Fictionwise Launches Isaac Asimov Ebooks

Posted on June 15, 2001

Fictionwise.com, an independent ebook publisher, announced that it has secured rights to several of Isaac Asimov's short fiction works, including two Foundation stories and a Robot story. This marks the first time any of Asimov's fiction works have been available in ebook format. Isaac Asimov, who died in 1992, was awarded the Grand Master of Science Fiction award in 1987. Other Fictionwise authors include Larry Niven, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Nancy Kress and Mike Resnick.

``We believe the availability of Isaac Asimov's stories as ebooks will have a dramatic impact on the epublishing industry,'' said Scott Pendergrast, co-publisher at Fictionwise.com. ``It will significantly increase the number of people who read ebooks. Isaac Asimov's millions of fans have been waiting for this.''

The first two Asimov stories now available as eBooks are ``Robot Dreams'' and ``Cleon the Emperor.'' ``Robot Dreams'' was nominated for the Best Short Story for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. It won the 1987 Locus Poll Award for Best Short Story as well as the 1987 Asimov's Reader Poll for Best Short Story. ``Cleon the Emperor'' is a Foundation story that appeared in the April 1992 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. In the story, a fifty-year-old Hari Seldon is first minister for Emperor Cleon I. Hari Seldon's work in ``psychohistory'' is a key element in all Foundation stories. The other Asimov works that will become available at Fictionwise will be announced over the next several weeks.

``Many of Asimov's short works have been nominated or won major awards,'' said Stephen Pendergrast, co-publisher. ``But to read them, you would need to buy various anthologies or back-issues of magazines, some of which are hard to find. These ebooks give Asimov's fans a quick and easy way to directly purchase some of his greatest short fiction.''