The Future of Pyr: Outlook Good

On April 19, 2004, Prometheus Books announced it was launching Pyr, a science fiction and fantasy imprint that would publish its first title the following spring. At that time, Prometheus was entering its thirty-fifth year as an independent publisher of nonfiction, with popular science being one of its core categories. The company felt that there would be a natural connection to this genre, noting the long history of mutual inspiration and admiration between science nonfiction and speculative fiction.

Lou Anders was hired as Pyr’s editorial director. Guided by his vision, and charting new waters for the parent press, the Pyr imprint achieved many successes but was not immune to misses, either. Over the years, there were many award-winning moments and sales successes—and some missteps and disappointments, too. Anders embraced an additional role as the face, and often, spokesperson, of Pyr—a role at which he excelled. But from day one, many people worked to build the Pyr brand. Every book Anders acquired (just as those acquired by our nonfiction and later, crime fiction, editors) became the responsibility of the entire Prometheus Books team. Many dedicated marketers, editors, publicists, designers, typesetters, and production and sales staff contributed creativity, ideas, and hard work to each Pyr book and series we published.

As all parents of ten year-olds will recognize, young tweens have a powerful desire to separate from the direction a caretaker has always provided and want nothing more than to blaze their own trail regardless of any stumbles that may occur in doing so.  With Lou Anders’s departure, it would be a mistake to assume that Pyr, at age ten, cannot potentially benefit from some fresh independence and room to be guided by other voices.

Rene Sears has been part of our professional family for quite some time and is uniquely qualified to shepherd Pyr projects through this time of transition and growth. (She has such familiarity with our list and the genre as a whole that she’s been a valuable information-font at our DragonCon booths. We missed her there this year!) Prometheus Books is so happy to welcome her into this role and we have already had encouraging discussions on cover direction, author and agent relationships, manuscript readiness, and other matters.  We are quite confident in her abilities to help our ten-year-old imprint navigate this separation and become even more self-sufficient and strong.

Pyr’s goal from day one was to seek to provide books of a consistently high quality. Looking ahead we have many titles that excite, including next week’s release of FALLING SKY by Rajan Khanna, April’s SUPERPOSITION by David Walton, and BLACK HEART: THE BARROW, BOOK TWO by Mark Smylie in August 2015.

We’ve recently heard from independent booksellers that their customers are hungry for science fiction again, despite the predominance of fantasy over these last several years.  That’s encouraging. National retailers have indicated they see a resurgence in space opera—a category in which we’ve not only published before but one in which we have a new series starting in December with THE FORTRESS IN ORION (Dead Enders, Book One) by Mike Resnick. Also, good news.

Our 2004 press release announcing the Pyr launch included this aim: "With Pyr, we’ll be looking to create science fiction for the Next Age.” After ten years of proudly bearing Anders's personal stamp, Pyr is ready for its next age. We thank all our readers, and authors, for their continued support.

Find Pyr at DragonCon and WorldCon

Pyr Books will have a presence this coming weekend at both LoneStarCon 3, the 71s World Science Fiction Convention, in San Antonio, Texas and DragonCon, in Atlanta, Georgia. I (Lou Anders) be giving the Pyr Books Presents! panel at LoneStarCon 3, along with several attending Pyr authors, and my editorial assistant, Rene Sears, will be hosting her first panel at DragonCon at the exact time in Atlanta, also with attending authors. These are two different panels - no simulcasting or multiplexing going on - but lots of never before seen cover art at both. Please come by if you are attending either con. And if you can somehow attend both, we'd really like to meet you.

World Con

3:00 PM, Friday

Pyr Books Presents!

Room: 007CD (Convention Center)

Lou Anders with Ari Marmell, Chris Willrich, Sam Sykes

DragonCon 

4:00 PM Friday*
Pyr Rising
Room: Regency V (Hyatt)

Rene Sears with Clay & Susan Griffith, Gabrielle Harbowy, E.C. Myers, Mike Resnick, Joel Shepherd


*Since Atlanta is an hour ahead of San Antonio, these two panels will be happening simultaneously.

2013 Chesley Award Nominations

The Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists have announced the nominees for the 2013 Chesley Awards. The Chesley Awards were established in 1985 as ASFA's peer awards to recognize individual works and achievements not otherwise recognized by the Hugo Awards, during a given year and are named in honor of famed astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell. This year’s ceremony will take place at the 71st World Science Fiction convention, LoneStarCon 3, in San Antonio, TX, August 29th - September 2nd.

This year, Pyr is delighted to be represented on the ballot five times!

