Amazon has launched AmazonEncore, a new programme that uses information from customer reviews on Amazon websites to identify exceptional, overlooked books and authors that show potential for greater sales. Amazon then partners with the authors to re-introduce their books to readers through marketing support and distribution into multiple channels and formats, such as the Amazon Books Store, Amazon Kindle Store, Audible.com and national and independent bookstores.

“Sometimes exceptional books and new authors don’t get the attention they deserve,” says Jeff Belle, vice president of books for Amazon. “We’re fortunate at Amazon to have customers who know great books and aren’t shy about telling us when they find one. We developed AmazonEncore to connect readers with great books that were overlooked the first time they were released.”

The first book to be re-published under the AmazonEncore programme is Legacy by teenage author Cayla Kluver. “Amazon customers raved over ‘Legacy,’ a self-published novel by 16-year-old Cayla Kluver, with customer review titles such as ‘loved it, loved it,’ ‘rich lyrical tapestry and story’ and ‘breathtaking in scope and execution!’,” Amazon explains. But, “despite winning several prizes from literary groups and accolades like this from readers, Kluver’s debut novel achieved only modest sales.”

‘Legacy’ will now be revised by the author this summer and reissued as an AmazonEncore edition in print on Amazon websites around the world, in physical bookstores, as a digital download from the Kindle Store and via spoken-word audio download on Audible.com.

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