2021 expansion continues with four new summer releases in top performing series
Before The Martian by Andy Weir became a blockbuster bestseller, Podium Audio acquired the audio rights for the novel, which, at that time, was self-published by Weir on his website. Podium subsequently turned the novel into one of the best-selling audiobooks of all time. Since then, Podium has invested in hundreds of other independent authors, helping them nurture their passionate fan bases and grow their bodies of work.
Now Podium has grown into the 8th largest audiobook publisher in the U.S. (based on retail sales per Bookstat.) The only top-10 player focused primarily on independently published authors, Podium releases titles that regularly hit The New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller lists as well as the Audible Top 100 chart. In addition to their most popular professional narrators like R.C. Bray, Nick Podehl, Luke Daniels and Andrea Parsneau, Podium has also signed several celebrities to their list of narrators, including Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, Katherine McNamara, Dan Stevens, Wil Wheaton, and Lou Diamond Phillips.
Though Podium is probably still best known for its comprehensive list of dynamic science fiction and fantasy titles, the company has successfully invested in several other categories like romance, mystery, thriller, and nonfiction. CEO Scott Dickey says that 2021 is shaping up to be another record year of growth for Podium, with the company currently on track to increase revenue by 30% over 2020 and to increase its title count by 850 to more than 2500 titles.
Fueling Podium's incredible growth are lynchpin authors such as Craig Alanson. Alanson self-published his first novel in his Expeditionary Force series, Columbus Day, in January 2016. Podium bought the audio rights the following May and attached award-winning narrator R.C. Bray. Today the series has surpassed $40M in total digital retail sales with four of the audiobooks in the series landing on the New York Times bestseller list.
Among their lineup of major releases planned for this summer, Podium will publish the next installments in four of their bestselling series including a new title from Alanson:
Breakaway: Expeditionary Force (Book 12) by Craig Alanson (Podium Audio; June 1, 2021; ASIN: B08XGH8B79): The Expeditionary Forces series is an epic military science fiction space opera adventure that follows humans and their allies as they fight an alien race bent on destroying Earth. The first installment in the series, Columbus Day, was a huge hit, and a finalist for an Audie Award as Audiobook of the Year. Now Breakaway, the twelfth book in the series, follows the Merry Band of Pirates as they race around the galaxy to clean up the latest threat to Earth. Alanson is a New York Times bestselling author three times over and was the #6 bestselling author for audio in 2020 behind only J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Brandon Sanderson, Malcolm Gladwell, and Barack Obama (according to Bookstat). Narrated by the award-winning R.C. Bray, the series has topped charts, where books 8,9, and 10 ranked amongst the Top 10 Fiction audiobooks for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today, and the series has sold over 40 million dollars in digital retail sales.
The Torch that Ignites the Stars: Arcane Ascension, Book 3 by Andrew Rowe (Podium Audio; May 11, 2021; ASIN: B08HKV8LPV): Rowe is a New York Times bestselling author and two-time Stabby Award winner for Best Self-Published/Independent Novel in 2017 and 2020, and he has since skyrocketed to about 8 million in total unit and digital sales. Narrated by Nick Podehl, The Torch that Ignites the Stars is progression fantasy, where characters increase in power and skill over time, and it is the third installment in the "Arcane Ascension" series. The series is based on elements of Rowe's favorite video games, and follows Corin Cadence, the youngest son in House Cadence, as he attempts to learn magic in an effort to find his brother, Tristan, who disappeared years before completing a series of legendary magical trials. The Torch that Ignites the Stars will also be turned into a web comic this year by Tapas, who specializes in sharing bite size stories on the go."
He Who Fights with Monsters: A LitRPG Adventure, Book 2 by Shirtaloon (Podium Audio; May 18, 2021; ASIN: B08WCT9W26): Discovered on serialized web novel and fan fiction platform Royal Road, and now narrated by Heath Miller, this series tells the story of Jason Asano, who must follow his path from retail middle management to… interdimensional wizard adventurer! Shirtaloon is a prolific writer of high magic and wild adventure and his fans love it – he writes 5 new chapters every week and Podium is thrilled to be partnering with him to continue telling the stories of Jason's incredible adventures.
A Blood of Kings: The Shattered Reigns (Book 2) by Bryce O'Connor and Luke Chmilenko (Podium Audio; July 13, 2021; ASIN: B092BYVMXD): Narrated by Nick Podehl, A Blood of Kings is a fantasy that continues the story of the Declan Idrys and his beast Ryn as they journey through a war thought legend where the dead rose from their graves and beasts arrived looking for revenge. The first book in the series, A Mark of Kings, has earned #1 bestseller spots in categories including dark fantasy, dragons & myths, military fantasy, and action & adventure. The book is also a top 100 overall Kindle bestseller.
Bestselling authors like Andrew Rowe, Bryce O'Connor, Luke Chmilenko, and Craig Alanson are just a few examples of the award winning and top performing science fiction and fantasy series Podium represents. A fan of Alanson's captures this excitement in one of his posted reviews: "It's hard to know where to start when describing this instant modern classic. I cut my teeth on space operas like the works of E.E. "Doc" Smith. This is the next generation of space opera and it's fabulous."
Podium frequently showcases its ability to move quickly when series attract a large fan base. Over the course of just a few months, the publisher acquired, developed and released the popular LitRPG adventure He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon, which has traction on Royal Road, the serialized online publishing platform.
This ability to be agile in their search for top quality authors and content has enabled Podium to move into the spotlight as one of the most successful audio-first publishers in the business today. Per CEO Scott Dickey in a recent interview with Publishers Weekly, this motto sums it up perfectly: "Audio is not the caboose on the train for us. It is the locomotive."
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To inquire about interviews with Podium CEO Scott Dickey, or to interview key authors mentioned above, please contact:
Elena Stokes
Wunderkind PR
elena [at] wunderkind [dash] pr [dotcom]
About Podium Audio
Podium Audio is an audio-first media company and independent audiobook publisher that finances, develops, produces and distributes immersive audio content. It gained international notice for turning unknown author Andy Weir's e-book The Martian into the most successful audiobook in the world. Now the 8th largest audiobook publisher in the U.S., Podium is the only top-10 publisher focused solely on independently published authors. With plans for e-book expansion and foreign language distribution, the company is also focused on developing top IP for film & television in partnership with William Morris Endeavor.
Podium remains at the forefront of discovering new literary and voice talent, focused on supporting, nurturing and discovering independent authors and narrators from the U.S. and around the world. Top selling authors who have partnered with Podium for multiple long-term agreements include Craig Alanson (Expeditionary Force), Andrew Rowe (Arcane Ascension), Kel Kade (King's Dark Tidings), James Islington (The Licanius Trilogy), and game-Lit pioneers Luke Chmilenko (Ascend Online) and Shirtaloon (He Who Fights With Monsters). Voice actors in Podium's repertory include Nathan Fillion (Salvage Crew), Wil Wheaton and Katherine McNamara (Vicarious), Felicia Day (Rule of Cool), R.C. Bray (Expeditionary Force, The Martian), Luke Daniels (Ascend Online), Andrea Parsneau (The Wandering Inn) and Nick Podehl (A Pattern of Shadow and Light).