It has been a pretty scary few months for fans of Science-Fiction and Fantasy imprint Angry Robot. Earlier this year news surfaced that the publisher’s owners were going through tough times and as a result ended up dropping their Strange Chemistry imprint – which published a vast array of young adult and young adult fantasy novels. Then, news came that editor Lee Harris was heading off to join Tor’s new imprint, The Imprint, and a number of us thought this could be the beginning of the end.
It has to be said that we all knew that Angry Robot SHOULDN’T be closed. Staff couldn’t talk, but the company had made it clear that they were still profitable and, therefore, likely to be attractive to another publishing company should their owners – The Osprey Group – decide to sell them off as part of the breaking up of their imprints.
Then, on September 25th, it was announced that American entrepreneur Etan Ilfeld had gone ahead and bought Angry Robot Books, as well as Watkins Publishing (mind, body and spirit books), Nourish (wellbeing cookbooks), rescuing them from administration. In addition to saving the jobs of all the employees, Ilfeld is intent on combining these imprints to form a diverse media company, Watkins Media Limited, which includes magazine publishing, a flagship retail store and mobile apps.
As a die-hard sci-fi fan, Ilfeld is “thrilled about purchasing Angry Robot”, delight which Marc Gascoigne, Angry Robot MD, shares:
“I’m absolutely delighted to be able to share this great news. There were several companies in the running to buy Angry Robot, but we’re so pleased that our new owner is someone who shares our vision for the imprint, and modern, innovate science fiction publishing. After the brief hiatus while we change hands, we look forward to Angry Robot resuming publication from March of next year, bring you new books from many familiar names and of course some amazing new talent too.”
Marc’s the kind of guy who tells it how it is. If he is happy then it is likely he truly believes that this is ‘the’ solution. Also, if Ilfeld is a fan of Science-Fiction and Fantasy, I’m sure he has come across an Angry Robot book before and knows that they’re onto a good thing – so will hopefully leave them to carry on pretty much as usual.
Indeed, Angry Robot authors seems happy that they’ll not be facing the same sad situation that many Strange Chemistry authors were a few months back – when they found themselves out of contract. Danielle L. Jensen, for example, has said:
The news was released today that Angry Robot Books (my publisher) has been sold to American entrepreneur Etan Ilfeld…
What does that mean for The Malediction Trilogy? Well, obviously it impacts me from a business standpoint as I now have a new boss/business partner/owner, depending on how you want to look at it. It will take time for the dust to settle and business to return to its usual flow, but that sort of stuff happens behind the scenes. How does it impact readers? Well… it means that HIDDEN HUNTRESS will soon be assigned an official release date, and it also means that the art department will start working on a cover for the book. Which are both GREAT things, so stay tuned…
So, basically, onwards!
With this in mind, we would like to offer high-fives to all the team at Angry Robot and let them know we look forward to their excellent work continuing.
Jennie Ivins
Definitely great news!
I wish they could have bought Strange Chemistry too. It was an amazing imprint with a lot to offer.
Me too. I think the thing with Strange Chemistry was that it was relatively new when things went south for the overall company. Angry Robot on the other-hand had been around for a long time and was established – the brand name is recognisable, loved and profitable.