WordFire Press

What WordFire Press does

WordFire Press is a privately held independent book publisher founded in 1999 and headquartered in Monument, Colorado. The company publishes a catalogue of 403 products across science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, thriller, young adult, classic literature, and anthologies, with notable depth in Science Fiction (143 titles), Classics (93), Fantasy (75), Horror (61), Thrillers (40), Mysteries (26), and Young Adult (22). Its 90+-author roster combines bestselling contemporary names — primarily Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, who serve as Co-Publishers — with classic literature reissues of public-domain works by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and G.K. Chesterton. The company also runs a distinctive publishing partnership with Western Colorado University's Publishing MA program, in which graduate students produce annual anthologies and classic reissues as thesis projects, with royalties funding Publishing MA scholarships.

The company operates a direct-to-consumer business model via a Shopify e-commerce storefront (wordfirepress.com), with digital product delivery through Bookfunnel and physical fulfillment via USPS, UPS, and FedEx. Standard list pricing is consistent across the catalogue: $4.99 for ebooks, $15.99 for trade paperbacks, and $29.99 for hardcovers, supplemented by weekly "WordFire Wednesday" promotional deals at $0.99 per ebook and curated boxed sets priced from $7.99 to $79.99. Distribution extends through the Curios direct-to-fan marketplace (joined May 2026) and Audible for audiobooks (56 titles), with international shipping to 25+ countries.

WordFire Press is founder-owned and operated by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, supported by an Associate Publisher/Project Manager, Lead Editor, Distribution Manager, Production and Layout Artist, Administrative and Publishing Assistants, and a ~20-member proofing team. Revenue is generated almost entirely through one-time unit sales across formats, with ancillary revenue from anthology publishing and the WCU student publishing program. The company has no external institutional investors, no disclosed funding rounds, and no parent company, and reports no API, mobile app, or proprietary technology stack beyond standard e-commerce and digital delivery tooling.

Name

WordFire Press

Legal name

WordFire Press

Website

https://wordfirepress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WordFire Press is an independent publisher of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, thriller, and classic literature, operating a Shopify direct-to-consumer storefront with 400+ titles across ebook, print, audiobook, and boxed set formats. The company serves general consumer readers across 25+ countries through its own storefront, the Curios marketplace, and Audible.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mass Market & Paperback Publishing (MPAJAAAD)

Keywords

• Independent book publishing
• Science fiction fantasy
• Genre fiction publisher
• Classic literature reprints
• Ebook audiobook retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Monument

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Book Sales (eBooks, Trade Paperbacks, Hardcovers): WordFire Press generates revenue primarily through direct sales of ebooks, trade paperbacks, and hardcover editions of fiction titles across multiple genres. Products are sold via the company's own Shopify storefront, through the Curios marketplace, and via Bookfunnel for digital delivery. The company offers consistent standard pricing across most titles.
2. Audiobook Sales: WordFire Press sells audiobook titles through its catalogue, with at least 56 audiobook products available. Audiobooks are listed alongside ebooks and print editions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WordFire Press is an independent publisher that produces and sells fiction titles in ebook, trade paperback, hardcover, and audiobook formats across science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, thriller, young adult, humorous, and classic literature genres. The company sells directly to consumers through its Shopify storefront and the Curios marketplace, and also publishes anthology collections and student-produced works in partnership with Western Colorado University.

Product overview

WordFire Press is an independent book publisher operating primarily as a Shopify-based e-commerce platform. The core product offering consists of eBooks (priced at $4.99 standard), Trade Paperbacks ($15.99), and Hardcover/Jacketed Hardcover editions ($29.99), along with Audiobooks. The company also publishes exclusive boxed sets and curated collections including Superstars Writing Anthologies edited by Lisa Mangum, and partners with Western Colorado University to publish WCU Anthologies and WCU Student Books as thesis projects. The catalogue spans multiple genres including Fantasy (with subcategories Dark Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy), Science Fiction (with Military SF, Post-apocalyptic, Space Opera), Horror, Mystery, Thrillers (Political, Supernatural, Technothrillers), Young Adult, Humorous/Satire, and Classics. Notable author partnerships include Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Jonathan Maberry. The company runs promotional offerings including WordFire Wednesday Weekly Deals with discounted eBooks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Audiobooks Audiobook versions of select titles, with 56 audiobook products available through the company's storefront and distributed via Audible.
• Exclusive Boxed Sets
• Superstars Writing Anthologies
• WCU Student Books (Classic Literature Reissues)
• WCU Anthologies
• Genre Fiction Catalog (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult)

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CurioscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 May 2026Curios, a direct-to-fan marketplace platform, welcomed bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson and WordFire Press to their platform. The full WordFire Press catalogue is now available for sale through Curios, which supports ebooks, audiobooks, streaming audio, and video content. This partnership gives readers access to WordFire Press titles via the Curios marketplace and mobile app, representing a catalogue expansion for Curios and a new distribution channel for the independent publisher.
• Western Colorado University Publishing MA ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWordFire Press partners with Western Colorado University's Publishing MA program in Creative Writing, producing student thesis projects as published books. Each cohort creates an anthology of the best short stories collected each year, published by WordFire Press. All royalties fund future Publishing MA projects and scholarships. The program is made possible with support from Draft2Digital and Western Colorado University.
• Draft2DigitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDraft2Digital is listed as a supporter of the Western Colorado University Publishing MA program whose student books are published by WordFire Press. The partnership contributes to funding future years' Publishing MA projects and Publishing scholarships.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• DAW Books: Long-running science fiction and fantasy imprint (now an Astra Publishing brand) with deep backlist across the same genre categories WordFire Press serves. Operates at larger scale but in directly overlapping categories.
• Saga Press: Simon & Schuster's science fiction and fantasy imprint publishing in the same core genres as WordFire Press, including YA fantasy and adult SF/F. Larger scale and broader marketing reach.
• Orbit Books: Hachette's science fiction and fantasy imprint publishing across the same genre categories as WordFire Press. Significantly larger in scale and author advances but a direct competitor for readers in the space.
• Tor Books: Major sci-fi/fantasy imprint of Macmillan, the dominant publisher in WordFire Press's core genre space. Overlaps heavily on catalogue categories but operates at much larger scale and with deeper marketing budgets.

Direct peers

• Angry Robot Books: Independent genre fiction publisher focused on science fiction, fantasy, and horror titles. Similar indie positioning, catalogue size, and direct e-commerce distribution model to WordFire Press.
• Baen Books: Independent science fiction and fantasy publisher with a similar focus on genre fiction, direct-to-consumer sales, and an author-driven catalogue. Comparable in scale and niche specialization to WordFire Press.
• Night Shade Books: Independent publisher of science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a curated author catalogue. Direct comparable in indie positioning, genre specialization, and direct-to-reader e-commerce model.
• Subterranean Press: Small press specializing in limited-edition hardcover sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Comparable as a niche, author-driven genre publisher with a curated catalogue and premium collectible offerings.
• Tachyon Publications: Independent publisher focused on science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction by notable authors. Comparable indie scale, genre focus, and curated author roster to WordFire Press.

Regional players

• Gollancz: Long-running UK science fiction and fantasy imprint (Hachette UK) with a comparable genre catalogue. Operates primarily in the UK market but overlaps in classic reissues and anthology formats similar to WordFire Press's offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wordfirepress
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZP_usCVujKysOo9xUzh_qw
• Facebookfacebook.com/WordfireIncWordfirePress
• Instagraminstagram.com/wordfirepress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WordFire Press