The first week of December.

The days are getting darker, our in-trays are beginning to empty (we wish), the communal surfaces are beginning to grow fat with baked goods and illicit seasonal beverages . . .

As we hurtle towards the New Year (at FTL travel inducing velocity and with a blood-biscuit level that would make even Alexia Tarabotti proud) the Orbit UK Team has banded together to bring you a retrospective on what made 2009 another great year. The short answer of course is great authors, Global Vision, plenty of awards and um, you.  But humour us, read on below the cut, you’ll like it (or at least learn something) we promise!

AWARDS APLENTY

It’s been a good year for Orbit authors as far as awards are concerned. Brent Weeks sizzled his way onto the five-book shortlist of the first ever David Gemmell Legend Award for fantasy, with his superb fantasy THE WAY OF SHADOWS. He had to fight off almost 80 nominees to get his shortlist award: a mini version of Snaga, David Gemmell’s famous axe. Charles Stross also becomes the first writer to be shortlisted for the Hugo Award for Best Novel six years in a row, with his Heinleinian space opera SATURN’S CHILDREN.

At the 60th Eastercon in Bradford, THE NIGHT SESSIONS by Ken MacLeod won the BSFA Award for Best Novel, a popular and well-deserved reward for a wonderful book. Sean Williams also had a great year, his talents being justly recognised with a Peter McNamara Achievement award for his contribution to SF. This was presented as part of Australia’s prestigious Ditmar awards ceremony in June.

 
MAJOR MILESTONES

The year started off strongly with the paperback publication of Iain M. Banks’ MATTER, the first new Culture book in almost a decade. Then in February we were proud to present the first Orbit worldwide publication of international bestselling author Trudi Canavan, with her superb prequel to the Black Magician trilogy, THE MAGICIAN’S APPRENTICE. In May, we released the versatile and super-busy Jim Butcher’s first traditional fantasy, FURIES OF CALDERON. And we’re now up to book five of the six book series, with PRINCEPS’ FURY out this month. We’re also still publishing Jim’s Sunday Times bestselling Dresden Files, the urban fantasy series that won him his army of fans. In August, we published Karen Miller in hardback for the first time with THE PRODIGAL MAGE. This is a hugely fast-paced and character-driven fantasy, set in the same world as her enormously successful duology, which features titles THE INNOCENT MAGE and THE AWAKENED MAGE.

August was also the month for Orbit’s very first translated fantasy title, THE DWARVES – a huge hit in Germany and now achieving great sales in the UK too. And in September there was a treat for all fans of Terry Brooks with A PRINCESS OF LANDOVER, the first new Magic Kingdom novel in over a decade. Then at the end of October, we published THE GATHERING STORM, the first posthumous Wheel of Time book, which has delighted fans on both sides of the Atlantic. And to show that it’s not just about the new books, we published a stylish anniversary edition of David Gemmell’s classic of heroic fantasy, LEGEND, to mark it’s 25th birthday, and also a stunning 40th Anniversary edition of Ursula K. LeGuin’s masterpiece, THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS – which we’re sure we don’t need to remind you, won both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards for Best Novel.

BEST OF BRITISH

 

Although Orbit is global entity these days, we’ve enjoyed a strong year from our home grown contingent of authors, with outstanding new titles from our three wise men of British SF: MATTER from Iain M. Banks, THE NIGHT SESSIONS from Ken MacLeod and SATURN’S CHILDREN from Charlie Stross, all mentioned above. We also published Michael Cobley’s explosive space opera debut, SEEDS OF EARTH, in March. This has received terrific reviews and praise including this from Iain M. Banks, who called SEEDS OF EARTH ‘Proper galaxy-spanning Space Opera … a worthy addition to the genre’. Unsurprisingly, we’ve seen a nice trajectory for sales of the trade paperback edition and we’re hoping for great things for the mass market edition. You can grab your copy from January …

We then had an adult debut novel the following month, for acclaimed YA author Catherine Webb, writing as Kate Griffin. If you want to know what prompted SFX to proclaim it ‘NEVERWHERE for the digital age’, then check out A MADNESS OF ANGELS right away. Also writing brilliantly about a London that’s not quite the one we know, the multi-talented Mike Carey gave us not one, but two new instalments of his highly-praised Felix Castor series: THICKER THAN WATER and THE NAMING OF THE BEASTS. The brilliant Brian Ruckley also brought FALL OF THANES, the spectacular conclusion to his highly acclaimed Godless World trilogy. Take heed of the words of The Times who said ‘No one who enjoys heroic fantasy should miss this’! Comic fantasy also featured within our genre banquet, with new books from the unparalleled Tom Holt. We published two helpings of madness and TOMfoolery with the hardback of MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF MAGIC and the paperback of THE BETTER MOUSETRAP both in May. The front cover illustrations were scrawled (?) by members of the editorial team and of course there is absolutely no (un)friendly rivalry as to which is best.

Not content with a Hugo-shortlisted novel, the tireless Charles Stross also gave us a new collection of short fiction in WIRELESS. And for something completely different, we published acclaimed author K. J. Parker’s first stand-alone fantasy with THE COMPANY. Detailing the praise we’ve had over the years for K.J. Parker would take too long, but suffice to say that Orson Scott Card sees Parker’s work as ‘a prime contender for greatness.’ We are also seeing rave reviews for RED CLAW, published in October. This is the second science-fictional triumph by Philip Palmer. Part pulp, part SF action-thriller with a dash of philosophy, the Guardian called RED CLAW ‘that rare treat, an intelligent action adventure replete with intellectual rigor, human insight and superb storytelling’. Last but not least, we have LAST RITES, a compelling blend of visceral horror and thriller from veteran horror author Shaun Hutson.

Happy Holidays,
The Orbit UK Team