Archive for News
Angry Robot Launches in the US and Canada today
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This will be the first of several posts today, as we’re all so gosh-darned excited here at Angry Robot Towers. You see, today’s the day we launch our first six titles in the USA and Canada, but then you already knew that, as the title of this post gave more than a little clue.
It’s been a fascinating, exciting journey, with one or two minor hiccups along the way, and we’re in a stronger position than we’ve been in since Angry Robot was first conceived, just over two years ago, in Hammersmith, London, England.
At 1.00 this afternoon (BST) we’ll be cracking open a bottle of champagne to celebrate, and invite you* to do the same**.
Check back throughout the day for further updates, competitions, news, and general buffoonery.
*Not at our expense, naturally – we’re lovely people, but we’re not rolling in money! 
** Feel free to substitute cola, tea, coffee, or the beverage of your choice.
Buy unique art inspired by Zoo City and help refugee kids in South Africa
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Zoo City Bares - click for full-size
With 36 hours to go on the Zoo City Bares charity auction (16 inch tall one-of-a-kind handpainted art toys inspired by Lauren Beukes’ novel, Zoo City – go to www.bidorbuy.co.za and search for “Zoo City Bares” to bid now) we got Lauren to write a blog on how it came about:
I’ve got into a very bad habit as a writer in the last couple of years: doing cool side projects that are wa-aa-aay out of my jurisdiction as professional typist extraordinaire.
Both Moxyland and Zoo City have their own official soundtracks put together by me and HoneyB at African Dope (www.africandope.co.za), but both books also have their own distinctive toys used to raise money for amazing causes. Read More→
Lauren Beukes and Angry Robot are in London later this month
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A brief reminder – Lauren Beukes (author of the fantastic, critically-acclaimed Moxyland) is making a rare visit to the UK this month from her native South Africa, and we’ve lined up three events where you can meet her, and get your books signed.
Not only that, to celebrate her visit we’ve teamed up with Forbidden Planet to bring you an Angry Robot first – a limited edition hardcover of her forthcoming novel, Zoo City. It’s already attracted a lot of attention, and for very good reason!
You can order a copy of Zoo City from Forbidden Planet, here. Better still, come along to her signing. There are just 100 copies being sold through Forbidden Planet, so you’re going to have to get one soon to avoid disappointment! This is a very limited limited edition.
Lauren will be signing Zoo City at the London Forbidden Planet Megastore from 6.00-7.00pm on Thursday July 29th. Come along and say “Hi” and pick up a copy of the book. I’ll also be there (Lee) despite my wife’s protestations (she doesn’t object to Lauren – the signing is halfway through our holiday, so I’ll be leaving our cottage in Wales to come along to the event). 
British Science Fiction Association
The night before Lauren’s signing at Forbidden Planet she will be the special guest at the July meeting of the British Science Fiction Association, where she will be reading from Zoo City, prior to an interview. There will be a Q&A session at the end, and you don’t have to be a member of the BSFA to attend. There may be one or two other Angry Robot authors there, too, as well as Marc Gascoigne – Angry Robot’s Publishing Director.
The reading / interview will be at the upstairs bar of:
The Antelope Tavern, 22 Eaton Terrace, Belgravia, London SW1W 8EZ (nearest tube station is Sloane Square on the District and Circle lines).
The reading will commence around 7.00pm, but people usually start gathering in the downstairs bar from 5.00pm onwards.
British Fantasy Society
Lauren will also be the guest at the first BFS Open Night of the year. Well, not Open Night so much as Open Afternoon. For those of you who might find it hard to get to central London on a weekday evening, Lauren’s BFS event is on Saturday 31st July from 1.00pm until 5.00pm at The George pub on The Strand, WC2R 1AP (nearest tube station: Temple). And again, you don’t have to be a member to attend, though you can join on the day if you wish.
