Wizard’s Tower Press is pleased to announce that is has acquired the rights to publish ebook English language editions of The Tales of Einarinn series by Juliet E. McKenna.

The Tales of Einarinn comprises five novels: The Thief’s Gamble, The Swordsman’s Oath, The Gambler’s Fortune, The Warrior’s Bond and The Assassin’s Edge. They were originally published by Orbit in the UK and Eos (a division of HarperCollins) in the USA. They have been translated into many languages including Russian, German, Japanese, Dutch, Polish, Hungarian and Czech.

In a series of posts on her blog, McKenna has talked about the challenges facing an author wishing to make her backlist available as ebooks. This includes converting a paper book to digital format, ensuring that she does indeed own the ebook rights when there is no mention of them in the original publishing contract, and considering issues such as whether to impose Digital Rights Management (DRM).

McKenna noted: “Seeing online dissatisfaction with some of the early ebook backlists rushed out by publishers who didn’t pay sufficient attention to such detail makes it very clear that readers expect – and make no mistake, they deserve – the same quality of text in an ebook as they would get in a paper edition.”

The ebook editions will be prepared by Antimatter ePress and Wizard’s Tower, bringing with them the same attention detail that has already been applied to McKenna’s short fiction works: A Few Further Tales of Einarinn and Turns and Chances. The books will have the same high-quality covers by Geoff Taylor that graced the original UK editions.

Securing worldwide English language rights to the ebook editions involves complex legal issues which McKenna has explained in her blog posts. Wizard’s Tower and Ms McKenna thank Orbit UK and HarperCollins USA for their cooperation in these matters.

For Wizard’s Tower Cheryl Morgan said, “Our objective is to help authors with backlists put out a quality product by taking care of the technical and business issues, leaving them free to concentrate on what they do best: writing new books.”

For Antimatter ePress Elizabeth Campbell added: “Preparing a scanned copy for e-publication is a labour-intensive process. This couldn’t happen without invaluable assistance from two proofreaders who have donated their time to make McKenna’s  ebooks the best that they can be. It is an honour and our delight to be able to do this for her, bringing to a new electronic-based audience some of our very most favourite books.

The Tales of Einarinn will be available through the Wizard’s Tower bookstore, on the Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and through other online venues.

Eibonvale Press – publishers of horror, magic realism, slipstream and the surreal – is open for submissions for an anthology of stories connected to the railway. The book aims to gather a collection of works revolving around the railway with a modern and innovative aesthetic ranging from horror to surrealism and beyond. The anthology, entitled Rustblind and Silverbright, will be published in 2013.

More information and submission guidelines can be downloaded from the website HERE

Stumar Press are offering the opportunity to win a free copy of the first two volumes in the Ten Terrors series. Ten Terrors is a series of horror anthologies starting with Volume 1 in Winter 2012. Each volume will contain ten short stories by established and emerging writers in the horror genre.

Ten Terrors Volume 1 will contain short stories by Graham Joyce and Mark Morris. The other eight authors in Volume 1 will be confirmed soon. Volume 2 (2013) will feature Tim Lebbon and nine other authors.

The competition to win both Volumes 1 and 2 is open to anyone who has purchased a copy of the Derby Scribes Anthology which features short stories from Simon Clark, Conrad Williams, Neal James, Richard Farren Barber, Stuart Hughes, Christopher Barker and other members of the Derby Scribes writing group. If you haven’t purchased the Derby Scribes Anthology yet you still have time to buy it, read it, and enter the competition. Visit the website HERE to purchase

To enter the competition, all you have to do is answer three simple questions (see the competition entry requirements HERE). The competition closes on 31 August 2012.

In other news, Stumar Press will be launching Soul Screams – a collection of thirteen horror stories by horror and crime novelist Sara Jayne Townsend – at the BFS London Open Day on Saturday 16 June 2012. Sara will be attending and signing copies on the day. More information about Soul Screams can be found HERE

Angry Robot Books and its YA imprint, Strange Chemistry, have announced new author signings as follows.

Strange Chemistry has signed talented fantasy author, Martha Wells. Martha has been signed in a two-book deal, for World English Rights, negotiated between Strange Chemistry’s Amanda Rutter and Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. The first of these books, a novel called Emilie and the Hollow World, will be published in Summer 2013.

Martha is the author of thirteen novels as well as a number of short stories and nonfiction articles. Her books include The Element of Fire (Tor, 1993), The Death of the Necromancer (Avon Eos, 1998), City of Bones (Tor, 1995), Wheel of the Infinite (HarperCollins Eos, 2000), and The Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, published by HarperCollins Eos – The Wizard Hunters (2003), The Ships of Air (2004), and The Gate of Gods (2005) – set in the same world as The Element of Fire and The Death of the Necromancer.

Her newest fantasy novels are The Cloud Roads (Night Shade Books, March 2011), and the sequels, The Serpent Sea (Night Shade Books, January 2012) and The Siren Depths (forthcoming from Night Shade Books in December 2012).

Angry Robot has also announced a new two-book deal with rising star Chuck Wendig. Chuck’s first Angry Robot novel, Blackbirds, only hit the bookshelves for the first time a few weeks ago, but the response has already been so strong that Angry Robot moved quickly to sign him up for another two books.

The World English Rights deal, negotiated between Angry Robot editor Lee Harris and Stacia Decker of the Donald Maas Literary Agency, is for:

The Blue Blazes – the first in a new urban fantasy series in which lovable thug Mookie Pearl must contend with the criminal underworld, the supernatural underworld, a new drug that makes the invisible visible, and a rebellious teen daughter who opposes him at every turn.