•  2013 Chesley Award for Best Cover Illustration, Paperback, nominee: Dehong He, Lance of Earth and Sky

 

•  2013 Chesley Award for Best Cover Illustration, Paperback, nominee: Todd Lockwood, The Dusk Watchman

 

• 2013 Chesley Award for Best Cover Illustration, Paperback, nominee: John Picacio, The Creative Fire

 

•  2013 Chesley Award for Best Cover Illustration, Hardback, nominee: Sam Weber, Quantum Coin

 

• 2013 Chesley Award for Best Art Director, nominee: Lou Anders

Here is the full list. Congratulations to all the nominees:

Best Cover Illustration: Paperback Book

• Dehong He: Lance of Earth and Sky by Erin Hoffman, Pyr, April 2012
• Todd Lockwood: The Dusk Watchman by Tom Lloyd, Pyr, August 2012
• John Jude Palencar: The Palencar Project edited by David G. Hartwell, Tor ebook, February 2012
• John Picacio: The Creative Fire by Brenda Cooper, Pyr, November 2012
• Elena Vizerskaya: Flying in the Heart of the Lafayette Escadrille by James Van Pelt, Fairwood Press, November 2012

Best Cover Illustration: Hardback Book

• J.K. Drummond: Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson, Subterranean Press, March 2012
• Bob Eggleton: Gods of Opar by Philip José Farmer & Christopher Paul Carey, Subterranean Press, June 2012
• Donato Giancola: Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear, Tor, March 2012
• Todd Lockwood: The Wild Road by Jennifer Roberson, DAW, September 2012
• John Picacio: Hyperion by Dan Simmons, Subterranean Press, April 2012
• Sam Weber: Quantum Coin by E. C. Myers, Pyr, October 2012

Best Cover Illustration: Magazine

• Ken Barthelmey: Clarkesworld #74 November 2012
• Julie Dillon: Clarkesworld #73 October 2012
• Bob Eggleton: Famous Masters of Filmland #262 July/August 2012
• Martin Faragasso: Clarkesworld #71 August 2012
• David Palumbo: Creepy #9 Dark Horse, July 2012
• Craig J. Spearing: Dragon #418 December 2012

Best Interior Illustration

• Brom: Krampus by Brom Harper, Voyager, Oct. 2012
• Sam Burley: “Brother. Prince. Snake.” by Cecil Castellucci, Tor.com, July 2012
• J. K. Drummond: Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson, Subterranean Press, Mar. 2012
• Bob Eggleton: Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, MBI/Easton Press, Dec. 2012
• William O'Connor: Dracopedia The Great Dragons: An Artist's Field Guide and Drawing Journal by William O'Connor, Impact, June 2012

Best Monochrome: Unpublished

• Larry Elmore: “By the River,” oil
• Travis Lewis: “Deep,” oil & mixed media
• Joāo Ruas “Sides,” graphite
• Raoul Vitale: “Last of His Kind,” pencil
• Allen Williams: “Fawn,” graphite

Best Color Work: Unpublished

• Julie Bell: “A Passion for the Future,” oil
• Donato Giancola: “Joan of Arc,” oil
• Lucas Graciano: “Guardianship,” oil
• Michael C. Hayes: “Procession,” oil
• Mark Poole: “Waiting on a Memory,” oil
• Soutchay Sougpradith: “Peacock Prophecy,” oil
• Raoul Vitale: “Safe,” oil

Best Three-Dimensional Art

• Dan Chudzinski: “Gus Gets a Jetpack,” mixed
• Michael Defeo: “Octopus,” resin
• David Meng: “Sashimi,” mixed
• Michael Parkes: “Startled Sky Nymph,” half life-size bronze
• James Shoop: “Ramautar,” bronze
• Vincent Villafranca: “Spaceman on the Verge,” bronze
• Cindy Wynn: “Alien Chair,” steel

Best Gaming-Related Illustration

• Lucas Graciano: “Dragon Swarm” (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Artifacts & Legends) Paizo, October 2012
• D. Alexander Gregory: “Chandra the Firebrand” (2013 Core Set Magic card) WotC, July 2012
• David Palumbo: “Ereshkigal, Death Mistress” (“Legend of the Cryptids”) Applibot Inc., April 2012
• James Ryman: “Princess of the Underworld,” (“Legend of the Cryptids”) Applibot Inc., April 2012
•  Sverlin Velinov: “Thundermaw Hellkite” (2013 Core Set Magic card) Wizards of the Coast, July 2012

