New ePub Program for Penguin

Readers already owning the hardcover edition of Alan Greenspan's The Age of Turbulence and wanting to read the epilog written exclusively for the paperback edition can purchase it as a standalone as part of Penguin's “eSpecials” program. Penguin eSpecials will have their own logo and, like all other Penguin ebooks, be available in formats including Sony Reader, Amazon Kindle, and Adobe Acrobat.

At $5, the digital epilog costs nearly a third as much as the paperback and ebook ($17 each) and measures about one-fifth of its 544-page length. Still, Penguin VP/publicity director Maureen Donnelly told LJ she expects much interest (preorder figures were unavailable at press time) owing to what she called the “instant gratification” nature of the offering.

Penguin's next eSpecials (date not set) will be epilog exclusives from Jan Caron, Patricia Briggs, and Christine Feehan. They are reminiscent of HarperCollins's release in 2006 of Julia Quinn's It's in His Kiss: The Epilogue II and The Viscount Who Loved Me: The Epilogue II, both originally priced at $1.99. None of the Penguin titles, said Donnelly, will exceed the $5 mark.