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Archive for July, 2007
Finished Cover: ‘The City Beyond Play’ by Philip José Farmer and Danny Adams
Posted by Darren on July 30th, 2007 at 12:45
We're describing Philip José Farmer and Danny Adams' The City Beyond Play as "...an updated version of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - with the Middle Ages moved to the future, and the interloper upon the medieval scene a brilliant roboticist on the run for murder."
And we think that Dominic Harman's gorgeous cover art captures the feel of the book quite beautifully.
Finished Cover: Postscripts #11
Posted by Darren on July 30th, 2007 at 11:56
Here's the finished cover - with fabulous artwork by Tomislav Tikulin - of the 11th issue of our Postscripts magazine.
This issue will feature brand new fiction from Matthew Rossi, Kealan Patrick Burke, Mikal Trimm, Dave Hoing, Forrest Aguirre, Steve Aylett, Richard Paul Russo, Eric Schaller, David Barnett and Christopher Harman, as well as a guest editorial by Paul Di Filippo.
Mark Justice reading at Horrorfind Weekend, August 10th
Posted by Darren on July 30th, 2007 at 11:32
Another quick update from Mark Justice, co-author (with David T. Wilbanks) of our fothcoming novella Dead Earth: The Green Dawn. He tells us that he will be reading at the 2007 Horrorfind Weekend in Baltimore, MD.
Mark says: "I will be appearing with Erik Tomblin on Friday, August 10, at 6:00 P.M. in Salon F of the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn.
"I'll be reading 'The Losers vs. Beelphegor' from The Horror Library Volume II. I'll also be selling a limited number of copies of Deadneck Hootenanny, my recent humorous hillbilly horror novella from Novello Publishers."
PS back-list price rationalisation
Posted by Peter Crowther on July 27th, 2007 at 17:58
Dear PS Friends and Customers
The time has finally come. Having resisted the ongoing rise and rise in the sterling to dollar exchange rate for as long as we can, we're finally having to admit defeat and rationalise our dollar prices across our range, which has meant raising the price by a few dollars on some of our back-list titles.
This is long-overdue, if only to prevent the conversion-confusion that can sometimes occur when our customers place their orders. It's also something that's inevitable, given that when we launch our new, fully e-commerce enabled website (next month, touch wood, all being well, etc) we'll be quoting all our prices in sterling - with dollar and Euro prices provided as an approximation only - and letting the credit card companies and the prevailing exchange rate decide the exact price that our overseas customers will pay for their books.
So as of today, the following prices will generally apply to the vast majority of titles across our range; the exceptions being special or otherwise one-off editions, where the price will be clearly indicated on the relevant sections of the PS website:
Novellas
Jacketed Hardcover: £25.00 / $50.00 (up from $45)
PPC semi-Hardcover / paperback (as applicable): £10.00 / $20.00 (up from $18)
Novels / Collections / Anthologies etc.
Slipcased Hardcover: £50.00 / $100.00 (up from $90)
Jacketed Hardcover: £25.00 / $50.00 (up from $45)
PPC semi-Hardcover (where applicable): £15.00 / $30.00 (unchanged)
Please note that these prices will only apply to orders placed from today onwards; we will of course be honouring previously-quoted prices on any orders received prior to this announcement.
Richard Horton tips ‘Julian’ for Hugo glory…
Posted by Darren on July 27th, 2007 at 17:35
Reviewer Richard Horton has posted his pick of the Hugo Award shortlisted novellas over at his Livejournal blog and Robert Charles Wilson's Julian: A Christmas Story is his pick of the crop from a very strong field indeed.
Richard calls it "a wholly satisfying novella" and says that he'd be glad to read a longer story if this novella is intended to be as an introductory scenario.
