Angry Robot is a British-based publishing house that publishes an array of science fiction, fantasy and horror titles. Angry Robot was founded in 2008, and has been publishing books in both the UK and US. markets since. In 2014, Angry Robot was sold by Osprey to Watkins Media, and has continued to build a strong list of bestselling books. They are the publishers of the Korean-translated bestseller The Cabinet by Un-su Kim; the epic Tiktok romantasy Glacian Trilogy by Stacey McEwan and recently the USA Today bestseller and instant Number 1 Sunday Times Bestseller, Evocation by S.T. Gibson.
| Parent company | Watkins Media |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | Nottingham |
| Distribution | Penguin Random House (US) Grantham Book Services (UK) Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pansing (Singapore)[1] |
| Publication types | books |
| Fiction genres | Science fiction and fantasy |
| Official website | www |
In 2023, they launched their crime imprint, Datura Books. Datura focuses on titles with a strong sense of voice and place that push the boundaries of the genre, while playing with readers' favourite tropes. The list launched with its first title, Death of a Dancing Queen by Kimberly G. Giarratano in February ‘23, and has published an array of crime fiction from existing and debut authors including the multiple award-nominee The Graveyard Shift from Maria Lewis.
Angry Robot are currently based in Canonbury.
History
editAngry Robot was founded in August 2008, when Marc Gascoigne, previously publisher of Games Workshop’s Black Library and Solaris imprints, was hired by HarperCollins UK to create a new science fiction imprint. The intention was to create an experimental line that would complement the existing Voyager imprint, which focussed mainly on big-selling fantasy titles. Angry Robot would be able to trial some different business methods – buying world rights to allow co-publishing in the US and UK, issuing eBooks and potentially audiobooks as standard alongside print editions, and maximising online marketing through bloggers, Twitter and Facebook.[2] [self-published source?]
Editor Lee Harris, previously best known for Hub,[3] an online short story magazine, was recruited at the start of 2009. The first titles published by the imprint, released in July of that year, were Slights by Kaaron Warren and Moxyland by Lauren Beukes. Both met with praise (Slights won the Australian Ditmar Award for best novel, and the Shadows Award for Best Fiction). The company continued to release two or three titles every month, but in April 2010, book production was temporarily halted when HarperCollins and the imprint parted.[citation needed]
Gascoigne purchased the imprint from HarperCollins for a nominal sum, in partnership with Oxford-based Osprey Publishing.[4] The imprint remained based in Nottingham. The monthly release of new titles resumed in September of that year, with titles publishing in the US as well as the UK for the first time.
Among the first titles in the new wave of release was Lauren Beukes’ Zoo City, which went on to win the Arthur C. Clarke Award for best science fiction book of the year in April 2011.[5] The novel was also nominated for a British Science Fiction Association Award[6] (it came second, but its cover art – by Joey HiFi - won a separate BSFA Award) and a World Fantasy Award.[7] Also notable was a reprint of K. W. Jeter’s pair of seminal steampunk novels, Morlock Night and Infernal Devices.
The imprint makes great capital out of its “Robot Army”, which is a street team of bloggers, reviewers and influential commentators from the science fiction world, who can access exclusive content and advance reading copies of Angry Robot’s novels. Angry Robot also uses its quirky branding to sell merchandise and eBooks (either singly or in multiples via ongoing subscriptions) direct to readers.[citation needed]
In October 2011, at the World Fantasy Convention, Marc Gascoigne won the World Fantasy Special Award (Professional) for Angry Robot.[8]
Strange Chemistry and Exhibit A
editIn November 2011, Angry Robot announced that they were planning a sister imprint, Strange Chemistry,[9] that would be devoted to young adult (teen) science fiction, fantasy and supernatural novels. Headed by blogger-turned-editor Amanda Rutter,[10] it was launched in September 2012.