Best Product Illustration

• Jim Burns: “The Wanderers” (IlluXCon 5 promotional art) Munchkin Press, November 2012
• Dan Dos Santos: “The Dragon Empress” (Dragon*Con promotional poster) August, 2012
• John Harris: “The Search” (Illuxcon 5 promotional art) Munchkin Press, Nov. 2012
• Iain McCaig: Concept and character design for John Carter, Disney, March 2012
• John Picacio: La Sirena Loteria card 2012

Best Art Director

• Lou Anders for Pyr Books
• Irene Gallo for Tor
• Lauren Panepinto for Orbit Books
• William Schafer for Subterranean Press
• Jon Schindehette for Wizards of the Coast

Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement

• Brom
• Larry Elmore
• David Hardy
•  John Harris
• Gary Lippincott

2013 Hugo Award Nominations

Lone Star Con 3, the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention, has announced the 2103 Hugo Award Nominees. We are thrilled that Pyr editorial director Lou Anders has been nominated in the category of Best Editor Long Form for the seventh consecutive year in a row (every year the category has existed). The Hugo Award® is the leading award for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy. The Hugos are awarded each year by the World Science Fiction Society, at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). This year, the LoneStarCon 3 ceremony will take place on Sunday, September 1, 2013 and will be hosted by Toastmaster, Paul Cornell.

Pyr Podcast Roundtable

Today, episode 61 of Speculate: The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans, features a special roundtable podcast with Pyr editorial director Lou Anders, Pyr authors Brenda Cooper (The Creative Fire) and E.C. Myers (Fair Coin and Quantum Coin), and freelance copyeditor Gabrielle Harbowy. They say:


"We set a new record for single episode participation in this show with four distinguished guests: Brenda Cooper and E.C. Myers (authors of The Creative Fire and Quantum Coin, respectively), freelance editor Gabrielle Harbowy, and Pyr Books‘ editorial and art director Lou Anders speak for an hour on what has made Pyr such a successful speculative fiction imprint, where it’s been and where it’s going in the future. This wide ranging discussion also looks at the finer points of how good editors work with good authors, how important a good cover is to an equally good book, and what makes Dragon Con such a scary (and amazing!) event every year. Our shows normally don’t run this long, but we hope you’ll agree the extra discussion we got with all of these fine people was worth the extra time. If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week when we’ll start a new series of shows on the work of Joe Abercrombie. Until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!"

2012 Chesley Award Finalists

ASFA, the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, have released the finalists for the Chesley Awards. The cover artists for three Pyr novels are finalists in the category of Paperback Books:

Justin Gerard for Hearts of Smoke and Steamby Andrew P. Mayer
Lucas Graciano for The Goblin Corpsby Ari Marmell
Jon Sullivan for The Curious Case of the Clockwork Manby Mark Hodder

I'm also thrilled at the news that I've just received my fifth Chesley Award nomination in the category of Best Art Director. I'm tremendously humbled to be sharing this honor with fellow nominees Matt Adelsperger (WotC), Irene Gallo (Tor), David Palumbo (Night Shade Books), and Jon Schindehette (WotC).

The Chesley Awards were established in 1985 by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists to recognize individual artistic works and achievements during a given year. The Chesleys were initially called the ASFA Awards, but were later renamed to honor famed astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell following his death in 1986. The awards are presented annually at the World Science Fiction Convention.

Congratulations to all the nominees! 

Functional Nerds

In episode 93 of the Functional Nerds podcast, Patrick Hester and John Anealio welcome Lou Anders back to the show to chat with E.C. Meyers about Young Adult Fiction.

Cover for Shadow's Master Revealed

Hey everyone,

I've just received the final cover art for Shadow's Master by Michael Komarck (via the very awesome Art Direction of Lou Anders). Check it out!

Pyr Editorial Director Wins Hugo Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cheryl Krajna
1-800-853-7545
ckrajna@prometheusbooks.com

August 23, 2011

Pyr Editorial Director Wins Hugo Award
Lou Anders Recognized

Amherst, NY– Pyr, a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books, is proud to announce a 2011 Hugo Award win by Editorial Director Lou Anders.

Anders received the trophy for “Best Editor–Long Form” at a ceremony on August 20 at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada. Jay Lake and Ken Scholes presided as masters of ceremony, with additional presenters including Renovation Guests of Honor Tim Powers, Boris Vallejo, and Ellen Asher, along with leading genre writers George R. R. Martin and Robert Silverberg.

The Hugos are international, fan-voted awards. All members of the World Science Fiction Society are eligible to vote.

This was the fifth consecutive nomination and the first win for Anders in the category.