New Pod of Horror from Mark Justice
Posted by Darren on July 24th, 2007 at 13:56
PS author Mark Justice, one half of the writing team behind our forthcoming zombiepocalpyse novella Dead Earth: The Green Dawn has been in touch to let us know that his podcast show, Pod of Horror "...is back and more popular than Michael Vick at a Humane Society Bake Sale. We have a plethora of guests on PoH #36, including:
- Stoker Award-winning Elizabeth Massie
- Dark Fantasy author David Niall Wilson
- Nathan Baesel and Angela Goethals, stars of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
"Plus, we bring you horror’s premiere news source, 'The Call of Kalanta', and new prizes and a new clue in 'The Tomb of Trivia'!"
Pod of Horror is produced and hosted by Mark Justice. Download it at I-Tunes or direct to your desktop at: www.horrorworld.org/poh.htm and be sure to drop by the Justice & Wilbanks message board at: horrorworld.org as well.
Finished Cover: ‘Dagger Key and Other Stories’ by Lucius Shepard
Posted by Darren on July 23rd, 2007 at 15:45
Our man Robert Wexler has just sent round the finished cover proofs for our forthcoming Lucius Shepard collection of six novellas and three short stories: Dagger Key and Other Stories and here's the artwork by the one and only J.K. Potter, in all its wrap-around glory:
And here's a close-up of that wonderfully intricate back-cover section:
Welcome to the PS Publishing News Room!
Posted by Darren on July 20th, 2007 at 12:00
Dear PS Friends and Readers -
Yes, a very warm welcome indeed to the new-look, Wordpress-blog-based PS Publishing News Room!
As our regular e-bulletin subscribers know, we're in the closing stages of re-developing the main PS website and the opening of our new News Room is the first phase of the launch of the new site.
We'll be using the News Room to keep you up-to-date with all the latest PS publication news and behind-the-scenes developments, point you in the direction of PS-related material elsewhere out there on the World Wide Web and, from time-to-time, bring you news and info from PS authors, artists and partners.
We've kick-started the process with a couple of months' worth of back-dated items to fill you in on what we've been up to - or have spotted elsewhere - recently; including the latest, June 2007 news bulletin from our highly esteemed (and, indeed, award-winning) publisher, Pete Crowther.
Pete will of course be dropping in to the News Room as often as he can to let us know what he's up to and he'll also be writing editorial pieces for the PS e-bulletins, which we'll continue to send out on a regular basis (subscription information here, if you haven't gotten around to joining the list just yet). But from now on, in order to let Pete concentrate on the business of actually publishing the ever-expanding range of top-quality PS titles, the main thrust of the News Room content output will be provided by yours-truly. Don't worry, I've driven these blog-things before: www.uksfbooknews.net for example, or www.thegenrefiles.com (if you'll excuse a bit of blatant and quite shameless self-pluggery for a moment there...)
Well, I think that's probably about all that needs to be said for now, except to extend an open invite to everyone to feel free to leave suitable comments on individual posts. Please note, your first comment will be held for moderation, so if it doesn't appear right away then please do bear with me. After your first comment has been passed, you should be able to comment to your heart's content (although posts with more than three links in them will automatically be held for checking, just in case a pesky spammer manages to spoof a valid email address by accident).
And of course, you should likewise feel free to contact us here at PS with any and all questions and suggestions you might have about the News Room, or the main site itself. All emails will be read, digested and acted upon as quickly as we can manage (in whatsover manner seems most appropriate), we promise.
All the best for now, and as Pete says: Happy Reading!
Ariel
PS Webguy
Stephen King’s The Colorado Kid - shipping now!
Posted by Peter Crowther on July 18th, 2007 at 9:17
The wait is over! Yes, copies of Stephen King's The Colorado Kid - in all editions - have been winging their way around the world to all of our very patient customers, many of whom have been waiting for more than a whole year.
The end result is, I think, quite remarkable and early reactions suggest that PS folks hold the books (particularly the traycased edition) in similarly high regard. All credit must go to our printers, Biddles for pulling out all the stops.
You can see them all in the picture above - please note that the slipcased and traycased editions are sold out. We have a few copies left of the artist-signed edition and a few of the three-book slipcased sets. But they're not going to last forever so place an order as soon as you can so as to avoid disappointment.
