Necronomicon Press is an American

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

publishing house specializing in fiction, poetry and

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

relating to the horror and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

genres. It is run by Marc A. Michaud. Necronomicon Press was founded in 1976, originally as an outlet for the works of H. P. Lovecraft, after whose fictitious

grimoire A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...

, the ''

Necronomicon The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first men ...

'', the firm is named. However, its repertoire expanded to include authors such as Robert E. Howard,

Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...

Ramsey Campbell Ramsey Campbell (born 4 January 1946) is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. He is the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of them winners of literary awa ...

, Hugh B. Cave,

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

Brian Lumley Brian Lumley (born 2 December 1937) is an English author of horror fiction. He came to prominence in the 1970s writing in the Cthulhu Mythos created by American writer H. P. Lovecraft but featuring the new character Titus Crow, and went on to ...

and

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

. Necronomicon Press published critical works by such pioneering Lovecraft scholars as Dirk W. Mosig, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Kenneth W. Faig, and S. T. Joshi, including Joshi's biography, '' H. P. Lovecraft: A Life'' (1996). The firm published critical journals such as ''Lovecraft Studies'' (now superseded by ''Lovecraft Annual'' published by

Hippocampus Press Hippocampus Press is an American publisher that specializes in, "the works of H. P. Lovecraft and his literary circle." Founded in 1999, and based in New York City, Hippocampus is operated by founder Derrick Hussey. As of 2017, it has issued ...

) and ''Studies in Weird Fiction'', both edited by Joshi; ''

Crypt of Cthulhu ''Crypt of Cthulhu'' is an American fanzine devoted to the writings of H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. It was published as part of the Esoteric Order of Dagon amateur press association for a short time, and was formally established in 1 ...

'', edited by

Robert M. Price Robert McNair Price (born July 7, 1954) is an American New Testament scholar. His most notable stance is arguing in favor of the Christ myth theorythe claim that a historical Jesus did not exist. Price is the author of a number of books on bi ...

; and has also published critical studies of Campbell (''The Count of Thirty'', edited by Joshi) and

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

(''Witches of the Mind'', written by

Bruce Byfield Bruce Byfield (born May 13, 1958) is a Canadian journalist who specializes in writing about free and open source software. He has been a contributing editor at Linux.com, and his articles have appeared on the Datamation, LWN, Linux Developer Net ...

). Necronomicon Press was awarded the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

in 1994 and 1996 for its contributions to small-press publishing, and the

British Fantasy Award The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to ''The Knight of S ...

in 1995 for its publication ''Necrofile: The Review of Horror Fiction''. Necronomicon Press' books are mostly illustrated by Jason Eckhardt and Robert H. Knox. Some of their titles, such as Lovecraft's ''The Colour Out of Space'', contain original artwork from the amateur writers' magazines of Lovecraft's own time. One issue of ''Lovecraft Studies'' was illustrated by Sam Gafford. A flood in March 2010 caused a loss of more than $20,000 worth of books. The press has since reactivated its website.

Selected publications

*''

'' 92–101, 108-113, edited by

*''

Cthulhu Codex Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was first introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pan ...

'' 7–16, edited by

and

Joseph S. Pulver Joseph S. Pulver Sr. (July 5, 1955 – April 24, 2020) was an author and poet, much of whose work falls within the horror fiction, noir fiction / hardboiled, and dark fantasy genres. He lived in Germany, and died from COPD and other issues in a ...

*''

Demon and Other Tales Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

'' by

*''

Far Away & Never ''Far Away & Never'' is a collection of fantasy stories by English author Ramsey Campbell. It was first published in trade paperback by Necronomicon Press in July 1996, and later reprinted.Cowan, Matt.Far and Away by Ramsey Campbell review (revi ...

'' by

*'' Ghor, Kin-Slayer'' by Robert E. Howard *'' Ghoul Warning and Other Tales'' by

*'' H. P. Lovecraft: A Life'' by S. T. Joshi *''

Lovecraft Studies Lovecraft studies is the body of research that has emerged surrounding the works of H. P. Lovecraft. It began with the dissemination of Lovecraft's works by Arkham House during the decades after his death. The scholars in the field sought to establi ...

'' 31–45, edited by S. T. Joshi *''

Midnight Shambler Lovecraft fandom, Lovecraftian fandom or Cthulhu Mythos fandom refers to is an international, informal community of fans of the works H. P. Lovecraft, especially of the Cthulhu Mythos and the Lovecraftian horror. Lovecraft fandom emerged around ...

'' 5–11, edited by

and

*'' Mosig at Last: A Psychologist Looks at Lovecraft'' by Dirk W. Mosig *'' Necrofile: The Review of Horror Fiction'' 2–32 edited by S. T. Joshi, Michael Morrisson, and Stefan R. Dziemianowicz *''

Other Dimensions ''Other Dimensions'' is a collection of stories by American writer Clark Ashton Smith. It was released in 1970 and was the author's sixth collection of stories published by Arkham House. It was released in an edition of 3,144 copies. The stories ...

'' 1–3, edited by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz *'' Parts'' 14–15, edited by

*'' Studies in Weird Fiction'' 7–27, edited by S. T. Joshi *'' Tales of Lovecraftian Horror'' 7–10, edited by

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.necropress.com/ American speculative fiction publishers World Fantasy Award winners Science fiction publishers Small press publishing companies Publishing companies established in 1976 1976 establishments in Rhode Island West Warwick, Rhode Island H. P. Lovecraft Horror book publishing companies