Sarasota News and Books

Deep in Michigan, a state renowned for its contributions to the automotive industry, a dark magic lurks, bringing the dreams and nightmares of a number of literary magicians to life. Some are well-known and critically acclaimed, some seem to have sprung full-grown from the shadows. The place where all of this happens is a small publisher called Subterranean Press, and it’s been happening since 1995.Almost all of the publisher’s books fit in the horror, mystery, fantasy, or science fiction genres, although not always neatly. For example, Joe R. Lansdale’s work often combines elements of fantasy, horror, mystery, and even westerns. Lansdale publishes a number of his unreleased stories in limited editions through the press, although most titles are sold out as of this writing.Subterranean Press publishes a quarterly self-titled magazine which is now free for reading online. The Summer 2010 issue features three novellas by Lucius Shepard, Mike Resnick, and Rachel Swirsky respectively, with a number of short stories, interviews, and reviews also included.Many of the books that Subterranean puts out come in two versions: trade edition or limited edition. The limited editions are generally signed and numbered and, of course, limited to a certain number of copies500 for the Swords & Dark Magic anthology. This is an example of one of Subterranean’s genre-based anthologies, where acclaimed fantasy authors like Joe Abercrombie, Gene Wolfe, Garth Nix, Scott Lynch, Bill Willingham, and more contribute stories in the “swords-and-sorcery” fantasy genre.Crime novelists Lawrence Block and Donald E. Westlake have a new publication coming out in October: Hellcats and Honeygirls, a collection of three collaborative novels the pair wrote back in the 1960s. The company’s hot current releases include Charles Stross’s collection of early short fiction, Toast, and Peter S. Beagle’s fantasy novel Return. Want to see the complete listing? Get over to the official Subterranean Press website. While you’re there, you can also sign up for the Subterranean Press Newsletter, which sends information on upcoming projects and other fun facts straight to your inbox.