Postscripts subscribers’ Holiday Chapbook 2007
Posted by Peter Crowther on July 18th, 2007 at 8:56
Here in England, particularly on the east coast (the sea is at the end of our street... sometimes a little nearer than we'd ideally like!), the summer so far has been a washout. And already we drift towards Christmas...
This year, our Postscripts chapbook (which will be sent out, completely free, to everyone who holds a current and fully paid-up Postscripts subscription at the end of the year) will be a special edition of Joe Hill's 'Saved' from the special slipcased edition of his groundbreaking collection Twentieth Century Ghosts.
Joe felt that he'd like to do something for all the fans who weren't able to get a hold of the slipcased edition containing the extra story - and please note that 'Saved' will not be appearing in the trade editions of the book put out in the UK and the USA.
The chapbook will be printed in two states as usual: a signed hardcover sent out to all Postscripts hardcover subscribers, and an unsigned paperback sent out to all our paperback subscribers. There will NOT be any additional copies offered for sale this year, so the only way to get hold of this very special chapbook will be by subscribing to Postscripts!
Chris Roberson scores six Year’s Best SF mentions
Posted by Darren on July 17th, 2007 at 10:35
PS author Chris Roberson says on his blog that he's (quite rightly) chuffed to bits to have received no fewer than six honourable mentions in the 24th volume of Gardner Dozois' Years Best Science Fiction anthology series, including one for his PS-published novella, The Voyage of Night Shining White.
Well done, Chris!
Zoran’s floating book launch
Posted by Darren on July 16th, 2007 at 10:33
Award-winning Serbian author Zoran Živković wrote to tell us about the publication of his new novel: "The official launch of my first 'metathriller' - The Last Book - was held in the exclusive boat-restaurant "Ada" on the Danube river, Belgrade on Friday, July 13th, 2007."
And we're delighted to be able to announce that we'll be publishing The Last Book in PPC semi-Hardcover and Slipcased Hardcover editions later in the year. More information on this exciting new title soon!
[Edit 21.07.07] - Plus, as Jonathan from Concatenation points out in the comments, Zoran will also be one of the Guests at this year's Eurocon in Copenhagen, September 21st to 23rd.
New Artwork by Tomislav Tikulin
Posted by Darren on July 10th, 2007 at 18:56
Tomislav Tikulin has turned in another wonderful piece of artwork for us, this time it's an absolutely stunning cover piece for Rhys Hughes' forthcoming novella Crystal Cosmos:
Quite lovely, isn't it?
Close encounters of the Readercon kind
Posted by Darren on July 10th, 2007 at 15:31
PS's chief book designer, Robert Wexler, was an attendee at the recent Readercon in Burlington, Massachusetts, and sent back the following photographic evidence of his experiences:
Robert says: "Apparently, Paul Witcover took a picture of Scott Edelman attacking me and Elizabeth Hand [Illyria, Bibliomancy]. I think we survived."
eBay Watch: Postscripts #10, slipcased edition
Posted by Darren on July 9th, 2007 at 19:58
If you missed out on a copy of the incredibly rare and collectible (only 200 copies printed) slipcased edition of Postscripts #10, then this eBay UK item may be of interest to you... if you're feeling flush.
Item #140137469099 - the seller is asking £350.00 plus p&p, or you can make him an offer...
Auction closes July 21st at 20:18:10 BST.
Peter Tennant reviews ‘Cinema Macabre’
Posted by Darren on July 9th, 2007 at 12:27
Over at T3A Space, the blog of fellow UK indie publisher TTA Press, Peter Tennant has posted a review of our Mark Morris-edited anthology of cinematographic essays, Cinema Macabre.
Peter has some very nice things to say about the book - which contains fifty essays on the subject of 'my favourite horror film' by some of the biggest names in the genre (as well as yours-truly) - such as: "The overall feeling is like sitting down with a group of fellow Horror aficionados and shooting the breeze about what makes the hairs on the back of your neck rise, the difference being that these aficionados are more articulate than most."
