Aspiring local authors no longer need to scour the Internet in search of an affordable, trustworthy book publisher. RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth recently launched two new publishing endeavors here on the Seacoast.

With The Piscataqua Press and RiverRun Select, the store is offering authors a chance to have their books published and distributed by someone they know. “We promise that people are happy with the book that they get,” said RiverRun co-owner and manager Tom Holbrook.

RiverRun Select is publishing the 10th anniversary edition of Portsmouth author Katherine Towler’s first novel, “Snow Island,” along with its sequel, “Evening Ferry.” Towler worked out the deal after getting back the rights to her books from MacAdam Cage. Holbrook said he was pleased to launch RiverRun Select with a popular local book that has a good track record.

RiverRun Select plans to publish one or two books per year, selecting books they are particularly excited about and covering all the costs.

After brainstorming ideas, RiverRun Select decided to have a local artist contribute to the artwork on the cover of Towler’s paperback books. Carol Aronson-Shore, a New England-based artist, let them use her paintings. The “Snow Island” cover features a painting of Star Island, while “Evening Ferry” features a painting of Monhegan Island.

Towler said she is excited to offer the new editions of her books.

“Since ‘Snow Island,’ the first volume of my trilogy, was published 10 years ago, I have heard from readers all over the country, many of whom have stayed in touch with me with the publication of each volume of the trilogy,” she said. “I’m so happy that my books will continue to be available to these readers and to new readers just discovering my work.”

RiverRun will host a release party for Towler’s books on Wednesday, June 27, and it will be open to the public. Towler will also be a featured speaker at the Star Island Literary Festival later this summer and will sell her books at the event.

“RiverRun is positioned to market my books to independent booksellers in particular, who have hand-sold my books for the past 10 years,” said Towler. “RiverRun knows the base of booksellers and readers I have connected with throughout these years in New England.”

Unlike RiverRun Select, The Piscataqua Press is a paid publishing service, and Holbrook said he has been receiving daily inquiries from authors. Three books are already in the works, and several others are under consideration. Holbrook said he hopes to publish 10 to 15 books a year on the imprint.

The Piscataqua Press started when Holbrook noticed many of the self-published books coming into his store were less than satisfactory. In at least half the cases, he said, the authors randomly picked a publishing website online, and some authors were taken advantage of.

“So we thought, why not us? We can do the same thing and put a human face on it,” said Holbrook. “They can actually come in and talk to somebody about what they are looking for and what their troubles or issues are.”

The Piscataqua Press publishing package costs $1,500 and includes one-on-one customer service, an ISBN number, e-book formatting, a custom color book cover, unlimited black-and-white photos inside, a publicized author event, 10 free copies of the book, and quarterly paid royalties on copies sold.  They’ll also distribute published books to larger booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and IndieBound.

One aspect that sets The Piscataqua Press apart from other publishers is that it offers a print-on-demand deal. There is no minimum print rate and no need to buy hundreds of copies in advance.

“That’s one of the great things about digital printing, as opposed to offset printing, is that you don’t have to pay for large prints up front,” said Holbrook. “You can order in fives or tens at a time as you go, and of course now we also do the e-book edition at the same time.”

Holbrook doesn’t promise that every book is going to be a huge success, because that is up to the authors and readers. The reading world has broadened its interests, and anything is possible, he said.

“So we are not going to make anyone rich, but no one is getting rich writing books anyways. But I’ve seen too many people produce a really bad looking book for too much money,” said Holbrook. “We make sure we produce a book that looks just as good as anything out there and that is in the same sort of price range of $15 or so.”