A crime fiction imprint, Exhibit A, was launched in 2014.[11]
Both Strange Chemistry and Exhibit A imprints were closed in June 2014, after they were "unable to carve out their own niches".[12]
Watkins Media
editIn 2014 Angry Robot was sold by Osprey to Watkins Media, owned by Etan Ilfeld.[13]
Marc Gascoigne and the team continued at Angry Robot until the Nottingham Office closed in 2019. Eleanor Teasdale took over the helm at Angry Robot in 2019, and has seen huge successes in a short time including being personally shortlisted for IPG Young Publisher of the Year. In 2021, Angry Robot unveiled their new logo and website, making online purchases of their books much smoother. This rebrand helped Angry Robot cement its legacy in the SFF community. Since the rebranding, Angry Robot has been continuously publishing on-trend genre titles, as well as genre classics to their UK and US markets, regularly reaching award shortlists and bestseller lists. In June 2024, Angry Robot’s release, Evocation by S.T. Gibson, was a Number 1 Sunday Time Bestseller and a USA Today bestseller. Angry Robot continues to present the best of the genre, presenting fresh and diverse voices to the market, as well as reintroducing well-loved voices. In 2023, they launched their crime imprint, Datura Books. Datura focuses on titles with a strong sense of voice and place that push the boundaries of the genre, while playing with readers' favourite tropes. The list launched with its first title, Death of a Dancing Queen by Kimberly G. Giarratano in February ‘23, and has published an array of crime fiction from existing and debut authors including the multiple award-nominee The Graveyard Shift from Maria Lewis.
Awards
editList of Awards
edit2023
edit- Daniel Church – shortlisted for the BFS Award for Best Horror for The Hollows
- Gemma Amor – shortlisted for the BFS Award for Best Horror for Full Immersion
- Ciel Pierlot – shortlisted for the Compton Crook Award for Bluebird
- Sarah J Daley – shortlisted for the Compton Crook Award for Obsidian
- Khan Wong – finalist for the Lambda LGBTQ+ Speculative Fiction Award for The Circus Infinite
- WP Wiles – Winner of the Kitschies Red Tentacle Award for The Last Blade Priest
2022
edit- Un-su Kim – shortlisted for Kitschies Red Tentacle (Best Novel) for The Cabinet
- Caroline Hardaker – shortlisted for Kitschies Golden Tentacle Tentacle (Best Debut) for Composite Creatures
- Sarah J Daley – shortlisted for The Fantasy Hive, Debut of the Year for Obsidian
- Stacey McEwan – shortlisted for The Fantasy Hive, Debut of the Year for Ledge
- Karen Heuler – winner for The Fantasy Hive, Best Fantasy Creature for The Splendid City
2021
edit- Angry Robot Books – winner of the Booknest Fantasy Award for Best Imprint
2020
edit- Amanda Bridgeman – winner of the Tin Duck Award for Best Novel for The Sensation
- Jeannette Ng – winner of the Hugo for Best Related Work for her acceptance speech for the John W. Campbell Award for Under the Pendulum Sun
- Ada Hoffmann – nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award for The Outside
- Ada Hoffmann – nominated for the Arthur C Clarke Award for The Outside
- Kameron Hurley – nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for The Light Brigade
- Tyler Hayes – nominated for the Starburst Brave New Words Award for The Imaginary Corpse
- Tyler Hayes – nominated for the Neukom Literary Institute Literary Arts Award for Best Debut for The Imaginary Corpse
2019
edit- Jeannette Ng – winner of the John W Campbell Award for Best New Writer for Under the Pendulum Sun
- Keren Landsman – winner of the Geffen Award for Best SFF Novel for The Heart of the Circle
- Micah Yongo – finalist for the British Fantasy Awards Sydney J Bounds Award for Best Newcomer for Lost Gods
- Cameron Johnston – finalist for the British Fantasy Awards Sydney J Bounds Award for Best Newcomer for The Traitor God
- Kameron Hurley – shortlisted for GoodReads Choice Awards’ Best Science Fiction for The Light Brigade
- Lauren Teffeau – finalist for The Prism Award for Implanted
- Jasmine Gower – finalist for the Endeavour Award for Moonshine
References
edit- ^ "Contact – Angry Robot". Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- ^ "Press release #1: New Science Fiction/Fantasy Business Venture Launched". 6 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ^ "Hub Magazine | Free Weekly Sci-Fi, Horror and Fantasy Fiction – SPONSORED BY SOLARIS". Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "South African author wins Arthur C Clarke award". the Guardian. 28 April 2011.
- ^ Lutgendorff, Liz (13 August 2015). "I read the 100 "best" fantasy and sci-fi novels - and they were shockingly offensive". New Statesman.
- ^ "2011 World Fantasy Award winners | The British Fantasy Society". www.britishfantasysociety.org.
- ^ Science Fiction Awards Database: Marc Gascoigne (retrieved 9 July 2018)
- ^ "Strange Chemistry". Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
- ^ "Floor to Ceiling Books". floor-to-ceiling-books.blogspot.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ^ "Announcing our new Crime fiction imprint, EXHIBIT A!". Angry Robot. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ "Angry Robot closes Exhibit A and Strange Chemistry imprints - The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ^ "Osprey sells off Watkins, Angry Robot and Nourish". The Bookseller. Retrieved 19 January 2015.