Hard Case Crime is an American

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

hardboiled Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence o ...

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

s founded in 2004 by

Charles Ardai Charles Ardai (born 1969) is an American entrepreneur, businessperson, and writer of award winning crime fiction and mysteries. He is founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, a line of pulp-style paperback crime novels. He is also an early employe ...

(also the founder of the Internet service

Juno Online Services Juno Online Services, also called simply Juno, is an Internet service provider based in the United States. It originated as a free email service and later expanded its offerings. Juno is a subsidiary of United Online, which in turn is a subsidia ...

) and Max Phillips. The series recreates, in editorial form and content, the flavor of the paperback crime novels of the 1940s and '50s. The covers feature original illustrations done in a style familiar from the golden age of paperbacks (the 1950s and '60s), credited to artists such as

Robert McGinnis Robert Edward McGinnis (born February 3, 1926) is an American artist and illustrator. McGinnis is known for his illustrations of more than 1,200 paperback book covers,BiographyMcGinnis, Robert - Cavalier Galleries and over 40 movie posters, i ...

and

Glen Orbik Glen Orbik (1963 – May 11, 2015) was an American illustrator known for his fully painted paperback and comic covers, often executed in a noir style. In the 1970s, Orbik and his mother moved to Douglas County, Nevada. He is a 1981 graduate of ...

Overview

Hard Case's list includes both reprints of books from the pulp era (typically labeled ''Complete and unabridged'' on the cover), and new novels written for the collection (typically labeled ''First publication anywhere''). The top-selling entries in the series to date have been novels by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

: ''

The Colorado Kid ''The Colorado Kid'' is a mystery novel by American writer Stephen King, published by the Hard Case Crime imprint in 2005. The book was initially issued in one paperback-only edition by the specialty crime and mystery publishing house. King's ...

'' (2005), which later became the basis for the SyFy television series ''Haven'', '' Joyland'' (2013), and ''

Later Later may refer to: * Future, the time after the present Television * ''Later'' (talk show), a 1988–2001 American talk show * '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a British music programme since 1992 * ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'', or ...

'' (2021). Seven novels published by Hard Case have been nominated for the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

: In 2005, ''Little Girl Lost'', by Richard Aleas (a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

for Hard Case Crime co-founder Charles Ardai that is both an anagram of Ardai's name and a play on "alias"), was nominated as Best First Novel by an American Author, and Domenic Stansberry's ''The Confession'' won the award for Best Paperback Original; in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2014, respectively, Allan Guthrie's ''Kiss Her Goodbye'',

Russell Hill Russell Hill may refer to: * Russell Hill (artist) (born 1988), British artist * Russell Hill (footballer) (1920–1987), Australian rules footballer * Russell Hill (war correspondent), see New York Herald Tribune * Russell Hill, Croydon, an area i ...

's ''Robbie's Wife'',

Christa Faust Christa Faust (born June 21, 1969, in New York City) is an American author who writes original novels, as well as novelizations and media tie-ins. Faust won the 2009 Crimespree Award (Best Original Paperback) for '' Money Shot''. ''Money Shot'' ...

's ''Money Shot'', and

's ''Joyland'' were nominated for Best Paperback Original. In 2022, James Kestrel's ''Five Decembers'' won the award for Best Novel. Max Phillips' ''Fade to Blonde'' won the 2005

Shamus Award The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) for the best detective fiction ( P. I. = Private investigator) genre novels and short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one si ...

for Best Paperback Novel of the Year, and Charles Ardai's pseudonymous "Richard Aleas" novel ''Songs of Innocence'' won the same award in 2008. Ardai also received the Edgar Award in 2007, for his short story "The Home Front."

Ownership

Between 2004 and 2010, Hard Case Crime was published through a collaboration between Ardai's company, Winterfall LLC, and

Dorchester Publishing Dorchester Publishing was a publisher of mass market paperback books. Although mostly known for romance, Dorchester also published horror, thriller and Western titles. Publication lines Dorchester was the original publisher of the ''Hard Case ...

. After an announcement in August 2010 that

Subterranean Press Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Burton, Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. In addition to publishing novels, short stor ...

would be publishing "an exclusive Hard Case Crime volume," starting in 2011,

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...

replaced Dorchester as publisher of the series. Two volumes in the series, one reprinting a pair of early

Lawrence Block Lawrence Block (born June 24, 1938) is an American crime writer best known for two long-running New York-set series about the recovering alcoholic P.I. Matthew Scudder and the gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. Block was named a Grand Mas ...

novels, ''69 Barrow Street'' and ''Strange Embrace'', the other a collection of Lawrence Block short stories, ''

Catch and Release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture, often a fast measurement and weighing of the fish is performed, followed by posed photography as proof of the catch, and then the fish are unhooked and returned ...

'', ultimately were published by Subterranean Press. Since the imprint's move to Titan Books/Titan Comics, Hard Case Crime has released a number of comics and graphic novels in the same hard-boiled vein as the book division.

Titles

Graphic novels

References

External links

Hard Case Crime Official Web Site
{{Authority control Series of books Pulp fiction Publishing companies established in 2004