From spring 2008, Picador will publish the majority of its fiction titles in two formats simultaneously: a limited edition, high-specification hardback and a B format paperback.

Picador Publisher Andrew Kidd comments:

‘Recently, a number of pieces have appeared in both the trade and general press about 'the death of the hardback', especially in relation to literary fiction. While it has never been the easiest end of the market, over the last few years publishers have witnessed sales reaching new lows. All of us find it depressing, and there are, frankly, no reasons to think the situation might soon reverse itself. In response, many publishers, including Picador, have experimented with format, timing and price.

But has this tinkering really worked? How often, in instances where a hardback is replaced by a trade paperback, or priced at £10, has it made a measurable difference to that book's fortunes? The answer is not nearly often enough, and so further questions are begged: when are we going to accept that we live in an A and B (now mostly B) format country; that only a tiny handful of authors command enough reader loyalty to achieve viable hardback sales; that by concentrating promotional energy on a moribund format we are doing no favours to the format people actually want to buy?

Next year, we plan to face up to these questions by changing the way we publish most of our fiction. Are there risks? Of course. But we believe they are worth taking.’