Novelist and digital publishing evangelist JA Konrath will take a break from blogging about what he calls the publishing “indiestry.” At the same time, he has put out an open call for guest bloggers.

Here are more details on how to submit: “If you’d like to write a guest blog, email me your piece. It has to be about sharing what you’ve learned about publishing. Blatant self-promotion won’t win you a spot. Neither will praising me, shameless sycophantic behavior, or posts focusing on you and your books. Describing your writing journey, whether you’re experiencing success or failure, is what will be helpful to readers of this blog. That’s what I’m looking for. Sure, you can slip in some links to your book. But I want you to show what you’re doing, and explain if it is working. Shoot for under 1200 words … I’ll read everything emailed to me, but I’ll only respond if I’m interested in running your piece.”

In February, Amazon’s new Thomas & Mercer imprint will released Stirred, a book co-written by Konrath and Blake Crouch. (Via Publishers Lunch)

Amazon opened its fifth publishing imprint today, mystery and thriller publisher Thomas & Mercer. The imprint was named after “streets that flank the Amazon headquarters in Seattle.”

The imprint will launch this fall with four titles, including a book co-written by self-publishing champion J.A. Konrath. Resuscitation by D.M. Annechino, Stirred by Konrath and Blake Crouch, The Immortalists by Kyle Mills and Already Gone by John Rector. The titles will be published as print, Kindle eBooks, and audiobooks.

Below, we’ve linked to Amazon’s other four publishing imprints. Amazon Publishing publisher Victoria Griffith had this statement: “Our customers enjoy reading mysteries and thrillers, and we’re excited to launch this imprint devoted to that genre … We think our five launch authors are great representatives for the genre and we’re looking forward to growing our list with both new and established writers.”

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