 2016) was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books '' The Water is Wide'', ''The Lords of Discipline'', ''The Prince of Tides'' and ''The Great Santini'' we ...
, Samuel R. Delany
Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ) (born April 1, 1942), is an American author and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays (on science fiction, literature, sexuality, and society). His ...
, Alice Walker
Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was aw ...
, John Ashbery
John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic.
Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...
, Octavia Butler
Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. ...
, Robin McKinley
Robin McKinley (born November 16, 1952) is an American author best known for her fantasy novels and fairy tale retellings. Her 1984 novel ''The Hero and the Crown'' won the Newbery Medal as the year's best new American children's book. In 2022 ...
, Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon ( ;
born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...
, Sherman Alexie
Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is a Spokane- Coeur d'Alene-Native American novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker. His writings draw on his experiences as an Indigenous American with ancestry from se ...
, Pearl S. Buck
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, Buck ...
, Elizabeth Lynn
Elizabeth A. Lynn (born 1946) is a US writer most known for fantasy and to a lesser extent science fiction. She is particularly known for being one of the first writers in science fiction or fantasy to introduce gay and lesbian characters; in hon ...
and Dee Brown.
After acquiring the content of independent publishers E-Reads and Premier Digital in 2014, and signing deals with other publishers and authors, the Open Road Media catalog expanded to 10,000 titles by 2015.
In 2016 it partnered with OverDrive, Inc.
OverDrive, Inc. is a digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, online magazines and streaming video titles. The company provides digital rights management and download fulfillment services for publishers, libraries, schools, corporations and b ...
The independent Cambridge,UK ebook publisher Bloodhound Books was acquired in July 2021.
Imprints
* Open Road Media
* Open Road Media Young Readers
* Bloodhound Books
References
External links
* Corporate website
Open Road Media ebook publishing
Bloodhound Books - UK ebook publisher division
Publishing companies established in 2009
Publishing companies based in New York City
American companies established in 2009
2009 establishments in New York City
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