Cormorant – a new tale of Miriam Black, the third book in a series that begins with Blackbirds and continues with Mockingbird (September 2012).

Both of Chuck’s new titles are scheduled for publication in 2013.

Dadaoism, the first anthology from Chomu Press, is now available. From the website: “Editors Justin Isis and Quentin S. Crisp have selected twenty-six novellas, short stories and poems setting out an aesthetic manifesto of rich and stimulating prose style, explosively unhindered imagination and anarchic experimentation.” As we have come to expect from Chomu, this is no ordinary anthology. Contributing authors include Reggie Oliver, D.F. Lewis, Michael Cisco, Nick Jackson, Jeremy Reed and Brendan Connell among others.

Dadaoism is Chomu’s first title of 2012. In June and July, they publish the novel Celebrant by Michael Cisco and a debut collection of short fiction, I Am a Magical Teenage Princess, by Luke Geddes. September sees the paperback reprint of Quentin S. Crisp’s collection All God’s Angels, Beware! (previously an Ex Occidente limited edition). October, November and December willl bring work from John Elliott, Anna Tambour and Brendan Connell.

For more information on Chomu’s planned releases in 2012 see the website HERE

Screaming Dreams has started to release Kindle editions of some of its books. Not all of the existing print titles will be released for Kindle through Screaming Dreams because of contracts some authors have signed with other publishers. But, whenever possible, Screaming Dreams will now release both print and Kindle versions of past and future book titles.

The first three Kindle books are now available to purchase from Amazon, for only $2.99 each… The Midnight Hour by Neil Davies, Songs from Spider Street by Mark Howard Jones and Yuppieville by Tony Richards. You can find them on Amazon at the following locations…

Yuppieville: Amazon US and Amazon UK

Spider Street:  Amazon US and Amazon UK

The Midnight Hour: Amazon US and Amazon UK

The most recent BFS London Open Night saw the launch of Where Are We Going? from Eibonvale Press, edited by Allen Ashley. The publisher ran a “Write a Postcard” competition which was judged on the night by Allen Ashley. The winners were: Martin Roberts, Tina Rath and John Forth, and each won an Eibonvale prize. The winning postcards – and all the other entries that Allen Ashley and David Rix were able to salvage! – are now on display at the Eibonvale site. Just follow this link HERE

HarperCollins has acquired exclusive worldwide publishing rights from Warner Bros Consumer Products for tie-in books to the two highly anticipated films, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, directed by Peter Jackson and productions of New Line Cinema and MGM.

“Inspired by the two films based on The Hobbit, the HarperCollins companion books are a fantastic way for fans of the world of Middle-earth to immerse themselves in the film experience,” said Karen McTier, Executive Vice President of Domestic Licensing and Worldwide Marketing for Warner Bros Consumer Products. “HarperCollins has a strong history with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and we know that the detailed tie-in books will bring The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again to life in an in-depth and imaginative way.”

The Hobbit, first published by George Allen & Unwin in 1937, has been a perennial bestseller since starting life with a very modest 1,500-copy print run. Since then, it has gone on to sell many millions of copies in more than 50 languages, and in this 75th anniversary year of its publication, is set to captivate another generation of readers. HarperCollins acquired the publishing rights to The Hobbit and its sequel The Lord of the Rings when it bought Unwin Hyman publishers in 1990, revitalizing the books’ sales and steering their publishing and book licensing through the unprecedented heights of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy in 2001-2003.

Author, biographer and broadcaster Brian Sibley, who recently won the BBC Audio Drama Award for his dramatization of The History of Titus Groan, has returned to New Zealand to write the behind-the-scenes Official Movie Guides, while novelist and former Tolkien editor Jane Johnson is writing essential Visual Companions to introduce filmgoers to the remarkable world of the two films, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Bestselling New Zealand author and photographer Ian Brodie is writing the Location Guide which highlights the spectacular locations in New Zealand that have provided the settings for the films. In addition, HarperCollins will be breaking new ground with a range of children’s books in the form of annuals, movie storybooks and feature titles, as well as a new series of lavish hardbacks written and designed by the award-winning team at Weta, who are working closely with the production team to guarantee that these books will be bursting with insider information and stunning visual imagery.

Angry Robot is pleased to announce its newest venture – a sister imprint, Exhibit A, which will publish crime genre fiction.

The imprint will launch in late Spring 2013, with two titles appearing in each of the first two months, before settling down to one book each month. Exhibit A will follow Angry Robot’s strategy of co-publishing its books simultaneously in the UK and US, in both paperback and ebook formats, backed up by strong online marketing and community activity.

Exhibit A’s ambition is to become a new home for addictive crime fiction. It will be looking for authors with original, gripping voices. Exhibit A books – whether they’re procedurals, mysteries, thrillers, or something entirely new – will aim to divert readers from their everyday lives into an exhilarating world of drama, fear and suspense.

Joining the company to run the imprint is Emlyn Rees. He published his first crime novel aged twenty-five, his second a year later, and then co-wrote seven comedies with Josie Lloyd, including the Sunday Times bestseller Come Together. In his time, Emlyn has also worked for the Curtis Brown Literary Agency and run a manuscript editing service.

The launch of Exhibit A is the latest in a wave of expansion by parent company, Osprey Group, following investment by Alcuin Capital Partners in 2011. Osprey recently won the IPG Award for Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year 2012.

It has been reported that publisher and writer Nick Webb has died.

Whilst working at Pan, Webb commissioned Douglas Adams to adapt his radio play The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy into a novel, resulting in the bestselling book. He also wrote Adams’ official biography, Wish You Were Here, following Adams’ death in 2001.

Read the full BBC story HERE