Cinema Macabre has also made the long-list for this year's British Fantasy Awards in the newly-inaugurated Best Non-Fiction category.
Steve Aylett reading, London, July 22nd
Posted by Darren on July 9th, 2007 at 10:16
PS Author Steve Aylett (Fain the Sorcerer) tells us he'll be "doing a reading / performance on July 22nd at stand-up venue the Troy Club - CROBAR, 17 Manette Street, London W1D 4AS [Google Maps], just next to Foyles Bookstore - which starts around 7.30pm.
"Other performers are Toby Hadoke, Liam Mullone, Eric's Tales Of The Sea. MC is Andrew O'Neill (Saxondale etc)."
Chris Roberson: Pyr-o-Mania Profile, Yatterings.com interview
Posted by Darren on July 9th, 2007 at 7:46
Lou Anders has posted a comprehensive profile of author Chris Roberson's work-to-date on the Pyr-o-Mania blog, prompted by a recent interview with Chris carried out by Ian Emsley over at Yatterings.com.
Both pieces make mention of Chris's November 2006 PS novella The Voyage of Night Shining White. Lou's profile piece places it within the context of Chris's developing 'Celestial Empire' milieu, and in Iain's interview there's a glimpse into the origins of the novella, as well as plenty more on Chris's current and forthcoming projects.
Mark Chadbourn talks Richard Dadd at Tate Britain
Posted by Darren on July 6th, 2007 at 17:47
PS author Mark Chadbourn has posted his reflections on what sounds like a very successful and enjoyable evening at the Tate Britain, over on his Jack of Ravens blog.
Mark was at the Tate Britain to talk about one of his favourite artists: the Victorian fantasist Richard Dadd; whose painting (many say his master-piece) was the inspiration for Mark's 2003 titled-in-homage novella The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke, which also won the 2003 British Fantasy Award for Best Novella.
Mark says: "The event was a sell-out, and also pretty ground-breaking on several fronts. I was one of the first – if not the first – genre writer to be invited to the Tate to give a lecture for one of their rightly-acclaimed study days."
He also spoke of Dadd's influence on several other modern fantasy writers, and entered into a lively debate with an art historian on the meaning and significance of the artist's work, and read from the book.
New Artwork by Edward Miller and Tomislav Tikulin
Posted by Darren on July 4th, 2007 at 14:36
We've received finished artwork from two of our regular (and, quite frankly, ludicrously talented) cover artists recently.
First up, two wonderful new images from Edward Miller. The first piece will grace the cover of Michael Coney's novel I Remember Pallahaxi, and the second will feature on the companion volume, Hello Summer, Goodbye, both of which we'll be publishing later in the year.
And the third image we've had in recently is the cover art for the 11th issue of our Postscripts magazine, which will be out in a few weeks. This one's by rising star Tomislav Tikulin.
You can see many more pieces by these two fantastic artists on www.edwardmiller.co.uk and www.tomtikulin-art.com.
Postscripts: new short story acceptances, June ‘07
Posted by Nick Gevers on July 3rd, 2007 at 13:19
We've recently acquired some fine, exciting stories for Postscripts magazine:
- M.K. Hobson's 'The Warlock and the Man of the Word', a superb, epic blend of Western and fantasy.
- 'Variant' by Steven Utley, a tale of alternate universes to chill the spine.
- The brilliant, intense 'Shad's Mess' by Alex Irvine.
- 'Shem-El-Nessim' by new writer Chris Bell, a dark literary take on the mysteries of Egypt.
For inclusion in Postscripts #16 onwards...
New novella acquisition: ‘Ars Memoriae’ by Beth Bernobich
Posted by Nick Gevers on July 3rd, 2007 at 13:17
We've recently purchased new novella Ars Memoriae by the acclaimed new writer Beth Bernobich: imagine if an Irish kingdom had co-existed with the British Empire in a world of incessant Great Power rivalries...
Currently scheduled for publication in late 2008 / early 2009.