A Kindle single is a type of

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...

which is published through Amazon's Kindle Store. It is specifically intended as a format for

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

-length

nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...

literature or

long-form journalism Long-form journalism refers to a genre of journalism characterized by in-depth reporting and storytelling that has more substantial content than the average news report. These pieces often explore topics with greater detail, context and narrativ ...

. The name "single" comes from musical singles which are shorter in length than an

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

record. The format, first released in January 2011, was welcomed by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Virginia Heffernan in her final column for the paper, who commented that "I’m thrilled to find these Kindle Singles, which add narrative nonfiction to the forms I can savor out here. Narrative nonfiction in our digital era could exist almost no other way — and indeed, it once seemed headed for obsolescence. I’m extremely happy to see it back." The format has also been praised by literary critic Dwight Garner, who welcomed "what feels almost like a new genre: long enough for genuine complexity, short enough that you don't need journalistic starches and fillers." ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' writer Rebecca Rosen commented that authors of Kindle singles have found the platform to be financially beneficial. She made a point of distinguishing Kindle singles, which are "curated and shepherded through an editing process by former '' Village Voice'' editor-in-chief and Columbia adjunct David Blum, much like a traditional publishing house" ("successful Singles authors aren't undiscovered gems but professional writers who have published elsewhere before") from Kindle Direct Publishing, which is a platform for unknown authors to quickly publish and sell their works as e-books through Amazon.

References

{{Ebooks Amazon (company) Ebooks Computer-related introductions in 2011