Harlequin makes 15,000 titles available on Scribd

Harlequin has signed a deal with US e-book subscription service Scribd to make more than 15,000 titles available on the programme.

The one-year agreement will see the backlist titles, from a variety of imprints, made available for rental. Scribd has also made the full Harlequin catalogue available for individual purchase in its store.

Craig Swinwood, publisher and c.e.o. of Harlequin, said: "Harlequin prides itself on being an innovator in the digital space, so I am thrilled that this partnership with Scribd will help us to meet our readers where they are—whether on a mobile device, desktop computer or tablet.

"With 80m active users, the Scribd platform reaches a vast global readership that can now access some of the best in women's fiction. And this innovative model, which combines traditional retail with a subscription offer to backlist titles, will benefit Harlequin authors through extended reach, increased discovery and improved royalty streams."

Earlier this year Harlequin was bought by HarperCollins. In the UK HarperCollins agreed a deal with Scribd, making 3,500 backlist titles available on the rental service this year.

Scribd’s model involves paying a publisher a fee each time a user reads beyond a certain point in a title – believed to be around 10%. The subscription service costs $8.99 a month.