Angry Robot is extremely pleased to announce the promotion of Lee Harris to the post of Senior Editor, with immediate effect.

Lee started working for Angry Robot in January 2009 – six months before the launch of the list – as Assistant Editor to publisher Marc Gascoigne. He was promoted to Editor in 2010 and is now a regular speaker and panellist at genre and publishing events.

Angry Robot Senior Editor Lee Harris said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the new role, which is very similar to the old role, but with added pressure and expectations. Angry Robot is the best place to work, and I’m blessed because every day I look forward to coming to the office. Long may it continue.”

Angry Robot Managing Director Marc Gascoigne said: “Lee’s been with Angry Robot from its earliest days four years ago and as the line has grown, so have his talents. As the development of our new imprints, Strange Chemistry and Exhibit A, has become more demanding, he’s taken the new editors under his wing and mentored them to within an inch of their lives. This promotion is timely and very well deserved.”

You can follow Lee on Twitter @LeeAHarris, where he dispenses pearls of publishing wisdom and cringe-inducing puns with equal aplomb and abandon.

Angry Robot has announced the signing of a two-book World All Languages deal with the British Fantasy Award-winning author Joseph D’Lacey.

The deal, concluded by Angry Robot Editor Lee Harris and Brie Burkeman of Burkeman & Clarke Literary Agency, is for two novels that complete a brand new post-apocalyptic duology. The first instalment, Black Feathers, will be published in April 2013, with the second part, The Book of the Crowman, to follow in 2014.

D’Lacey is best known for his shocking eco-horror novel Meat. The book has been widely translated and prompted Stephen King to say “Joseph D’Lacey rocks!”. His other published works to-date include Garbage Man, Snake Eyes and The Kill Crew.

About Black Feathers and The Book of the Crowman:

Black Feathers is a modern fantasy set in two epochs: the Black Dawn, a time of environmental apocalypse, and generations into the future in its aftermath, the Bright Day.

In each era, a child undertakes a perilous journey to find a dark messiah known as The Crowman. In their hands lies the fate of the planet as they attempt to discover whether The Crowman is our saviour… or the final incarnation of evil.

Angry Robot’s Editor Lee Harris says: “I’ve known Joseph’s work for years, and I’m absolutely thrilled to have him join the Angry Robot family. The Black Feathers duology is one of the most exciting series I’ve read in years, and I know our readers will agree.”

Joseph D’Lacey says: “Over the last three years, I’ve watched the stellar rise of ‘The Robot’ with great interest and plenty of wishful thinking. I’m ecstatic that they’ll be the ones to unleash Black Feathers upon the world. Working with Angry Robot is the opportunity of a lifetime for me and I’m grabbing it with both hands.”

Angry Robot is delighted to announce a three-book deal with hugely talented fantasy writer Emma Newman. The World English Rights deal – negotiated between Angry Robot editor Lee Harris and Jennifer Udden of the Donald Maass Literary Agency – is for three books in Emma’s The Split Worlds series, starting with Between Two Thorns which is scheduled to be published in Spring 2013.

Emma Newman was born in a tiny coastal village in Cornwall during one of the hottest summers on record. Four years later she started to write stories and never stopped until she penned a short story that secured her a place at Oxford University to read Experimental Psychology.

In 2011 Emma embarked on an ambitious project to write and distribute one short story per week – all of them set in her Split Worlds milieu – completely free to her mailing list subscribers.

A debut short-story collection, From Dark Places, was published in 2011 and her debut post-apocalyptic novel for young adults, 20 Years Later, was published in 2012. Emma is also a professional audiobook narrator.

The Split Worlds is an urban fantasy setting with gritty noir, fantastical magic, evil faeries and people just trying to drink their tea in peace.

Dynastic families feud across the ages, furthering the agendas of their powerful supernatural patrons. Opposing secret courts wage clandestine wars to establish their control over humanity. Innocents are protected by monsters and the beautiful ones are seldom what they seem…

In the first book in the series, Between Two Thorns, something is wrong in Aquae Sulis, Bath’s secret mirror city. The new season is starting and the Master of Ceremonies is missing. Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds Treaty, is assigned with the task of finding him with no one to help but a dislocated soul and a mad sorcerer. There is a witness but his memories have been bound by magical chains only the enemy can break.

A rebellious woman trying to escape her family may prove to be the ally Max needs. But can she be trusted? And why does she want to give up eternal youth and the life of privilege she’s been born into?

The British Fantasy Society is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2012 British Fantasy Awards. Determined by the 952 recommendations from BFS members and FantasyCon attendees and overseen by the British Fantasy Awards Jury, the shortlist is:

Novel:
The Heroes; Joe Abercrombie (Gollancz)
11.22.63; Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton)
Cyber Circus; Kim Lakin-Smith (NewCon Press)
A Dance with Dragons; George RR Martin (Harper Voyager)
The Ritual; Adam Nevill (Pan)
Among Others; Jo Walton (Tor Books)

There will be two awards in the best Novel category: The August Derleth Award for best horror novel and The Robert Holdstock Award for best fantasy novel.

