Amazon breaks into the Singles market

Amazon is to launch Kindle Singles, a selection of shorter titles available for "much less" than typical books.

The new titles will be between the length of a long article and a few chapters of a book, however the launch date is yet to be announced. The retailer said: "In many cases, 10,000 to 30,000 words (roughly 30 to 90 pages) might be the perfect, natural length to lay out a single killer idea, well researched, well argued and well illustrated--whether it's a business lesson, a political point of view, a scientific argument, or a beautifully crafted essay on a current event."

Kindle Singles will have a new section in the Kindle store and the retailer has said the titles will be priced "much less than a typical book". Exact prices were not yet available.

Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle Content, said: "Ideas and the words to deliver them should be crafted to their natural length, not to an artificial marketing length that justifies a particular price or a certain format." He added: "With Kindle Singles, we're reaching out to publishers and accomplished writers and we're excited to see what they create."