So, those dates again:
Wednesday 28th July: BSFA meeting - 7.00pm onwards (but any time from 5.00 for general chit-chat and beerage)
Thursday 29th July: Forbidden Planet signing – 6.00pm until 7.00pm (see here for details)
Saturday 31st July: BFS meeting – 1.00pm until 5.00pm
Barnes & Noble Nook – Down to $149
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Barnes and Noble have just introduced a new model into their eReader range – the Nook WiFi is the same as their previously-available model, but with the 3G components stripped out. And at a price of US$149 (about £101) that’s a pretty attractive price point! Their 3G model has been reduced to £199, so it will be interesting to see how (if at all) Amazon responds with their Kindle pricing.
So – the start of a whole new chapter for eReader sales and purchasers, or the beginning of the end for dedicated eReading devices?
We moved office
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So part of the change to Angry Robot’s business structure has been a move to larger, nattier new offices across Nottingham. From leafy Foxhall’s 18th century hunting lodge and its stained glass windows, we have hefted, ported and definitely lugged our worldly goods – damn, books are heavy. We now reside in the characterful Georgian splendour of our new home in the heart of the city’s historic Lace Market area. And yes, that is a piano in our reception. Feel free to have a tinkle when you pop by…
Angry Robot Limited,
Lace Market House,
54-56 High Pavement
Nottingham
NG1 1HW
UK
We have new telephone numbers too:
Marc Gascoigne +44 (0) 115 – 933 8456
Lee Harris +44 (0) 115 – 933 8455
Our emails remain firstname.secondname@angryrobotbooks.com. You can also use the general enquiries email incoming@… or the form on our Contact page.
A Robot Love-In
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No, Marco and I are not about to elope.
We’ve had so many good wishes via email, Facebook, text, Twitter, blog comments and strangers in the pub, and so many lovely things written about us all over the web since we announced we’re joining the Osprey family, we just wanted to say thanks, and to share a little bit of that love around.
At Dave Brendon’s Fantasy & SciFi Weblog Dave tell us:
with Marco and Lee still at the helm, there’s no way the quality and quantity will be changing. I say, Expect Even Bigger from Angry Robot!
Leading publishing industry analyst Eoin Purcell has some great things to say about both Osprey and Angry Robot, too:
I like Osprey. I think they are very smart operators and they know what they are doing and why. They have also built two very nice niche brands (Osprey and Shire) that are almost instantly recognizable in their markets, certainly by the kind of people who buy books and information in those spaces. So the news that they have bought the HarperCollins science-fiction and fantasy imprint Angry Robot is pretty exciting.
Steampunk author Adam Christopher writes:
This is good news. It will allow Angry Robot to grow and develop as a key, important independent genre publishing house. They’re established, they have a great brand, a terrific and incredibly diverse collection of authors and books, and a new set of owners who have promised business as usual and seem to be as excited about this (at least going by their Twitter feeds today!) as I am. I’m totally behind this move, and I’m quite happy to restate my position:
I trust Angry Robot Books to deliver the best genre storytelling around, and I would happily take all of their titles, on spec, as a standing order.
which is all well and good, except Adam then goes on to say that as we’re now independent publishers we should show up to work in skinny jeans and narrow ties. Tut-tut, Mr C - don’t you know that to be truly independent, you don’t follow what other independents do?
Angry Robot’s changes – the FAQ
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You may have noticed that we at Angry Robot have recently been a little quieter and more disorganised than usual. This can now all be explained: today, we’re announcing that Angry Robot has left HarperCollins UK, and is now a part of Osprey Publishing Group.
At the same time as we’re posting this news, we’re sending out a formal press release, as is traditional. But we thought you may have further questions, so here are a few notes, by way of an FAQ kind of thingie… Read More→
Press release: Angry Robot Books to Join Osprey Publishing
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Leading Non-Fiction Publisher Acquires Specialist Sci-Fi Fiction & Fantasy Imprint
Following an acclaimed first year of publishing, the revolutionary science fiction imprint Angry Robot Books has parted company with HarperCollins UK. It will now run as an independent publishing imprint, with the full backing of niche publishing experts, Osprey Publishing.
Angry Robot will continue to operate from its Nottingham base and with its existing team under Marc Gascoigne, its founder and publisher. Marc said: “With the support of HarperCollins UK, my team and I have worked very hard on Angry Robot since it was founded. We have a great publishing programme in place and a dedicated bunch of supporters, the Robot Army, as well as some excellent sales of our first titles in the UK and an imminent launch into the USA. We are very pleased to have become part of the burgeoning Osprey empire. They understand our business and the enthusiasts who drive it.”