Novella:
Terra Damnata; James Cooper (PS Publishing)
Ghosts with Teeth; Peter Crowther (A Book of Horrors, Jo Fletcher Books)
Near Zennor; Elizabeth Hand (A Book of Horrors, Jo Fletcher Books)
The Music of Bengt Karlsson, Murderer; John Ajvide Lindqvist (A Book of Horrors, Jo Fletcher Books)
Gorel and the Pot Bellied God; Lavie Tidhar (PS Publishing)
Alice Through the Plastic Sheet; Robert Shearman (A Book of Horrors, Jo Fletcher Books)

Short Fiction:
Dermot; Simon Bestwick (Black Static)
Sad, Dark Thing; Michael Marshall Smith (A Book of Horrors, Jo Fletcher Books)
Florrie; Adam Nevill (House of Fear, Solaris Books)
The Coffin-Maker’s Daughter; Angela Slatter (A Book of Horrors, Jo Fletcher Books)
King Death; Paul Finch (Spectral Press)

Anthology:
A Book of Horrors; editor Stephen Jones (Jo Fletcher Books)
House of Fear; editor Jonathan Oliver (Solaris Books)
The Weird; editors Jeff and Ann Vandermeer (Corvus Books)
Gutshot; editor Conrad Williams (PS Publishing)

Collection:
Rumours of the Marvellous; Peter Atkins (Alchemy Press)
Mrs Midnight; Reggie Oliver (Tartarus Press)
Everyone’s Just So So Special; Robert Shearman (Big Finish)
A Glass of Shadow; Liz Williams (NewCon Press)

Screenplay:
Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen
Attack the Block by Joe Cornish
The Awakening by Stephen Volk and Nick Murphy
Melancholia by Lars Von Trier
Kill List by Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump

Magazine/Periodical:
Black Static; ed. Andy Cox  TTA Press
Interzone; ed. Andy Cox   TTA Press
SFX, ed. Dave Bradley    Future Publishing
The Horror Zine, ed. Jeani Rector

Comic/Graphic Novel:
Animal Man; Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman (DC Comics)
Batwoman; JH Williams III and W Haden Blackman (DC Comics)
Locke and Key; Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW Publishing)
The Unwritten; Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo)
The Walking Dead; Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard (Image)

As stated in the new rules of the BFAwards, the Judges can add a title they feel was an egregious omission from the initial recommendations. This year they added 2 titles to the novel category, 2 titles to the novella category, and 1 title to short fiction. If a category has 5 titles listed, this is due to a tie on number of votes and points.

The BFAward Judges, James Barclay, Hal Duncan, Maura McHugh, Esther Sherman, and Damien G. Walter, will now review the shortlist and enter into deliberations. The winners will be announced at FantasyCon in Brighton on 30 September 2012.

The Special Juries and shortlists for the following awards have also been announced:

The PS Publishing Independent Press Award:

Jurors:
Sandy Auden
Peter Crowther
Nicholas Royle
Peter Tennant
Darren Turpin

Shortlist:
Chomu Press; Quentin S Crisp
Gray Friar Press; Gary Fry
NewCon Press; Ian Whates
Spectral Press; Simon Marshall-Jones

The Artist Award:

Jurors:
Guy Adams
Anne Sudworth
Christopher Teague

Shortlist:
Ben Baldwin
Vincent Chong
Les Edwards
Daniele Serra

The Non-Fiction Award :

Jurors:
Djibril al-Ayad
Roz Kaveney
Adam Roberts

Shortlist:
Lest You Should Suffer Nightmares: A biography of Herbert Van Thal; Johnny Mains (Screaming Dreams)
Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero; Grant Morrison (Jonathan Cape)
Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen since the 1960s; Kim Newman (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Studies in Terror: Landmarks of Horror Cinema; Jonathan Rigby (Signum Books)
Case Notes; Peter Tennant (Black Static)

British Fantasy Society Chair Lee Harris says, “Our members have been consistent in recommending the best in horror and fantasy published in 2011, and we think we have an incredibly strong shortlist. Our judges have a hard job ahead of them and we’re sure the 2012 British Fantasy Awards will get people debating for the rest of the year.”

Find out more about our judges here. The full longlist of members’ recommendations will be available to view on the BFS website from next week.

AMENDMENT

There has been a slight amendment to the BFAwards shortlist as listed above.

King Death was mistakenly listed in the Best Novella category (instead of short story) and Alice Through the Plastic Sheet was listed in the Best Short Story category (instead of novella). Both stories continue to be eligible in their new homes. Apologies for any confusion, and many thanks to those of you who spotted the error.

