As you guys know, your friendly neighborhood Creative Director has been slaving away at the Fall 2010/Winter 2011 Orbit covers (yes, we work that far in advance) and now that the covers are (mostly) done I’ve started to launch them on the blog for your viewing pleasure, and general online critique. Well, I have a special treat above for devoted Orbit fans, cover design aficionados, and especially admirers of Ms. Alexia Tarabotti, heroine of Soulless. Timed to celebrate this month’s release of Changeless, Alexia Tarabotti’s second adventure, I have a special Making of the Cover Video for the next book, due out in September 2010, Blameless. (more…)
Following Celine Kiernan’s post below on translation into the German language, it seems appropriate to make a quick mention about one of our own titles in translation released this month: The War of the Dwarves (UK/ US/ ANZ), from international bestseller Markus Heitz.
Translated from the original German by the very talented Sally-Ann Spencer, this is the eagerly anticipated sequel to The Dwarves(UK/ US/ ANZ), described by SFRevu as: ‘The kind of solid fantasy that the market thrives upon’, and by The Bookbag as ‘A fabulous addition to the fantasy genre’. Read an extract here!
This is a sincere hymn of praise to my wonderful German translator Astrid Finke. She has, at one stage or another, discussed all the following things with me (and many more) I’m unbelievably lucky to have found her.
Cartoon by Celine Kiernan
When I was asked to address the 2008 international translator’s conference in Dublin, I was quietly convinced that they’d invited the wrong Celine Kiernan by mistake. You could have coloured me surprised when I learned that it was because The Moorehawke Trilogy is considered a bit of a challenge translation-wise, and they wanted to hear the thought processes behind my often rather quirky use of language. (more…)
I’m delighted to say that Orbit will be the very proud publisher of a brand-new fantasy series by Karen Miller, launching 2012. The series title is the Tarnished Crown, and Karen describes it thus:
A tale of love and hate, treachery and power, the rise and fall of dynasties, and the remaking of a world. The theme of this fantasy saga is contained in its title: nobody is innocent. Every crown is tarnished. Redemption is possible but at a great price.
Karen Miller’s INNOCENT MAGE (US | UK) was one of our launch titles for Orbit in the US, following its publication earlier that year (2007) in the UK. Its sequel, THE AWAKENED MAGE (US | UK), followed hot on its heels, and these two books rapidly became one of the fastest selling new fantasy series of recent years. Karen is a natural storyteller, and a fearless one. Her next novel, EMPRESS (US | UK), introduced Hekat, quite possibly one of the scariest protagonists you will ever encounter.
Karen returned to the “Mage” sequence with THE PRODIGAL MAGE (US | UK), and has just completed the final book, THE RELUCTANT MAGE, which we will be publishing later this year.
And there’s some great news, too, for fans of Karen’s Rogue Agent series (written under the pen name K.E.Mills), which began with THE ACCIDENTAL SORCERER (US | UK). Karen will be writing at least two more books in the series, bringing the total to five.
Orbit will be publishing these books in the US, UK and Australia.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present the cover for the first book of the highly anticipated new trilogy by Brent Weeks. The Night Angel Trilogy (starting with the New York Times Bestseller THE WAY OF SHADOWS) has been a huge success worldwide and I know a lot of people have been dying to see what Mr. Weeks writes next. Well you’re going to have to wait a little longer for the book, but I can give you a little taste by showing you the kick-ass (yes, that’s a technical design term) cover for THE BLACK PRISM.
I don’t want to say too much about the new series (because the editor will kill me if I give too much away) but Brent has created a very cool new world, complete with solid characters and a really interesting magic system. If you liked the Night Angel Trilogy, you’ll love this (And if you haven’t read the Night Angel Trilogy, you should be ashamed of yourself, really.) (more…)
SOMETIMES I sit here drinking a good single malt and ponder my Ghost Novels. Well, let’s be honest: I sit here drinking a good single malt doing just about everything, to the point where Orbit has assigned me my own handler who attempts to stop or at least slow down my drinking. God bless him, he’s an unpaid intern who I often overhear muttering darkly to himself about his lot in life, but Orbit feels it’s necessary because of a few recent incidents we managed to keep out of the papers through bribery, threats, and promises of community service to come. Legally, I can say no more. (more…)
Our colleagues at Grand Central Publishing have just posted this extraordinary trailer for Seth Grahame-Smith’s ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER. Watch Abe take on the vampire menace below!
I first heard about this novel in May 2008, when N.K. Jemisin’s agent called me to tell me she had found someone that she knew I would love and who reminded her of all my favorite authors. (I think she keeps a list of editors with their favorite authors next to them — so she knew how to hit all my buttons.)
Many books are good, some are great, but few are truly important. Add to this last category The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin’s debut novel…In this reviewer’s opinion, this is the must-read fantasy of the year.”
I’m over the moon with the attention Nora (a Nebula nomination!!) and the novel are getting! Now in printed (and e-book) glory — and at a bookstore (virtual and otherwise) near you. And if you haven’t yet, be sure to read the first three chapters at Nora’s site.
In book design generally, but especially in sci-fi/fantasy book covers, there’s always a lot of talk about series looks, and sometimes that extends to author looks. Even if an author isn’t writing books in a series, I always attempt to establish a look for them that can tie together all of their books. As a fan, I love it when an author has a really distinctive look, so I can tell it’s a new book by them from a mile away. Yes, I know as a geek AND a designer I do pay more attention to these things, but I think it is safe to say sci-fi/fantasy fans are a design-aware bunch and very much notice these things. I get a little thrill when I see a whole row of books that are recognizably in a unit. That’s why I like to pay attention to spines alot, and try to get as much art (albeit small art) on them as I can.
That is why I am very excited to launch Philip Palmer’s next cover: Version 43. (more…)
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