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The mass-market fiction list, called Avon, launches this month with a crime thriller called Fallen Idols.

The titles are being promoted in a similar way to DVDs, with a series of icons letting readers know at a glance the type of content featured in the book, identifying levels of humour, sex, love, drama, thrills and terror.

The Avon series, which will publish 36 titles a year, was devised after HarperCollins research revealed that 60% of magazine buyers tend to shop in supermarkets and that 29% of book buyers last bought a paperback fiction book from a supermarket.

The book publisher has signed a deal with Emap's Closer to run a book club, which will feature three Avon titles each month, with one being reviewed by a reader panel.

Marketing agency WDMP has been retained to develop a campaign to promote the Avon list.

Alongside the Closer deal, promotions will include newsstand incentives, including free gifts and competitions. The first title will include a half-price ticket offer for the play Woman in Black and the opportunity for readers to win a weekend in London.