Angry Robot has signed debut novelist, Ramez Naam for two books in a new science fiction series. The first title – Nexus – will be Angry Robot’s lead title in January 2013, with the sequel, Crux, to follow later in the year. The deal included world English and translation rights in physical and electronic formats and was negotiated by Angry Robot editor Lee Harris, and Naam’s agent Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency.

About Nexus:
In the near future, the nano-drug Nexus can link mind to mind. There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And there are others who just want to exploit it. When a young scientist is caught improving Nexus, he’s thrust over his head into a world of danger and international espionage, with far more at stake than anyone realises.

About Ramez Naam:
Seattle-based Naam – a computer scientist who helped build Internet Explorer, Outlook and Bing for Microsoft – is the HG Wells Award winning author of the non-fiction book More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement, and is a Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.

The Annual Conference of Verulam Writers’ Circle, St Albans

Featuring an array of influential and creative people in the UK publishing business, offering talks, workshops, seminars and a lot of networking. Returning for their 4th year are our hugely popular 3 and 5 minute pitches direct to leading agents and editors. But this year there is more: for a small extra fee you will be able to book a 10 minute face time appointment during Get Writing 2012.

- Guests include writers, editors and publishers’ representatives such as: Adrian Chamberlain, Donna Condon, Helen Corner, Philippa Pride, Michael Rowley, Toby Frost and the BFS’s own Lee Harris

- A vast range of workshops, from non-fiction writing with David Lindo to fantasy writing with Suzanne McLeod and M.D. Lachlan

- Get Writing Cup Short Story Competition with a prize of critique from Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, a cup and £50, plus the chance to have the story published on the National Short Story Week website

When: Saturday February 11th 2012
Venue: De Havilland Campus of the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Cost: £55

Visit the website HERE

Angry Robot has signed debut novelist, Lee Battersby for two books in a new fantasy series. The first title – The Corpse-Rat King – will be published in autumn 2012, with the second to follow in 2013. The deal included world English rights in physical and electronic formats.

In the highly imaginative The Corpse-Rat King, readers are introduced to Marius Helles as he plunders the bodies of the dead after a major battle – a crime punishable by death. The dead tell Marius that they need a King – the King is God’s representative, and they need someone to speak to God and remind him where they are, thank you very much! He doesn’t actually want the job, but when the alternative is to deny a legion of angry corpses, it’s that or find a suitable compromise – and quickly: the dead aren’t known for their patience…

The deal was negotiated by Angry Robot editor Lee Harris, and Battersby’s agent Richard Henshaw of the Richard Henshaw Group, after The Corpse-Rat King came to Angry Robot’s attention during their first Open Door Month open submission period, earlier this year.

Like most successful publishers, Angry Robot generally only accepts
submissions through literary agencies. Earlier this year, however, the
company ran a pilot programme to see how many unpublished – but talented -
authors there were without representation. During March, Angry Robot invited all un-agented authors to submit completed manuscripts as part of an “Open Door Month”. Over 990 novels were submitted during that period.

Angry Robot are now delighted to announce the first acquisitions from the
first Open Door Month. Two new authors, each with a minimum two book deal,
have now joined the Angry Robot family.

Cassandra Rose Clarke was the first signing to come through this process.
Her two novels for Angry Robot show the versatility of this important new
talent.

The Mad Scientist’s Daughter is the heartbreaking story of the journey from childhood to adulthood, with an intriguing science fictional twist. And The Assassin’s Curse is a fantastical romp, starring Ananna, a no-nonsense lady pirate, born into pirate royalty.

Clarke said: “I’m beyond excited to have Angry Robot publishing my
first-ever novel, and not only because of the delightful coincidence that my
novel involves a robot who is, on occasion, angry. Angry Robot’s reputation
is stellar and their author list incredibly impressive – I’m humbled to be
included amongst their ranks!”

Things take a somewhat darker turn with a pair of books from Lee Collins – The Dead of Winter and She Returns From War. Both novels follow Cora Oglesby, a bounty hunter with a reputation for working supernatural cases.

Collins said: “As excited as I am at the prospect of rubbing shoulders with
Angry Robot’s outstanding authors, publication was really a secondary goal
of my submitting to them. My primary reason was the hope, however slim, of
cybernetic augmentation.”

Both deals were negotiated by Angry Robot’s editor, Lee Harris, who stated:
“There is an enormous amount of talent out there, waiting to be discovered,
and I am thrilled we have found two great new talents as part of our
search.”

Both authors’ debut novels will be published by Angry Robot in autumn 2012,
with their second books scheduled for spring 2013.

Following the success of the project, Angry Robot expects to run a similar
Open Door period in spring 2013, details of which are to be confirmed at a
later date.