Black Dog Books (BDB) is an independent press operation in
Normal, Illinois
Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh most ...
, founded in 1997 by publisher Tom Roberts to keep an outlet for adventure fiction alive.
[ It has expanded to publish fiction in the adventure, mystery, science fiction, and horror genres.
]
History
Black Dog Books began operations in 1997. The first 40 titles in the BDB line appeared in a chapbook format, with some giveaway titles and memorial books added to that figure. In 2006, a trade paperback line was launched. As of this writing, Black Dog Books has more than 60 titles in print. They expect to be releasing 8 to 10 new titles a year.[
Since the first title, BDB has gone out of its way to produce collections of material that is difficult to come by from rare magazines, and overlooked character collections.][ This extra effort to rescue works from obscurity has brought praise from readers and reviewers alike: "Publisher Tom Roberts is but one of an ever-growing number of those doing a great service, not only for the science fiction and fantasy reader, but for all those who love reading exciting tales of yesteryear from any genre", says Dave Truesdale, publisher of ]Tangent Online
''Tangent Online'' is an online magazine launched in its online incarnation in 1997, though it began as a print magazine in 1993. ''Tangent Online'' is edited by Dave Truesdale, with web-hoster Eric James Stone. The magazine covers reviews of sci ...
, "by digging into archives and researching and bringing to light once again forgotten, overlooked, or early work by many a classic pulp magazine author. They are to be commended and enthusiastically supported."[Truesdale, Dave]
"The Silver Menace by Murray Leinster"
Review of Murray Leinster, ''The Silver Menace and A Thousand Degrees Below Zero''. ''Tangent'' (TangentOnline.com). September 12, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
Many titles from Black Dog Books include informative introductions by well-known writers or genre-authorities such as Bill Pronzini
Bill Pronzini (born April 13, 1943) is an American writer of detective fiction. He is also an active anthologist, having compiled more than 100 collections, most of which focus on mystery, western, and science fiction short stories. Pronzini is ...
, F. Paul Wilson
Francis Paul Wilson (born May 17, 1946, in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American medical doctor and author of horror, adventure, medical thrillers, science fiction, and other genres of literary fiction. His books include the Repairman Jack n ...
, Matt Hilton
Matt may refer to:
*Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt
*In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance)
*Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
, Bill Crider
Bill Crider (July 28, 1941 – February 12, 2018) was an American author of crime fiction among other work.
Biography
He received a Master of Arts degree at the University of North Texas, in Denton. Later, he taught English at Howard Payne Unive ...
, Robert J. Randisi, Peter Beresford Ellis, Robert Weinberg, Will Murray
William Murray (born 1953) is an American novelist, journalist, short story, and comic book writer. Much of his fiction has been published under pseudonyms. With artist Steve Ditko, he co-created the superhero Squirrel Girl.
Biography
Early ...
, and James Reasoner
James Reasoner (5 June 1953) is an American writer. He is the author of more than 350 novels and many short stories in a career spanning more than thirty years. Reasoner has used at least nineteen pseudonyms, in addition to his own name: Jim Austin ...
, or additional material such as author bibliographies.
As of 2012 Black Dog Books began releasing its backlist as ebooks.
References
Other sources:
* McNulty, Thomas. "Pulp Fiction Renaissance". ''Antique Trader
''Antique Trader'' is a full-color American magazine about antiques and collectibles, including a classifieds section, published twice monthly, including six double issues. Headquartered in Stevens Point, Wis., the highly designed and illustrate ...
''. August 2010.
* Strock, Ian Randall. "Early pulp mag ''Adventure'' is the basis for two new series from Black Dog Books". ''SFScope''. June 2010
Archived 2012-07-10
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Dog Books (Us)
Book publishing companies based in Illinois
Publishing companies established in 1997
Companies based in Bloomington–Normal