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The backlog of new books is breaking up a bit…

Our shippers have sent out all copies of The Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon) as well as The Last Science Fiction Writer (Allen Steele). We expect all copies of the new novellas Kilimanjaro (Mike Resnick) and The Proteus Sails Again (Thomas M. Disch) to be en route to customers by Tuesday afternoon.

More as matters progress…

We couldn’t be happier… SubPress’ own Yanni Kuznia just received a starred review from Publishers Weekly for A Fantasy Medley, the anthology she edited with tales by Robin Hobb, Kelley Armstrong, Kate Elliott, and C. E. Murphy. As the review notes, “Four fantasy heavyweights contribute original tales featuring intriguing female protagonists to this enthralling anthology.”

On Seven for a Secret (Elizabeth Bear): “[Bear’s] superior prose will engage the interest of both new readers and fans of Abby and Sebastien’s earlier exploits.”

We’ve had a slight redesign to Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, as the paper we originally ordered could no longer be manufactured. Here’s a first look at the mockup of how Neil’s instant classic for children and adults will look.

The special order marbled paper is at our printer, so we expect to receive finished books in the next two weeks, at which point we’ll immediately order the slipcases. If all goes according to plan, we should be shipping final copies of the numbered edition in February.

2009 is shaping up to be the year of Jack Vance. In addition to the mammoth tribute anthology, Songs of the Dying Earth, we have two new titles by the SF Grandmaster himself on our schedule.

– This is Me, Jack Vance! is, simply put, one of the most fascinating autobiographies to come out of the genre. Jack Vance has led a life of significant accomplishment and adventure, in addition to the many beloved tales he has written. Here, he shares his personal story with readers, both in text and an extensive photograph archive.

– Wild Thyme, Green Magic is a 360 page gathering of some of Vance’s best work, most of it out of print for decades — and none included in The Jack Vance Treasury. Here’s your chance to rediscover, once again, the world creating genius that has made Jack so beloved.

Both titles are deep into production, fully designed, and on schedule for publication this summer. One final thing to note: So as not to overburden Mr. Vance, we’ve asked him to sign only the lettered editions, which are certain to go fast.

Thanks to everyone for their enthusiasm for the lettered edition of Joe Hill’s chapbook, Thumbprint. We announced it for sale via a special email newsletter, and the chapbook sold out in just a couple of hours.

This just in, from sfsite.com:
“The Best of Michael Swanwick illustrates the same point over and over again. Here is the work of a writer who knows and understands the strengths and traditions of science fiction and fantasy and keeps finding new ways to make them his own. That’s why, when finished with the collection, the reader is left with not just admiration and respect for Michael Swanwick the writer of story “A “or story “B,” but for Michael Swanwick the writer, period.”

A good eight months before its scheduled release date, our mammoth (over 600 pages) tribute anthology to Jack Vance, Songs of the Dying Earth, is preselling exceptionally well. We’re down to the last 50 copies of the signed limited edition, and the trade hardcover is more than half sold out. If you’re game for a copy of this book, we suggest ordering soon.

Also selling well is Alastair Reynolds’ new space opera novella, The Six Directions of Space. Our shippers are finishing up the last of the preordered copies, and we’ll have fewer than 50 copies left in stock when they’re done.

We’ve just received notice from our supplier that they expect delivery, quite possibly this week, on a number of traycases for our lettered editions. They’ll ship immediately to us, so if all goes well, we’ll be sending out the following lettered editions to customers in two to three weeks.

– Altered Carbon (Richard K. Morgan);
– Worlds of Weber (David Weber);
– Moby Dick: a Screenplay (Ray Bradbury);
– Ubik: the Screenplay (Philip K. Dick);
– The Jack Vance Reader (Jack Vance);
– Project Moonbase and Others (Robert A. Heinlein);
– Or Else the Lady Keeps the Key (Kage Baker);
– Interworld (Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves);
– Haggopian and Other Stories (Brian Lumley);
– On Stranger Tides (Tim Powers).

The last few weeks of 2009 seem to be the time for wrapping up some books, and for others to be turned in. For starters, we now have corrections for 90% of the stories for the Jack Vance tribute anthology, Songs of the Dying Earth. Only three authors need to be sent their pages for final proofreading, and then we’ll have everything in line for a mid-2009 publication.

Kage Baker turned in a new novella, a precursor to her Company series. The Women of Nell Gwynne’s is set in the world of the Gentleman’s Speculative Society, the steampunk era gathering of gentleman scientists and adventurers who will eventually form her most famous creation, The Company. Meanwhile, the last stories (including a 10k worder by Joe R. Lansdale) are flowing in for Son of Retro Pulp Tales, which looks to be even more fun than its predecessor.

Add to that stories we’ve recently bought for Subterranean Online by James P. Blaylock, Alex Irvine, and interviews by Jim Butcher, Terry Pratchett, and others, and there’s a ton of good reading coming your way in 2009.

Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist was quite kind to SubPress in its year end ranking of things. The Six Directions of Space (Alastair Reynolds) made his top twenty reads, while he singled out the dust jacket art for Gardens of the Moon (Steven Erikson) as one of the best epic fantasy covers ever, and named us as honorable mention for Best Publisher of the Year, behind the good folks at Pyr.

If that’s not enough good news for one day, Speculative Fiction Junkie posted a review of Those Who Went Remain There Still (Cherie Priest) that fairly glowed off the page, calling it “a fantastic, well written horror story.”