Chris Michaels, HarperCollins Digital Publisher, Fiction/Non-Fiction, who helped set-up Angry Robot, said: “Having helped build the foundations for a successful future, we are delighted that the Angry Robot team has found a new publishing partner in Osprey. We believe this will help them develop their niche offering, supported by Osprey’s specialist sales and marketing teams. We wish them good luck for the future.”
Marc Gascoigne added, “Our publishing programme for 2010/11 will be basically unaffected by these changes. There will be a short break while the transition is sorted out, but we will be re-launching in September 2010 and then it will be business as usual.”
Osprey’s move is a reflection of the company’s continuing strategic drive into niche communities that share a deep enthusiasm for their interest or hobby, whether it be military history (Osprey Publishing), heritage (Shire Books), or science fiction and fantasy.
Richard Sullivan, Marketing Director at Osprey commented: “We have a great deal of experience of serving specialist niches with a very tight product focus. Angry Robot is a great fit with our existing businesses. We are very excited about the opportunity to enter into a new market and we are looking forward to helping Angry Robot, its authors and its readers go to some exciting places.”
For more information check out the FAQ we’ve drawn up, or contact Angry Robot direct via the form on this website.
Interviews, News, Reviews and Pews
Posted by: | CommentsOk, I lied about the pews.
In this month’s SciFi Now magazine, there are features on and by three different Angry Robot authors – Guy Adams talks about how he writes, Maurice Broaddus explains his particular methods of research, and Dan Abnett is quizzed about his forthcoming book, Embedded. Well worth picking up, and in UK newsagents now.
Over at Temple Library Reviews Lauren Beukes is interviewed and Moxyland gets the review treatment:
I have to say that the future Lauren Beukes envisions excited me, the world bedazzled me and the cyberpunk vibes buzzed my brain like a sour cherry. Beukes’ style is electric and evocative, which instantly puts her on my watch list of authors.
Servant of the Underworld appears to be a hit over at Examiner.com:
The book starts out a slow, steady pace and builds momentum from there. It’s not some huge action scene that hooks you. It’s the atmosphere. The blood spilled to gain favor from the gods. The cultural details Bodard infuses in each moment.
Guy Adams’ insane romp, The World House is covered at Luke Reviews:
the exploration of the house by the characters is the highlight of the book, with each group finding more bizarre rooms, each with an imaginative set-up
And Loudmouthman has this to say about Tim Waggoner’s Dead Streets (his follow-up to the brilliant Nekropolis):
Like all good pulp fiction your not in this to be invested in the characters your in it because the whole world feels, bloody gritty.
And to avoid disappointment, here’s a picture of a pew:
Like nailing soup to a table…
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The extremely lovely Guy Adams (author of The World House) has been interviewed by Hagelrat at the Un:Bound blog, and it makes for fascinating reading:
I think some of the book if lifted and offered out of context – I’m thinking about the scenes in the bathroom on the good ship Intrepid – actually reads like a kid’s book. But then I go and spoil it elsewhere with all the cannibalism and paintings rutting in their canvases.
It’s a great interview, so go read.
The equally-lovely Maurice Broaddus received a parcel yesterday – see what it is, and his reaction, here.
And Andy Remic’s Kell’s Legend (which is nominated for the David Gemmell Legend Award) has had a great review over at the Gemmel Award website, so go read the review, then go vote for the book!
Truly brilliant… it should come with a government health warning to fasten your seat belt as the pace is ferocious and leaves you breathless.
Personally I did not want this to end as it is such a fantastic read. Roll on book 2, grab this now and hang on for dear life as you ride the Kell rollercoaster!
I will be voting for this as it is truly the first Gemmell like read I’ve come across for pure grit and action.
Oh, and Stomping on Yeti lists their top 25 new (or newish) authors worth watching in 2010. Angry Robot authors account for 4 of these! Pretty good going for such a new imprint!
Enjoy your Wednesday.
