I was saddened to hear that Angry Robot Books will be shutting down their Young Adult (Strange Chemistry) and Crime Fiction (Exhibit A) imprints.
Angry Robot is probably one of the boldest, most innovative publishers releasing titles in SFF today and I’ve always loved how they ensure they and their authors engage with bloggers and the public too. If you see ‘Angry Robot’ on the cover of a book you can pretty much guarantee yourself an enjoyable read and very often a memorable one. I think this is because the Editors, Marc Gasgoine and Lee Harris, really do know the market. They are real fantasy fans, they attend every convention they can, interact with fans on a daily basis and so are able to ‘keep their finger on the pulse. I have also appreciated their taking chances on hit or miss books that the larger publishers haven’t had the bottle to as well.
The problem, that Angry Robot themselves list, is overwhelming saturation within those two genres (YA & Crime Fiction). Angry Robot came into Fantasy & Science Fiction at the right time – they have seen the genres grow and grow. Young Adult might be growing in volume of sales, but young readers tend to have a few favourite series within that genre before moving on to more challenging titles (such as Tolkien, Hobb, Canavan, etc). Taking a shot at a Young Adult only label was brave and typical of Angry Robot – who take chances (usually successfully) on most things – but it seems it wasn’t to be. The sad part about all this is that the imprint actually placed well in – and even took – some fairly high profile awards Laura Lam’s titles under the imprint were particularly impressive, for example. As for Crime Fiction: well, you only need to look at the Asda/Wal Mart shelves to know just how competitive that genre is. And, again, sadly people who enjoy those genres tend to have their favourite authors too.
The good news is that Angry Robot as a label is still going strong. In fact, they tell us that “we plan to increase our output from 2 books a month, to 3. We have no plans to cancel any titles other than those of Strange Chemistry and Exhibit A.” This will keep fans of Fantasy-Faction’s friends Wesley Chu, Guy Haley, Kameron Hurley, Anne Lyle, Emma Newman (and many more!) very happy.
Here is Angry Robot’s full publication list for 2014:
- The Iron Wolves by Andy Remic (World: January 2014)
- The Cormorant by Chuck Wendig (World: January 2014)
- Hang Wire by Adam Christopher (World: February 2014)
- Known Devil by Justin Gustainis (World: February 2014)
- The Book of the Crowman by Joseph D’Lacey (World: March 2014)
- Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina (World: March 2014)
- Sunstone by Freya Robertson (World: April 2014)
- Last God Standing by Michael Boatman (World: April 2014)
- Morningside Fall by Jay Posey (World: May 2014)
- Peacemaker by Marianne de Pierres (World: May 2014)
- Night Terrors by Tim Waggoner (World: June 2014)
- The White Towers by Andy Remic (World: June 2014)
- The Shadow Master by Craig Cormick (World: July 2014)
- The Blasted Lands by James A. Moore (World: July 2014)
- The Buried Life by Carrie Patel (World: August 2014)
- The Guild of Assassins by Anna Kashina (World: August 2014)
- The Bullet Catcher’s Daughter by Rod Duncan (World: September 2014)
- The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley (World: September 2014)
- Company Town by Madeline Ashby (World: October 2014)
- The Waterborne Blade by Susan Murray (World: October 2014)
- Flex by Ferrett Steinmetz (World: October 2014)
- The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath by Ishbelle Bee (World: November 2014)
- Dream Stalkers by Tim Waggoner (World: November 2014)
- Apex by Ramez Naam (World: November 2014)
