Valiant Entertainment Among New Kindle Worlds “Official Fan Fiction” Licenses

As a company whose properties spent years in court, determining just who owned the rights, Valiant Entertainment has to know that there’s a ton of fan fiction out there dedicated to characters like X-O Manowar, Archer and Armstrong and other properties owned by the publisher now that the trials have all been resolved.Perhaps that’s why they’ve become the first comics publisher to team with Amazon’s Kindle Worlds program the “official fan fiction” publishing platform that allows fans to select from certain characters and worlds and to write fan fiction within them and publish the works for a profit.Through these licenses, any writer will be able to create and sell fan fiction inspired by the popular Worlds of Valiant superhero comic book series Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong, Harbinger, and Shadowman, with more to be added at a later date, according to Businesswire.”Since announcing Kindle Worlds just weeks ago, we’ve been energized by the interest and enthusiasm for this new program—from writers and readers alike,” said Philip Patrick, Director, Business Development and Publisher of Kindle Worlds. “With content from 2012’s Diamond Gem award-winning Comic Book Publisher of the Year and the work of several best-selling authors, we’re excited to expand Kindle Worlds and give writers even more options to be creative and earn royalties.””Kindle Worlds presents an amazing opportunity to bring Valiant’s wide-ranging universe of characters to a new medium, and empower fans and aspiring creators,” said Gavin Cuneo, Valiant’s CFO and Head of Strategic Development. “Comics are well known for their passionate and interactive fan communities, and, through the Kindle Worlds platform, we’re excited to give aspiring authors and fans the opportunity to work within the Valiant Universe, make their stories accessible to a large audience, and earn revenue for their work.”It’s not yet clear whether Kindle Worlds will support comics and graphic novels, although Amazon’s self-publishing tools do. ComicBook.com has reached out to a Kindle Worlds representative to clarify. Later this month, the Kindle Worlds Store is expected to launch with over 50 commissioned works, including Valiant-branded short fiction from authors Jason Starr, Robert Rodi, Stuart Moore and others. At that time, the Kindle Worlds self-service submission platform, where any writer can submit completed work, will also open.Besides Valiant, Amazon announced today that they had acquired licenses to distribute fan fiction based on the works of best-selling authors Hugh Howey, Barry Eisler, Blake Crouch and Neal Stephenson.