storm publishing
Storm Publishing is a UK-based, digital-first independent publisher of adult commercial fiction, founded in 2022 by former Bookouture CEO Oliver Rhodes, offering ebook, audiobook and print-on-demand services to global authors on a 50% royalty model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- Headquarters—
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What storm publishing does
Storm Publishing Ltd. is a UK-based, digital-first independent trade publisher of adult commercial fiction, founded in October 2022 by Oliver Rhodes — the former CEO of Bookouture, which was acquired by Hachette in 2017 after selling more than 60 million copies. The company publishes across ebook, audiobook and print-on-demand formats in genres including crime/thriller, women's fiction, psychological thriller, historical, cosy crime, romance, science fiction, fantasy and reading-group novels. By its three-year anniversary in May 2026 Storm had signed over 100 authors and sold more than 4 million copies, with close to half a billion pages read in Kindle Unlimited. The company is headquartered in the United Kingdom and operates globally, with sub-brand Notorious Press launched in March 2026 in true crime.
The company's product surface is a publishing services bundle rather than a consumer software product: editorial guidance, cover design, marketing, publicity, price analysis and global distribution, delivered to authors through a digital-first workflow with POD for print. The team's stated technology orientation is data-driven marketing to connect titles with readers and the adoption of publishing technology to improve author experience. Storm publishes a formal AI Statement that excludes AI-generated content from its catalog and limits AI use to research, editing and structural planning assistance, and explicitly states it does not use author books to train AI. Distribution is multi-channel: Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo for ebook; Audible and Audiobooks.com via a partnership with Dreamscape Select for audio; Two Rivers Distribution (Ingram Publisher Services) for US print wholesale; and Giunti Editore for the Italian market and translation rights, supplemented by Greyhound Literary and Rich Lit Rights for global translation rights and SoloSon Media for film/TV rights.
Storm's revenue model is royalty-based: authors receive 50% of net receipts on ebook and audiobook sales, which the company positions as double the industry standard, with monthly royalty payments. Storm monetizes the residual 50% of net receipts across formats, and adds revenue from translation rights sales, audio rights and film/TV options. Its go-to-market is direct-to-author via open manuscript submissions from both agented and unagented writers, with a stated two-week response commitment. In October 2025, Italian publisher Giunti Editore acquired a 20% equity stake as both investor and strategic partner; Storm remains privately held and founder-controlled with no other disclosed institutional shareholders.
storm publishing firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- storm publishing
- Legal name
- Storm Publishing Ltd.
- Website
- https://stormpublishing.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Storm Publishing is a UK-based, digital-first independent publisher of adult commercial fiction, founded in 2022 by former Bookouture CEO Oliver Rhodes, offering ebook, audiobook and print-on-demand services to global authors on a 50% royalty model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
storm publishing industry classification
Industry- 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 industries
- General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA), E-book Subscription & Bundling Services (MPAJAMAB)
Keywords
storm publishing business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Book royalties: Storm Publishing generates revenue through royalties on ebook, audiobook, and print-on-demand sales. They offer authors an industry-leading 50% royalty on net receipts for ebooks and audiobooks, double the industry standard.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | 50% royalty on ebook and audiobook sales |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels8 records
Marketing channels4 records
storm publishing product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Storm Publishing acquires and publishes adult commercial fiction across ebook, audiobook, and print-on-demand formats worldwide. Authors receive an end-to-end publishing services bundle — editorial guidance, cover design, marketing, publicity, price analysis, and global distribution — in exchange for a 50% royalty on net receipts for ebooks and audiobooks. The company also operates Notorious Press, a true crime imprint launched in March 2026.
Product overview
Storm Publishing is a premium, digital-first independent publisher specializing in adult commercial fiction. The core offering encompasses ebook, audiobook, and print-on-demand publishing services bundled with world-class editorial guidance, beautiful packaging, and smart data-driven marketing. The company operates two distinct offerings: its main adult fiction publishing service providing authors 50% royalties on net receipts, and Notorious Press, a true crime imprint launched in March 2026. The company maintains global distribution partnerships including Two Rivers Distribution for US print and Giunti Editore for Italian market expansion.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Notorious Press: A true crime imprint launched by Storm Publishing in 2026, focused on uncovering stories no one else has told.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 4 million copies sold within three years of launch
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use storm publishing
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
storm publishing technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature3 records
storm publishing partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Giunti EditorecoreItalian publishing powerhouse Giunti Editore acquired a 20% stake in Storm Publishing, becoming both investor and strategic partner. This joint venture marks Storm's international expansion into the Italian market, with Giunti acquiring translation rights and supporting Storm's growth in the region.
