News from the Editor

Hi Folkses

So, I thought I'd (a), share some cover lovelies with you and (b) make you aware of some recent commissions that you may not have heard about.

In September next year, I'm delighted to be able to tell you that we will be publishing the brilliant Regicide, by Nicholas Royle. I've been a fan of Nicholas for many years now, devouring books like Director's Cut and Counterparts. Royle is a fiercely intelligent writer and Regicide is a terrifying journey through a landscape of grief and loss. Those not aware of Royle's work are in for a treat. If you like China Mieville and Neil Gaiman then you're going to love this. And here's a preview of the cover art being prepared by our very own Simon Parr:

In October 2011, I will again be bringing you an anthology of horror fiction, House of Fear, this one centered around the theme of the haunted house. We've almost locked down the list of authors for this, but just to give you a list of who we have so far: Joe R. Lansdale, Paul Meloy, Adam L.G. Nevill, Lisa Tuttle, Tim Lebbon, Sarah Pinborough, Eric Brown, Jonathan Green, Nicholas Royle, Christopher Priest, Nina Allan, Chaz Brenchley, Stephen Volk, Christopher Fowler, Garry Kilworth, Weston Ochse, Rebecca Levene.

And here's the superb cover by our designer Luke Preece:

Two more commissions I'm very excited to let you know about are Kultus, by debut novelist Richard Ford and Babylon Steel, also by a debut novelist, Gaie Sebold.

Kultus is terrific fun. David and Jenni kept asking me what I was giggling about as I read this from the subs pile. Richard Ford has written a rip-roaring steampunk adventure featuring cultists, angels and demons and a host of brilliantly written characters. If I had to compare it to anything I'd say Joe Lansdale meets China Mieville. We have the brilliant Fraser Irving working on the cover art for this right now, so we shall show you that as soon as we have it. The novel will be available in November 2011.

Gaie Sebold's novel, Babylon Steel, is one of the finest new fantasy novels I've read this year. Babylon Steel is the madam of a brothel in a fantasy world, whose past finally catches up with her. Featuring gods and monsters and an infinity of different planes of reality, this is fantasy fiction at its finest. It was also terrific to find in Gaie, a writer who writes about sex and sexual politics so well. This one is going to impress, look out for it in January 2012.

And that's it for now. New covers as and when they come in.

Happy reading.