Thank you to Publishers Weekly for announcing the news!
Following the announcement in May that Aethon Books has acquired a majority interest in Vault Comics, leaders of Aethon and Vault are preparing an ambitious program to bring more bestselling digital titles to print.
The new plan builds on an agreement the companies reached last August in which Vault began publishing a selection of Aethon’s popular LitRPG (literary role-playing game) webcomics in print as illustrated light novel adaptations. The initiative augments that plan by adding print editions from independent authors who have not been previously published in digital format with either company.
The new Aethon & Vault imprint also deepens the companies’ strategy to bring science fiction and fantasy novels, light novels, comics, and graphic novels to readers worldwide in digital and print formats. “We want to build something that can handle all formats,” Aethon cofounder Rhett Bruno said. Damian Wassel, CEO of Vault, added that the project partly stems from a shared frustration by Vault and Aethon of seeing only major companies get the opportunity to publish print editions of titles that had only been released in digital formats.
In the seven years since Aethon was founded, it has published more than 1,500 titles in digital formats, with more than 20 million copies sold; has become one of the top 10 largest publishers on Audible, with more than 5 million units sold, as well as one of the top KDP publishers; and has published numerous titles that have reached number #1 on Amazon and Audible charts, according to Bruno. But Bruno said that even though Aethon has sold millions of copies, the publisher is generally overlooked by the wider industry.
While Aethon may not be a household name to Manhattan publishers, it has developed a loyal author base, and Wassel said he is counting on that loyalty and Bruno’s experience in signing and working with authors to build a large print market. Both Wassel and Bruno pointed to the huge digital sales the authors scheduled to be released in print through 2026 have achieved as evidence of the opportunity.
“If we do our jobs right, we should have some New York Times bestsellers,” he said. But the real goal, Wassel said, “is to build a beachhead around titles that have sweeping fandoms that are deeply loyal and read across authors.” Observing that “everyone who reads LitRPG has more than one favorite author,” Wassel wants to “build a catalog we can cross pollinate with titles that will appeal to readers.”
In addition to LitRPG, other categories that the A&V imprint will publish in include progression fantasy, military sci-fi, paranormal romance, and fantasy. The vast majority of its print books will be part of a multivolume series.
To reach its digital audience, Aethon has used in-house digital newsletters and digital ads among other marketing tools. “We spend a lot on ads,” Bruno said, who explained—in what is becoming something of a novel idea at some companies—that publishers have a duty to try to sell an author’s book.
Steve Beaulieu, another Aethon cofounder, said that campaigns to promote its print titles, which will largely be graphic novels, will focus on individual authors with the goal of driving customers to physical or online stores. Beaulieu observed that Aethon’s readers are rabid fans who will buy anything associated with their authors, including print editions.
All three men acknowledged that they can’t use the same marketing approaches for print as they do for digital, but Wassel said the amount of promotion Aethon has developed for its digital titles has created tremendous title awareness that should translate to print, especially given plans to include the news that certain digital titles are now available in print.
That approach will be augmented by the experience Vault has had in developing bestsellers in the comic book direct market and at book retailers. “We will be doing very much the same play book, only with the greater resources Aethon brings to the table,” Wassel said.
Vault’s titles are distributed by Simon & Schuster, which will now take on the A&V imprint. “The Simon & Schuster sales team is excited about the venture between Vault and Aethon,” said Kim Gray, VP of distribution client sales at S&S. “Bringing these bestselling authors into print for the first time is right on trend for Vault. We expect these titles to appeal to independent booksellers, trade accounts and specialty stores where fans will be able to find their favorites on shelves for the first time.”
The list will launch this fall with four titles, which are all the first books in multi-volume series. Academy of Outcasts by Larry Correia and Ironbound by Andrew Givler are works by indie authors who have never been published by Aethon while two others, Against All Odds by Jeffrey Haskell and Contact Front by Rick Partlow, have been previously published by Aethon in e-book or audio formats. The lists going forward will feature that type of mix of indie authors new to A&V with writers previously released by Aethon. Wassel hopes to release between 30 and 35 print books in 2026.
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