Stumar Press is a new independent publisher; its first publication is the Derby Scribes 2011 Anthology – eleven short stories by Simon Clark, Conrad Williams, Neal James and members of the Derby Scribes writing group.

The aim of the imprint is to publish horror and fantasy fiction, primarily as eBook editions available for the Kindle and via Smashwords on a variety of other platforms. Print book editions for some of Stumar Press’s titles will also be made available. Focussing on short stories, Stumar Press is looking to publish both collections and anthologies, and is currently inviting author pitches. The Press is also interested in publishing an eBook version of previously published print edition short story collections where the author has retained copyright and no eBook edition exists.

Next up for the Press will be Soul Screams, a collection of twelve short stories by horror and crime novelist Sara-Jayne Townsend.

Editor Stuart Hughes has previous experience as the former editor of the British Fantasy Award winning Peeping Tom magazine. “As editor, I’ll be bringing the same values and principles to our titles as I applied to Peeping Tom. That is, to say, we’ll be looking to publish the best fiction we can and our attention to detail and editing standards will be high.”

Publisher Mark West says, “As a dedicated paper-and-ink man, I was disappointed that a lot of Kindle/Smashwords material was – to put it simply – very poor and wanted to prove that there was a place for intelligent, keenly-edited, sharply designed eBooks.  As a shared vision, Stuart and I decided to pool our resources and see what happened and Stumar Press is the end result.”

“Inspired in part by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Percy Bysshe Shelley’s, Prometheus Unbound, and the works of Rider Haggard and R. E. Howard, Isis Unbound is set in an alternate history, a steampunk version of 1890′s Manceastre, Britanniae, ruled by a new governor-general related to a descendant of Anthony and Cleopatra, who won the battle of Actium two thousand years ago, and where the ancient Egyptian gods are real.

…Only a god can kill a god. Nepythys has killed her sister, Isis, and therefore the dead cannot pass over to the underworld — their ranks are rapidly swelling and they now roam the streets as zombies. Chief Embalmer Ptolemy Child’s two daughters, Ella and Loli are being instructed in the secrets of mummification, when the dead begin to wake and walk. And eventually lead the sisters to the greatest mystery of all: Isis, herself…”

Isis Unbound by Allyson Bird is published on 20 September by Dark Regions Press.

The Alchemy Press has published its first eBook in Kindle format:  Sailors of the Skies by BFS member Mike Chinn (originally published in Dark Horizonsin 2009). “Mix generous dollops of The Scorpion, The Shadow and Dominic Fortune, a taste for 1930s detective fiction, and the simple desire to tell a creepy tale…”  Available via Amazon

In the UK: HERE
In the USA: HERE

Screaming Dreams and Pendragon Press invite you to spend a Saturday afternoon in the salubrious company of authors and other like-minded folk to celebrate the launch of five books:

Hunter’s Moon, the debut novella from Charlotte Bond
Lest You Should Suffer Nightmares, the biography of Herbert Van Thal by Johnny Mains
Kingston to Cable, the short novel by Gary Greenwood
The Joy of Technology, the debut chapbook by Roy Gray
Isabel Jane, the debut chapbook by Catherine Dale

There will be some free drink and refreshments on offer – along with the books of course!

Atomic Fez has announced the second SEPTEMBER SALE-A-BRATION, as well as the second of its AMAZING BOOK CONTESTS.

At the end of this month, the winners of the British Fantasy Society‘s Awards are announced, with Atomic Fez Publishing on the shortlist for “Best Small Press” as well as Andrew Hook‘s Ponthe Oldenguine in the “Best Novella” category. As a run-??up to the event ‘ as well as to the West Coast Science Fiction Association-??organized VCon in Richmond, BC?’ many of the printed editions of Atomic Fez books are on sale, with paperbacks for as little as $10 /? ’8, and hardbacks for just $25 /? ’15. See all the special prices right here.

Books due soon from Screaming Dreams:

Both to be launched at FantasyCon or available for pre-order from the Screaming Dreams website

Dark Regions Press announce the following new books:

• London Macabre by Steven Savile, described as ‘part serial killer novel, part vast fabulist Victoriana epic, part Steampunk novel with a great slice of occultism and mysticism as well as a radical warping of all things holy, .. quite unlike any dark fantasy novel you’ve ever read.’
• Multiplex Fandango, a collection by Weston Ochse
• Gathered Dust and Others, a collection from W.H. Pugmire containing ‘his radical and obsessive reinterpretations of H. P. Lovecraft’s brilliant fiction’
• And talking of Lovecraft, The Engines of Sacrifice by James Chambers is a colletion of four Lovecraftian novellas
• A novella from Gene O’Neill, Rusting Chickens
• And coming soon, Isis Unbound, the new novel from Allyson Bird

Full details at the Dark Regions website

Quercus Books and Jo Fletcher Books will be launching various titles at this party, including: LITTLE STAR by John Ajvide Lindqvist, A BOOK OF HORRORS ed. by Stephen Jones and more, and authors will be on hand to sign books. Wear your Convention name badge to gain admittance.

If you want to discover the thinking behind Jo Fletcher Books, an imprint of Quercus, why not read this interview with Jo…

Pendragon Press are to launch two new chapbooks at FantasyCon:’ Isabel Jane by Catherine Dale and The Joy of Technology by Roy Gray.

They also have a “3 for 2″ offer on chapbooks – three for the princely sum of ’6 (a saving of ’3!). See the website for full details.