“Words cannot express what an honor this award represents to me,” Anders said. “But what I can express is how privileged I feel to work every day with the host of brilliant authors who have made Pyr what it is.”

“Lou’s taste, vision, and stewardship have been instrumental in shaping the Pyr brand,” said Prometheus Books President Jonathan Kurtz. “We’re extremely pleased and grateful for the tremendous reception Pyr has received since its inception.”

Prometheus Books, an independent publisher of thoughtful nonfiction, launched the Pyr imprint in March 2005. Since then, it has become a brand known for books with quality both inside and out, from rich, engrossing narratives to award-winning cover art and design. Although technically an imprint, Pyr was called “one of a very few publishers I know of who have no bad books to their name” by a BiblioBuffet writer, and “one of the most exciting publishers in the business” by Black Gate magazine.

# # #

2011 Chesley Award Finalists

ASFA, the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, have announced the 2011 Chesley Award Finalists. I'm thrilled to be nominated for a fourth time in the category of Best Art Director (I won in 2009), and equally happy to see two Pyr cover illustrations make the list. Congratulations to Todd Lockwood for his nomination for the cover for Tom LLoyd's The Ragged Man and to Stephan Martiniere for his nomination for the cover illustration for Ian McDonald's Ares Express. Both are in the category of Best Paperback. And congratulations to all the nominees. Please follow the link above and check out all the amazing work.

Shadow's Lure released

Hey folks,

I just wanted to thank Lou and his staff for all that they've done. My second book, Shadow's Lure, is arriving in stores as I type this. Needless to say, I'm devilishly excited. Hope you enjoy.

--Jon

Visit Us at BEA May 24-26

Pyr will be represented at Book Expo America in the Prometheus Books booth, #4566.

Book Expo America is a trade only event that delivers the largest gathering of booksellers, librarians, retailers, and industry professionals anywhere in North America. It takes place at the Javits Center in New York City.

In the BEA autographing area, Clay and Susan Griffith, co-authors of the Vampire Empire trilogy, will be signing copies of book one, The Greyfriar , as well as giving away bookmarks for book two, The Rift Walker, which will be published in September. BEA attendees, get your signed copy at Table #25 on Tuesday, May 24, 10:30 - 11:30 am EST.

The Pyr Fall-Winter 2011-2012 catalog will be available at booth #4566, as will publisher staff in marketing, publicity, ebooks, and sales. Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders will NOT be at BEA this year, but please do say hello to the rest of us! If you're a book reviewer or blogger interested in Pyr and are attending BEA, feel free to email publicity@prometheusbooks.com and let us know you'll be stopping by.

Lou Anders reads from Spring Heeled Jack at the PKD Award Ceremony

The Best of 2010 Steampunk Facebook Awards

Not a picture of Lou.

The steampunk page on Facebook has just announced "The Best of 2010 Steampunk Facebook Awards." They write, "The largest steampunk fan page on Facebook now has a set of yearly awards to acknowledge the best of the best, those people in the arts and other creative fields whose work has shone through above the rest or who hold the most worldwide popularity among the steampunk community for their work this year. As this is the first year of these awards, we will be taking into account the work that individuals have done over the course of the past decade when determining who to select."

I suppose I'll be needing a pair of brass goggles now as I've been named "Best Editor." But before I start affixing gears to all my gadgets, what this announcement really means is that someone appreciates all the wonderful steampunk books that Pyr has released in the last few months, books like The Ghosts of Manhattan, The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack, The Greyfriar, The Horns of Ruin, and The Buntline Special. For my part, I certainly appreciate their authors.

For Your Consideration: Pyr's 2010 Output

It's that time again. The Hugo Awards are now open for nominations, so here is a handy-dandy list of all the books that Pyr released in 2010.

Pyr's 2010 Publications:

Kay Kenyon's Prince of Storms (in hc and paperback). Cover art by Stephan Mariniere.
Kay Kenyon's City Without End (reprint). Cover art by Stephan Martiniere.
Paul McAuley's Gardens of the Sun. Cover art by Sparth.
David Louis Edelman's Geosynchron. Cover art by Stephan Martiniere.
Joel Shepherd's Petrodor. Cover art by David Palumbo.
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Empire in Black and Gold. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Dragonfly Falling. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Blood of the Mantis. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
George Mann's Ghosts of Manhattan. Cover art by Benjamin Carre.
Ian McDonald's Ares Express (reprint). Cover art by Stephan Martiniere.
Mark Chadbourn's The Devil in Green. Cover art by John Picacio.
Mark Chadbourn's The Queen of Sinister. Cover art by John Picacio.
Mark Chadbourn's The Hounds of Avalon. Cover art by John Picacio.
Matthew Sturges' The Office of Shadow. Cover art by Chris McGrath.
Jon Sprunk's Shadow's Son. Cover art by Michael Komarck.
Ian McDonald's The Dervish House. Cover art by Stephan Martiniere.
Tom Lloyd's The Ragged Man. Cover art by Todd Lockwood.
Jasper Kent's Twelve. Cover art by Paul Young.
Sam Sykes' Tome of the Undergates. Cover art by Paul Young.
Mark Hodders' The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Salute the Dark. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
Joel Shepherd's Tracato. Cover art by David Palumbo.
Pierre Pevel's The Cardinal's Blades. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
James Enge's The Wolf Age. Cover art by Dominic Harman.
Clay and Susan Griffith's The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire Book 1). Cover art by Chris McGrath.
James Barclay's Elfsorrow. Cover art by Raymond Swanland.
James Barclay's Shadowheart. Cover art by Raymond Swanland.
James Barclay's Demonstorm. Cover art by Raymond Swanland.
Tim Akers' The Horns of Ruin. Cover art by Benjamin Carre.
Mike Resnick's The Buntline Special. Cover art by J. Seamus Gallagher.

30 novels in 31 bindings. Quite a year. Pyr itself turned 5 and hit our 100th title.

Regarding short form fiction, the Hugo Awards defines a short story as anything less than 7,500 words, a novelette as being between 7,500 words and 17,500 words, and a novella as being from 17,500 words to 40,000. Pyr released one novelette in 2010, James Enge's "Travellers' Rest," which was made available as a free ebook in both ePub and Kindle formats. Cover art by Chuck Lukacs. 8,471 words.

Beyond Pyr, I (Lou Anders) edited two short fiction anthologies (making this a year in which I am personally eligible in both the long form and short form categories, in case you are wondering). Each contained works by several Pyr authors, though the works of all the contributors, Pyr and non-Pyr alike, are certainly deserving of your consideration. 

Masked (Gallery Books). Cover art by Trevor Hairsine:

• "Cleansed and Set in Gold" by Matthew Sturges (9,825 words)
• "Where their Worm Dieth Not" by James Maxey (6,868 words)
• "Secret Identity" by Paul Cornell (4,795 words)
• "The Non-Event" by Mike Carey (6,093 words)
• "Avatar" by Mike Baron (4,483 words)
• "Message from the Bubblegum Factory" by Daryl Gregory (9,514 words)
• "Thug" by Gail Simone (5,746 words)
• "Vacuum Lad" by Stephen Baxter (6,733 words)
• "A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" by Chris Roberson (11,404 words)
• "Head Cases" by Peter David & Kathleen David (5,474)
• "Downfall" by Joseph Mallozzi (18,181)
• "By My Works You Shall Know Me" by Mark Chadbourn (6,636 words)
• "Call Her Savage" by Marjorie M. Liu (8,955 words)
• "Tonight we fly" by Ian McDonald (4,998 words)
• "A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too)" by Bill Willingham (15,932 words)

Swords & Dark Magic (co-edited with Jonathan Strahan, Eos). Cover art by Benjamin Carre. (Deluxe edition, Subterranean Press. Cover art by Dominic Harman).

• "Goats of Glory" - Steven Erikson (10,301 words)
• "Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company" - Glen Cook (9,973 words)
• "Bloodsport" - Gene Wolfe (5,562 words)
• "The Singing Spear" - James Enge (3,455 words)
• "A Wizard of Wiscezan" - C.J. Cherryh (10,543 words)
• "A Rich Full Week" - K. J. Parker (9,912 words)
• "A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet" - Garth Nix (5,068 words)
• "Red Pearls: An Elric Story" - Michael Moorcock (17,206)
• "The Deification of Dal Bamore" - Tim Lebbon (7,425 words)
• "Dark Times at the Midnight Market" - Robert Silverberg (8,177 words)
• "The Undefiled" - Greg Keyes (4,254 words)
• "Hew the Tint Master" - Michael Shea (11,489 words)
• "In the Stacks" - Scott Lynch (14,643 words)
• "Two Lions, A Witch, and the War-Robe" - Tanith Lee (10,715 words)
• "The Sea Troll's Daughter" - Caitlin R Kiernan
• "Thieves of Daring" - Bill Willingham (2,219 words)
• "The Fool Jobs" - Joe Abercrombie (8,372 words)

And that's it for 2010. I do sincerely hope you will check out all the many deserving writers and artists in the list above.