Kindle Worlds Nabs "Official Fan Fiction" Rights to Veronica Mars, G.I. Joe and More Valiant Comics

Amazon's Kindle Worlds program, which allows fans to write "officially licensed" fan fiction stories and share the revenue between the author, the publisher and Amazon when it's sold on the retailer's popular Kindle eReader devices, has expanded its offerings to include a number of new properties today, including Quantum & Woody and The Eternal Warrior from Valiant Entertainment. Warner Bros. has also handed off the rights to Veronica Mars and Ravenswood, a particularly interesting choice for Veronica Mars because series creator Rob Thomas is starting a series of new novels based on the character in March. "Our Kindle Worlds collaboration with Amazon Publishing has been tremendously successful since its introduction last year," said Leslie Morgenstein, President of Alloy Entertainment. "Adding Ravenswood and Veronica Mars to the platform is a great way for us to gain deeper engagement with fans as they explore their own creative story adaptations."

Hasbro, meanwhile, are floating a test balloon. They haven't let OK'ed properties like My Little Pony or Transformers for use, but today sees the announcement that fans will now be able to legally profit from their G.I. Joe fan fiction. "Since 1964, G.I. Joe has inspired the imagination of multiple generations by providing a backdrop of excitement and adventure. Whether exploring the secrets of the mummy's tomb, or defending freedom from the evil plots of COBRA, G.I. Joe has been there," said Michael Kelly, Hasbro's Director of Global Publishing. "It is with equal excitement that Hasbro now enters a new segment of the business by embracing the concept of open-source storytelling, and officially unlocking the world of G.I. Joe to our fans through Amazon's Kindle Worlds." Quantum & Woody and The Eternal Warrior are no big surprise; Valiant was one of the first to jump on the Kindle Worlds bandwagon, and their line of available licenses has made up a decent chunk of the entire Kindle Worlds line since the start of the program. Neither of those titles existed yet in their current, relaunched form at the time of the original deal. Also optioned, though less familiar to our readers, are The Abnorm Chronicles, set in the World of Marcus Sakey's best-selling, Edgar Award-nominated novel Brilliance, the first in a forthcoming trilogy, recently optioned by Legendary Pictures for a major motion picture; and The Lizzy Gardner Files, set in the universe of Theresa Ragan's best-selling romantic suspense series starring private investigator Lizzy Gardner.