Special announcement! New Editorial Director!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 19, 2015

Prometheus Books Announces New Pyr Editorial Director

Rene Sears to Manage Acquisitions and Editorial Direction for SFF Imprint

Amherst, New York—Prometheus Books is pleased to announce Rene Sears as editorial director of Pyr, our science fiction and fantasy imprint. We are thrilled that this appointment coincides with Pyr’s 10th anniversary this month, as it opens the way for a new aesthetic while preserving our rich history.

When Pyr’s original editorial and art director, Lou Anders, resigned after nine years, Sears was tapped to help shepherd projects in progress during the transition. She had been part of our professional family for quite some time, having previously worked with Pyr in several capacities including acquisition support, copyediting, and promotion.

Sears has acquired titles in ongoing series (such as Rising Tide by Rajan Khanna and The Prison in Antares by Mike Resnick) and helped oversee the process of directing cover illustrators and designers. Her first original acquisition is a historical fantasy by author Stephanie Burgis—tentatively titled Masks and Shadows—planned for spring 2016 publication.

In a recent Locus interview, Burgis says the book brings together her “geeky obsessions” of fantasy and opera. With alchemists, mystery, and a plot to assassinate an emperor and empress, this wildly romantic fantasy novel is like an 18th-century Downton Abbey with magic, set in the Austro-Hungarian palace where Joseph Haydn worked as the court composer. Burgis has written a trilogy of middle-grade historical fantasy novels, and numerous short stories for adults. Masks and Shadows will be her adult debut novel.

As Pyr enters its second decade, we are excited by the combination of continuity and fresh point of view the appointment of Rene Sears provides. We’re also proud that Sears adds to the growing list of women in executive positions at science fiction and fantasy presses, joining such esteemed editors and publishers as Toni Weisskopf at Baen, Ginjer Buchanan at Ace, and Joanna Kramer at Orbit.

Before joining Pyr, Sears copyedited for mental_floss magazine. She has a BA in English literature from Duke University and an MFA in sequential art (also known as comic books) from Savannah College of Art and Design. Her short stories have been published at Daily Science Fiction and in the Fantasy Faction Anthology. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband, two children, and dog.

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