The novella has long been traditional publishing’s stepchild, often packaged into a collection of an author’s shorter works rather than released separately as an individual title. Given the expenses involved in editing, binding, marketing, and distributing print books, publishing such a short format in print has been too much of a financial risk for most publishers. That is—until the digital publishing revolution came along. .

Last summer Tor.com, which has been publishing original short fiction on its site, announced a new imprint  “dedicated to publishing the best novellas and short novels from emerging writers as well as established authors.” On February 12, it released its initial list of titles. “We’ve been working hard to find some great novellas to launch our line,” said senior editor Lee Harris,” and we’ve been delighted by the quality and breadth of the stories we received.”

Starting in September 2015 the imprint will publish three to four books a month, available in ebook, print-on-demand, and audio formats.These titles will be included in all of Tor’s e-library programs, confirmed associate publisher Irene Gallo, who heads the new novella program with publisher Fritz Foy. A select number of releases will be considered for traditional publishing each year.

The titles on Tor.com’s initial list include:

The Last Witness by K.J. Parker—“A classic Parker tale with a strong supporting cast of princes, courtiers, merchants, academics, and generally unsavory people.” Every Heart a Doorway, Every Word a Prayer by multiple Hugo winner Seanan McGuire—”What happens to the children in fantasy stories, when their tales inevitably end? Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson (DEBUT)—“Dark—but joyous—epic fantasy from an exciting new talent. Tor.com has been proud to publish Wilson’s short fiction in the past, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to bring his work to a commercial audience.” The Builders by Daniel Polansky, author of the Low Town series—“For the animals of the Captain’s company, survival has meant keeping a low profile, building a new life, and trying to forget the war they lost. But now the Captain’s whiskers are twitching at the idea of evening the score.” Of Sorrow and Such by Angela Slatter—“A tale of loyalty and betrayal, of hope and everlasting damnation from a World Fantasy Award finalist.” The Drowning Eyes by Emily Foster (DEBUT)—”The Drowning Eyes is the debut release for Emily Foster, who we discovered during our open submissions period.”

There will also be additional stories from  Paul Cornell, Mary Robinette Kowal, Alter S. Reiss. Scott Harrison, Sylvia Spruck Wrigley, David Tallerman, Guy Haley, Michael R Underwood, Matt Wallace, among others.

For sf/fantasy fans who can’t get enough of their favorite authors or for adventurous readers wanting to sample a new genre without committing to a multibook series, Tor.com’s venture promises hours of happy reading that is out of this world..