- Two Rivers Distribution (Ingram Publisher Services)coreStorm Publishing partnered with Two Rivers Distribution, part of Ingram Publisher Services (IPS), for US sales and distribution of its print titles. Storm's first books with broad distribution in the US were published in Q1 2026.
- Rich Lit RightsmajorRich Lit Rights represents translation rights for Storm Publishing's adult fiction titles, enhancing Storm's ability to bring their fiction to readers worldwide through international partnerships.
- Dreamscape SelectmajorStorm Publishing partnered with Dreamscape Select, the personalized audiobook publishing arm of award-winning independent audiobook publisher Dreamscape Media, to bring Storm's titles to the global audiobook market beginning in May 2023.
- SoloSon MediamajorStorm Publishing partnered with SoloSon Media, a dramatic rights talent agency, to represent film and television rights for Storm's authors. Marc Simonsson leads SoloSon and works with literary agencies and publishers including Hardman & Swainson, Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, and others.
- Greyhound LiterarymajorGreyhound Literary represents translation rights in all languages for Storm Publishing, effective immediately after Storm's launch. They handle international rights sales for Storm's growing catalog.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
storm publishing competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Mills & Boon (Harlequin): Iconic romance publisher (now part of HarperCollins) with massive scale and a romance-led catalog; competes for the same romance-reading audience Storm serves.
- Avon Books: Long-established HarperCollins imprint focused on commercial women's fiction, romance, and thriller; broader portfolio and deeper backlist but overlapping core commercial fiction customer.
- Amazon Publishing: Trade publishing arm of Amazon that operates across major commercial fiction genres and benefits from native integration with Kindle and Kindle Unlimited, the platform on which Storm is most exposed.
Direct peers
- Bookouture: Digital-first commercial fiction publisher founded by Storm's own founder Oliver Rhodes and now owned by Hachette; operates with a near-identical author-friendly, data-driven model and competes for the same agented and unagented authors across the same genres.
- Boldwood Books: UK-based digital-first publisher offering comparable royalty terms, multi-format distribution, and a commercial fiction roster spanning romance, thriller, crime, and saga — directly competing with Storm for the same author pool.
- Canelo: Independent UK digital-first publisher across commercial fiction and non-fiction, with a similar royalty-led, multi-format, data-driven operating model targeting overlapping genres.
- Hera Books: Digital-first commercial fiction publisher with comparable royalty structures and genre focus (romance, thriller, historical), competing for the same unagented and mid-list author talent as Storm.
- One More Chapter: Digital-first commercial fiction imprint of HarperCollins focused on ebook-first publication across romance, thriller, and crime — directly comparable in format and target author to Storm.
- Aria (Head of Zeus): Digital-first fiction imprint of Head of Zeus (now part of Bloomsbury), publishing commercial and upmarket fiction across similar genres with a data-driven, author-friendly approach.
Others
- Ingram Content Group: Largest US book distributor; Storm's partner for US print distribution via Two Rivers / Ingram Publisher Services and a critical infrastructure provider for any independent publisher scaling into US retail.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
storm publishing social profiles
Digital presencestorm publishing financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
storm publishing leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
storm publishing funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
storm publishing M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about storm publishing
What does storm publishing do?
Storm Publishing acquires and publishes adult commercial fiction across ebook, audiobook, and print-on-demand formats worldwide. Authors receive an end-to-end publishing services bundle — editorial guidance, cover design, marketing, publicity, price analysis, and global distribution — in exchange for a 50% royalty on net receipts for ebooks and audiobooks. The company also operates Notorious Press, a true crime imprint launched in March 2026.
Is storm publishing a public or private company?
storm publishing is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was storm publishing founded?
storm publishing was founded in 2022.
How does storm publishing make money?
One revenue line is on record: book royalties.
Who are storm publishing's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Mills & Boon (Harlequin), Avon Books and Amazon Publishing. Direct peers are Bookouture, Boldwood Books, Canelo, Hera Books, One More Chapter and Aria (Head of Zeus). Ingram Content Group is listed as an others.
Does storm publishing have an API?
No public API is recorded for storm publishing.
What industry is storm publishing in?
storm publishing's product category is Independent Book Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAAAB, Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.), with a secondary code of MPAJAAAA, General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction). Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.