17 October 2012 Last updated at 07:41 ET

Johnny Depp steps into book publishing

The first book under the Infinitum Nihil imprint will be published in January

Johnny Depp has launched his own book imprint with publishing company HarperCollins.

Called Infinitum Nihil - the same name as Depp's production company - Harper said the imprint would be a home for "outspoken and visionary ideas".

The actor promised to deliver books "that might ordinarily never have breached the parapet".

The first two titles announced include a study of Bob Dylan and a novel by the late folk singer, Woody Guthrie.

Douglas Brinkley, author of The Unravelled Tales of Bob Dylan, said he and Depp thought the book was "the ideal way to inaugurate the Infinitum Nihil series".

Scheduled for publication in 2015, it aims to set the record straight on the songwriter's life and career, based in part on Brinkley's interviews with Dylan.

House of Earth is a novel written by Guthrie in 1947, which remained unpublished in his archives for decades.

Due in January, it will be prefaced by an essay authored by Depp and Brinkley.

In a statement announcing the venture, Depp said: "I pledge, on behalf of Infinitum Nihil, that we will do our best to deliver publications worthy of peoples' time, of peoples' concern.

"For this dream realised, we would like to salute HarperCollins for their faith in us and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship together."

HarperCollins did not specify what regular role Depp would have at the imprint, or how much time he expected to devote to publishing.

The actor has just finished filming on the long-awaited big screen version of The Lone Ranger, due in cinemas next year.